A great many of my treasured memories are of being home with my family for Christmas, which is probably true for countless families worldwide. However, we have also faced some significant family hardships around Christmas. For me, the common denominator in my family’s consistent happiness at those fun times, and the source of our survival through the tough times is my mum.
No family dynamic is perfect, and my family will be the first to admit that ours is fairly far from it. The most arguments I’ve ever had, and some of the worst arguments I’ve ever had, have been with my family, and especially during the time I spend at home for the holidays. I think a lot of people can relate to this – extended family drama, hyper children, late nights, countless glasses of red wine or brandy, soaring expectations etc.The stakes are high, the house is cramped, and sometimes the prolonged Christmas cheer is just the teeniest bit stifling!
On the other hand, I can “forgive and forget” a family fight very quickly and sometimes I’m even seeking to make amends when we’re still mid-row. As the saying goes, “you do for family”, and sometimes that means forcing a bit of festive forgiveness, saying “oh, I’m sorry too,” until you’re no longer faking it and hugging and singing Christmas carols by the tree, with not the faintest idea of why you were even arguing in the first place. I like to think that families can always put aside their differences and pull it together in time for Christmas Day, my family included. But I would be foolish to believe that this would be possible without the unwavering efforts of my mum.
From carrying box after box down from the attic throughout November, to booking event after event for me and my siblings throughout December, to staying up late and waking up early on Christmas Eve and Day in order to continue the magic of our childhood, even though we’re all young adults…the amount of planning mum puts in every year is just endless! On the day itself, and while I’m still looking over a gift I’ve just opened, my mum’s already completed five other tasks, and started tidying up for when the rest of the family head over, and this is probably before the sun has even come up. I haven’t even mentioned that she also cooks Christmas dinner, caters to all our relatives through to the New Year, and diffuses any family squabbles that may arise along the way. Sometimes we argue, sometimes we both say things we shouldn’t, but at Christmas, hardly a minute goes by without my mum astounding me with her generosity.
Mums are superheroes, and this is most obvious to me around the holidays, especially after I spent Christmas abroad last year. So I’m excited to be at home for Christmas 2017 – no pressure Mum! And I promise that we won’t argue – or rather, that we may argue (because as I’ve shown, it’s a hectic time), but it will hardly matter in the long run. Christmas is the most magical time of the year – but it would be nothing without Mum.Â