For many Brummies, the holidays began the moment the city centre lit up.
The festive displays in department stores and the Christmas market mark the start of the festive period.
Here are some nostalgic pictures of the city and wider region during the 2000s:
1. A "Father Christmas" looks in a menswear shop window display, 2007
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2. 2007
Shoppers hunt out bargains in Birmingham's New Street as the last week of seasonal shopping gets underway on December 17, 2007 | Getty Images
3. German market, 2007
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4. 2008
Members of the Albrighton Woodland Hunt gather before the start of their Boxing Day meet at the ancestral home of Lord Cobham on December 26, 2008, at Hagley Hall | Getty Images
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