Christmas means different things to everyone. For some it’s about spending time with family, for others it’s about a holiday, for others it’s about presents, for other’s it’s about celebrating the original story of Christmas. And for some, it may even be a time that reminds them of their loneliness.

When I was a kid, Christmas was 100% about the presents. As far as I was concerned, some dude in a red suit would travel the world and deliver presents to everyone. Cool. I didn’t really think too much about why he would do that, but thinking back on my childhood I can still clearly recall the butterflies of excitement in my stomach as I went to sleep on Christmas Eve.

Then as I grew older I started to feel more and more unformfortable with the commercial side of Christmas. I saw us as a nation spending billions of dollars on ourselves, in many cases buying trinkets for each other that we don’t really need. And I started to appreciate just spending time with my family, rather than appreciating the photo frame or car washing kit or whatever else they gave me that I didn’t really need.

Don’t get me wrong, presents are a great part of Christmas, and are a way of showing we love each other. But if I went down the shops now (5 days before Christmas), I know I’ll see a bunch of people in a grump, yelling at their kids and filling their trolleys with trinkets for people because that’s what you do. They’re sometimes buying a novelty beer glass or a joke book for uncle Bob not because they really want to, but because that’s what’s expected.

For me, Christmas is now all about celebrating with people. And what am I celebrating? Being alive, knowing each other, sharing life with one another, and remembering one of the most amazing events in the history of our planet, when it was spoken:

“Don’t be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy, that will be for all the people! Today, a saviour has been born to you”

Like I said at the start, Christmas means different things to everyone. But whatever it means to you, make sure you take the time to sit beside someone and be real. When you’re about to die, you won’t wish that you bought uncle Bob a better novelty beer glass or joke book, you’ll wish you’d made the most of that opportunity to sit beside him with a drink and experience life together.

Have a great one.