It’s the little things that make the magic
Gemma got the best Christmas present of all this year - back home in Cornafean with family and friends for Christmas...
I love Christmas. People say, as you get older, it isn’t the same but for me, it is what you make it.
In the run up to December 25, I didn’t stress at all. Getting home from Belgium was my priority, after that I didn’t really care. The main thing that stresses me out at this time of year is gifts. No doubt everybody in the country can pitch in on that one, I find it so hard to know what to get people. I am a massive fan of giving people an experience as a gift too, for example tickets to a concert, a trip, or even just going for a meal. To me it’s more thoughtful and will be remembered, rather than a gift, which will be placed among several others. The last line applies particularly to children, I’m sure there are plenty of houses across the country just overflowing with toys at the minute. My best friend has a little girl and I still feel that, by moving abroad, I am missing out on her life. Each time I come home, she has changed. She is edging ever closer to being as tall as my hip. Her hair, which hasn’t yet decided if it will be brown or blonde, now has a curl in the end of it. When I arrived home and visited, she was able to tell me what each animal said, and also what her bum does, which sent her into shrieks of laughter. She is so friendly, her little personality is developing rapidly.
I decided to buy tickets for the three of us to go to Wonderlights at Malahide Castle. I loved every minute of it, from the drive up to the light show itself to arriving home. There were kids, prams and parents everywhere, everybody was in awe of the light show. We each had time slots and set out in groups with other people as soon as dusk set in. It was amazing but there was just one particular grinch that seemed determined to find fault in something. Booking and going to the show, I was expecting that there would be a lot of kids and rightly so. This person seemed extremely irritated at the kids who were squealing with excitement and voiced her thoughts loudly. As much as we (and probably everybody else) tried to avoid her, she popped up many times during the walk around the gardens. There’s always one!
Other than the grinch, the light show really was magical –a dusky forest setting, the castle and so much to take in. It finally set in - Christmas was near.
The scenes I witnessed on Friday in Cavan confirmed that Christmas day was approaching. The only reason I went near the town was to get my eyes tested before I went back to Belgium. I know I could do it over there, but these things are so much easier at home. The staff in Specsavers are amazing, patient as ever as I tried on several different pairs, chatting about Christmas, moving house, kids, Santa, travelling, everything and anything. It’s this sort of thing that you don’t get abroad. I got sorted, wished everybody a happy Christmas and left.
The town was jammed, horns beeping, cars in traffic and people running everywhere. If only the town’s energy supply could be replaced with stress and adrenaline, we surely wouldn’t be in the midst of an energy crisis, maybe a different one.
Christmas eve nearly sent me back to Belgium. I believe everybody needs to experience a certain amount of stress, it applies a little pressure and helps to get a task completed. I don’t think anticipation for Christmas day should fall under this category, so why all the fuss? For most of us, it is spent with friends and family - people close to us. I’m not naïve enough to think that all families are filled with hearts and flowers, but what difference does Christmas day make to this?
If it is what you make it, make it enjoyable. On Christmas day, I decided to go to Killykeen for a walk. I love it there. It seems as though a lot of people had the same idea. The atmosphere was amazing, I met some people I haven’t seen in years. Strangers wished each other a happy Christmas as they walked past, kids rode brand new bicycles and scooters, which Santa had left under the tree.
I later sat down at the table with my family for the first time in months. It felt like an ordinary day, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
For me this is Christmas, the little things that make it special. I do hope everybody enjoyed the day, but also the days before, after and the ones yet to come. Wishing everybody all the best for 2023.
* Gemma Good is from Killeshandra and a third year journalism student in University of Limerick
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Coming home to Cornafean and Cavan for Christmas