For some people, the festive season can be very lonely. Those who have been recently bereaved, or live far from their family, sometimes have rather bleak Christmases, as they don’t want to intrude on other people’s ‘family time.’
When you are planning your gatherings this Christmas, take a moment to think of friends or neighbours who may be spending extended periods on their own. Can you invite them along as well? For parents of young children, the mess and fuss of their little cherubs at large gatherings can be rather tiresome, but for elderly people or those without children, it can be a refreshing change!
Even if you aren’t hosting Christmas this year, perhaps you could drop off a care parcel to someone on their own, or suggest to children on holiday that they could go and visit an elderly friend or relative in a rest home. They could take a pack of cards, a board game or some pens and paper and keep them company for a couple of hours.
Life is very busy at this time of year for many people. It is easy to ‘not have enough time’ to fit in visits or extra guests, but it is an extremely kind thing to do if you can find the time. Just as it is often more fun to give presents than receive them, so too can it be more fun to enrich someone else’s life with time and love.
Stephanie - 10 years ago
My mother would never wish to see anybody on their own at Christmas. If she found anyone in that situation she would of course invite them.My sister,Judith, is the same.You never know for how many she’ll be catering from one year to the next.