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If the worst thing about ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖcoming was that it didn't exactly set the heather alight, it doesn't seem such a bad closure.

With a mere £5m budget - in event terms, no massive amount - it was never going to be able to be able to completely transform the cultural landscape, or indeed please everyone.

But as the event draws to a close - with every Saltire waving event on St Andrew's Day hijacked for a political photo opportunity - it does still seem like it was worth doing.

Looking back, it seems the most effective use of the money was in allowing existing cultural events to expand their horizons - such as Celtic Connections taking over the SECC, or bringing Jamaican musicians Sly and Robbie to Scotland - or allowing T in the Park promoter Geoff Ellis to reinvent the outdoor music festival indoors (despite the headlines, still an ambitious and worthy experiment which bears repeating.)

The bookends of Burns Night and St Andrew's Night also allowed for some original and inventive community events - Mischief La Bas filling Alloway with street theatre or the striking Son et Lumiere in St Andrews Cathedral this weekend, although both raised the question of who ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖcoming was actually for.

Was it for wealthy Americans, intrigued Europeans or simply those of us who live here all year round?

With the exception of The Gathering - which as one onlooker put it, felt like stepping into "bloody Brigadoon", it did feel like most of the year was playing to the home crowd.

The Gathering, of course, drew a few storm clouds when it was discovered it had made a loss of £600,000 - and it's still unclear who will pick up the cost of that loss.

But in the context of an event which apparently brought £10m to Scotland in the midst of a global recession, it can hardly be deemed a failure.

And on paper, with a £19m return for a £5m investment - and the potential to reach the predicted £44m knock-on by next spring - the whole ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖcoming campaign is certainly far from a failure in economic terms.

So why are we so grudging in our praise as the year draws to a close?

Partly because - as those political photocalls remind us - this is a government sponsored campaign (and the cynical will note timed to end on St Andrews Day with the white paper on a referendum for independence).

Partly because staging any "year-long" festival (even in this case if it is just 10 months) is a challenge when it's been done so often and with far greater budgets.

Culturally, it's true that Scotland has a lot more to offer than the headlines of golf, whisky and tartan - or indeed porridge or knitting which also featured prominently.

But the money available meant expansion of comedy, modern art, theatre and other areas.

It's true these cultural events might have happened anyway - but in the current climate, with more cuts on the way (Big in Falkirk the first high profile casualty of local authority cuts) fresh support is not to be sniffed at.

So whether you came home, thought about home, questioned the concept or simply enjoyed a good event or two, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖcoming was worth the effort.

And give it another few weeks and we'll get to do it all over again - in microcosm - at Hogmanay.