[Article] Is family truly important at Christmas time?

Kimmy · 25-11-2014, 07:00 PM

I know some people who'd rather be alone at Christmas. Take my Uncle Robert, for example. He's like the male version of a cat lady, just with less cats. At Christmas he hides away and drinks his whiskey and doesn't come out until gone new year. My dad doesn't spend Christmas with us any more either, forcing us to accept the family values and cherish the memories of what it used to be like before. I do wonder what it's like for other people. Hermits, widows and widowers, the alone come Christmas. I guess these sorts of people go amiss around this time of year though I always find myself stopping to wonder what they feel.

In May I moved 600 miles away from my family to live with my partner, and I've found myself torn over what I'm going to do for Christmas. I'd love to wake up with him there that morning, but I don't think I'm ready to face my first Christmas without my mum, my brothers... Even my dog (whom we buy a stocking for every year). I've been rushing around trying to scrape the money together for a train ticket to go and see them and promising everyone that I left some time to spend with them. I find myself getting excited. My brother and I are going to go into the town to the Christmas fair, and then we're going to spend all day on the merry-go-round. My mum and I are going to go out for a meal and catch up on everything we've missed out on for the past months. My best friend (of thirteen years) and I are going to have a sleepover like we used to have when we were children, and we'll make cakes that we've never failed to fail at. Then, my boyfriend's going to travel up to Scotland after spending time with his own family and we're going to celebrate the new year together. It's easy to take it all for granted. It's easy to get lost in all the fun of a gentle holiday, easy to forget about the members of your family, like my Uncle Robert, who either prefer to be alone for Christmas, or are forced to be.

This Christmas, I'm going to go and see my Uncle. Save the fact that I haven't seen him for over a year now, but I feel like I owe it to him to give him something to smile at this year. He's a widower and he's had a tough life these past ten years which I believe that more than trying to convince us all that he doesn't enjoy Christmas, has forced him to accept that there's no Christmas for him because there's nobody for him to truly share it with. I believe that family and friends are one of the most important things at Christmas time. Most of us are brought up spending Christmas morning counting the seconds until our parents wake up. Every year, even despite age, my mum forced us to eat a bowl of cereal in front of our presents before we could even touch them, where we can spent the time marvelling over the fact that the day we've waited for is actually there. I'm aiming for the complete surprise factor with my family, turning up on their doorstep a few days before Christmas with presents and hugs... Maybe Robert will appreciate it. Maybe all of the people who miss out on the smiles and the presents and the family spirit at Christmas time would appreciate it. It's soppy, I know. All of my articles are soppy, but I encourage anyone who knows someone who'll be alone this Christmas to be there on that day and to reinforce the true meaning of family and friends at Christmas time.

And if you're one of those people who are alone, never forget the people who do care or the ones who you've ever spent the holidays with. Give them a call, give them a visit, or reflect on what family truly means to you; now, or any time of the year.