THE festive period can sometimes become a bit tiresome.

Not only does the build up seem to last months rather than weeks but we are bombarded with adverts telling us what to buy and what not to buy for our loved ones.

Then, of course, there is the seemingly endless stream of films and TV programmes designed specifically to cash in on this special time of year.

But unsurprisingly, Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas is different, an antidote to all those Christmas clichs.

Burton has built a reputation as a master of the gothic and a director with a dark sense of humour and this is certainly no different.

The story in this stop-motion adventure follows Jack Skellington, otherwise known as Pumpkin Jack, a spindly skeleton who is the top dog in Halloweentown.

But when Jack - fed up preparing the same scares every year for Halloween - stumbles upon Christmastown, he decides to claim Christmas for the people of Halloweentown and embarks on a plan to kidnap Santa so that he can launch his own misguided vision of Christmas upon the world.

This superbly twisted tale has always been a cut above most other Christmas offerings and now in 3-D, it bursts back into life.

The fantastic puppets always did appear larger than life due to the brilliant use of texture and colour and when you slip the 3-D glasses on, it feels as if you have been submerged into their world.

And that world is a delight. A mix of songs, scares and sniggers that will leave you full of Christmas spirit - well, almost.

Win Nightmare tickets and DVD SAM has four pairs of tickets to see Nightmare Before Christmas 3D at the Odeon in Manchester. The kind people at the Odeon have also given us four copies of the movie on DVD! To be in with a chance of winning just answer this question: Who is the main character in the movie? Answers on a postcard to Nightmare Before Christmas comp, SAM, Brindley House, 25 Ashton Lane, Sale, Greater Manchester, M33 6TP. The first four entires picked from the bag after the closing date of Friday, December 15 will each win a DVD and a pair of tickets to see the film.