Reach for the ceiling or perhaps the sideboard!
14 Dec 2019
Dear LPG,
Some families get together over Christmas while others make the holiday literal by going away to stay with family members, some spend the big day in a hotel and others attend some professionally organised event, but where ever we spend it, the run up is not the same unless a bit of sparkle is part of your preparation.
There are those youngsters who go the whole hog with decorations that spill out into their front gardens. Those disco type lights designed to reflect off the wall of the house are becoming more and more popular.
In my family, I still am the member who hosts Christmas dinner for those who want to come, although as the children get married, and depending on where their in-laws live, I now expect them to visit every other year (which is only fair) but can make the point of putting up a few lights less important. In spite of all that, as soon as December the 1st arrives, I start the ritual of putting up my Christmas decorations and lights.
But, for some, it is something not to bother about anymore. There are many who don’t celebrate and if that is because they follow another religion I understand. But for many older people, it is something that they used to do and I ask myself why they stopped. Is it because they have no one to put them up for, or perhaps it is that this aspect of Christmas preparation gets a little harder each year because of the dangers that reaching the ceiling present.
The need to have something to look forward to is all important at any time in our lives and I would argue that you can’t help but feel lifted if there is a Christmas tree twinkling in the corner of your home. So I call upon the friends that can reach to reach for themselves, and for a neighbour who is unable to. Reach out to their sons or daughters by reminding them of what a difference a few lights would make for a parent who is now alone, or invest in one of those little battery operated trees that come on and go off automatically, if you think it will brighten up someone’s Christmas a little.
If you usually spend it alone and you know a neighbour or two, who perhaps live down the road or in the same sheltered housing scheme, and who will be alone on the big day, why not get together for dinner. Planning who will bring what to the Christmas dinner table will provide something to look forward to.
JN, Ladywell
