The Most Wonderful Time

Posted on by

Christmas is coming

The most wonderful time of the year. For some, at least. From mid-autumn, it’s impossible to avoid feeling the emergence of Christmas. Whether in store, or through the media, the season begins to slide into our consciousness. The date is the same every year, and the advertising is a predictable constant in the lead up to 25 December.

It’s hard not to grow weary of the relentless coverage. Whether it’s food or toys, experiences or holidays, we are presented with a vision of the ‘perfect’ Christmas. Snow, country cottages, families, tables of food, gifts beneath the tree, glittering decorations, and joyful celebrations.

Social media floods with pictures of perfect trees and piles of presents. People with less to give are faced with images of a Father Christmas who delivers gaming consoles, and bicycles. Others live in a world where Father Christmas buys from charity shops, or doesn’t visit at all.

Then there are the photographs of people gathered at the dinner table, smiling while raising a glass. Christmas jumpers ready to stretch beneath the forthcoming feast. It’s nice to share pictures between close family and friends, but I don’t particularly see the need to distribute them across social media platforms. A personal opinion, of course, although I do have strong feelings on consent among children.

Keeping it simple

Listening to a radio show the other morning, a number of callers agreed that Christmas has become over commercialised. There is so much pressure to create a perfect seasonal experience, and high expectations among those who are too young to understand the financial aspect of buying the contents of any given advert break.

My favourite part so far, of this year’s festive season, was earlier this month when I had a chance to travel with my husband and our son to visit some of my family. This was in contrast to least December, when tier restrictions meant we had to stay within local areas. I went to the care home, and wished Mum a happy Christmas. I chatted to one of my sisters, while we watched our boys play together. I caught up with my dad, and continued his (gentle) introduction to a selection of vegan food. We exchanged gifts, but the best part was spending time together. Those precious memories which cost little beyond fuel and time, and cannot be replaced.

There are many ideas about how to keep things simple over Christmas. One saying I particularly like in relation to presents is:

Something you want
Something you need
Something to wear, and
Something to read.

I’d like to try this next year with our son, really thinking about how to keep things manageable and meaningful. Another blog adds a couple of lines to the saying:

Something to do, and
Something for the family.

Which I also like very much. It is perhaps these two lines which best capture the heart of the season.