It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating the 2018 festive season, right? Well, yes, but as much as it's flown by, we sure have crammed a lot into the past 12 months.

We've welcomed new members of parliament at federal and state level in Indi's Helen Haines and Albury's Justin Clancy.

Also in the political sphere, we've seen a regional deal announced for Albury-Wodonga, which (we think) will be signed off early next year.

And who could forget the now infamous "Egg Girl", who thrust the Border region onto the national stage, when she tossed a cackleberry the way of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's scone.

Business-wise, there was sadness when it was announced Norske Skog was being sold to Visy, making 180 workers redundant at the Ettamogah plant. There's optimism about what the future will hold with Visy taking over the paper mill site, but that doesn't necessarily make things any easier for the workers out of a job this Christmas.

IN OTHER NEWS:

And, unfortunately, as is the case every year, we lose much-loved members of our community. There was an outpouring of emotion when former deputy prime minister and Farrer MP Tim Fischer passed away in August and the racing community was left shocked when champion Wodonga trainer Brian Cox was killed in a truck crash in October.

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll take a look back at the past 12 months and, indeed, the past decade to reflect on how the Border and North East region has changed, and grown.

We'll focus on news, sport, politics and entertainment along with the best shots from our talented team of photographers.

We enjoyed putting the features together and we hope you, the reader, gets something out of it, too.

One of the great thing about newspapers is that they provide a daily snapshot of the year's events, so that 12 months can't slip by in the blink of an eye.

Here's to a safe and merry Christmas to you and your family.