A Wee Christmas Message for all…

It’s around this time of the year that people begin to fall into two camps – those who start planning for Christmas as soon as the Halloween costumes are away and those who remain firmly in denial until the last possible moment.

Whichever camp you fall into, it cannot be denied that the season is celebrated on an ever-increasing scale year on year and is the cause of much panic induced stress, yet surely it’s a time for becoming united rather than divided? Christmas is for family and interaction rather than bargains and deals yet the pressure for perfection means we have a tendency to lose perspective; perhaps we could be reminded of the magic by looking back through our childhood eyes…

For me, Christmas always began with music.

It was the excitement as we gathered in the school hall for the first carol practice and the whispers which rippled around the room – which delight would we sing first? I always favoured the quick tempo renditions of the classics and I would bounce in my seat on hearing the opening chords of Santa Claus is Coming to Town. In preparation for the carol concert we would learn the harmonies for Hark the Herald Angels Sing and I remember aiming my voice towards the rafters in the church as though sending the words to the stars…

Now, as an adult, the season begins the first time that a Christmas song comes onto the radio while I’m driving home from work. It might be dark outside and rainy, the rush-hour traffic may be dreadful and I am probably edging forwards miserably amongst a throng of tail lights and windscreen wipers…yet suddenly the strings from Chris Rea’s ‘Driving home for Christmas’ start up and the misery turns to a warmth which, in turn, spreads to a smile.

Christmas is coming and whether as a child or now, as an adult, what I really look forward to is having the chance to stop, reflect, and spend time with my loved ones. Because let’s be really honest, Christmas is about people – family, friends and neighbours. Of course, it’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy of present buying and it’s natural to worry about the logistics of the festive season but when you look back to your memories of Christmases past, which are the ones that last?

Apart from the music, other childhood memories consist of winter walks and fairy lights, visiting relatives and heaps of chocolate, carol concerts and mince pies, scarves and gloves and Advent candles, nights sleepless with excitement and gazing at the sky…and the overriding Anticipation – that wonderful sense of something about to happen.

As adults, we are in danger of losing the excitement amongst the swathes of ‘to do’ lists and panic, yet we too need to make our memories beautiful. Forget the organising for a moment because we won’t look back fondly on the line-ups to purchase that toy or special Christmas dress; we won’t recall the mad dash to get hold of more wrapping paper on Christmas Eve because we’ve (yet again) bought too many gifts, and we certainly won’t wish to cling onto that sense of anxiety we experienced when we though the store had sold out of turkeys…

No, we need to remember the look of our children’s faces when they wake up on Christmas morning; we must remember the laughter around the dinner table and the smell of fresh baked pies and turkey; we want to notice how our parent’s eyes light up as they watch their grandchildren pulling crackers and we should rejoice as every neighbour stops to say ‘Hello’ when we take a Christmas Day walk.

Whether you’re ready for Christmas or yet to think about it, take the time to recall how magical the season was as a child and try to allow a few moments to create new memories this year. Togetherness is special and to have the chance to spend time with our loved ones…well, aren’t we lucky to be able to do so?

Here’s wishing you all a very merry, magical Christmas.