Few families or friends won’t fall out
THE WAY I SEE IT... Wise words from our feisty, fearless and funny columnist
‘It makes me so sad when I read that families everywhere are getting together at Christmas and substituting fun and frivolity for feuds and fights. It’s not surprising though when grown-ups don’t see their families much throughout the year, then are thrown together for a day when expectations are sky-high. And there’s so much pressure to be with family that people do it even if they don’t get on. Tensions are bound to arise.
Personally, I think too much emphasis is put on family at Christmas. Every advert portrays that perfect Christmas dinner scene, with Dad doing the carving and Mum making sure everything’s perfect, grandparents and kids all paperhatted and laughing, happy as Larry. In the real world, it’s almost never like that. More like sullen faces and at least one vacated chair. I don’t know why they do it. I suppose we all hanker after those days when we were kids, the happiest Christmases of all, before people fell out or worse, passed away. Christmas just isn’t the same after that happens but it doesn’t stop us trying to make it so. Of course family is important but it’s not everything and don’t forget not everyone has one, so it kind of makes it worse for them when we keep banging on about it. I love the bones of my family, but I rarely spend Christmas with them and some of my best Yuletides have been with great friends who I call my chosen family. I’ve also spent a fair few on my own, not sad at all, just indulgent and peaceful but other people were heartbroken for me which was sad! This year we’re mixing it up. Bit of family with Mark’s mum coming and our best chosen ones will join us. There’ll be no rows or presents, just too much food, booze and laughter. But at the end of the day, it’s still just another day and it’ll all be over before you can say, “what was all that about?”’