I loved Christmas as a kid. There were presents, there was no school, there was food, there was a crazy amount of puddings and of course there was chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate!
My family are not very religious (what you would call non-practicing Roman Catholics) but Christmas was always celebrated as a time to bring family together.
I miss those times because they bring back so many happy memories and the most interesting thing is that the memories I mostly remember are not about the presents themselves but about the people we spent those times with.
These days Christmas is crazy of course. Having a large family and three kids makes it all a whirlwind. Whether we’re going to Portugal and therefore have the whole stress of planning, packing and travelling or we stay in the UK and have all the stress of cooking, it’s still mostly about stress.
But I am sure my parents went through all of that too and they still managed to make it special for us, so my desire is that above all that stress, I am able to show my kids what the holiday season really is all about.
I said to the kids that it would be a good idea to choose a couple of toys that they don’t play with so much anymore so we could give to children that have no toys. I had made the same suggestion a couple of years ago and my daughter Ms Z didn’t take it very well. I was so proud now when she replied to my suggestion “I think that’s a great idea Mommy”. At first Mr A’s face wasn’t happy at my suggestion but on hearing Ms Z’s reaction his face completely changed and he said “we could give one of the Iron Man toys Mommy because I have two”. That made me doubly proud!
I was in Portugal to see my parents a couple of weeks ago and I got talking to my Godmother (a truly inspirational woman who has had a huge influence in my life and who volunteers a huge chunk of her time to social causes) and I asked her: “in your experience when do people grow a social conscience? At what time in their life?”
And she said she has seen kids as young as 16 volunteering at the hospital – spending time with terminal cancer patients, especially children. And that if she looks at those kids, she knows that their parents also volunteer and demonstrate a dedication to helping people. So in her opinion it’s all about the family you’re raised in. If kids grow up in an environment where they often see their parents, grandparents, etc perform social good actions, they too will develop that, very early on.
I am hopeful that by my example my kids will too want to create a better world for everyone and will take action to get us there. Christmas is just a time of the year that reminds us of what we should be doing all year-round – being kind, loving and accepting to everyone ❤️