Yes it's that time again; Christmas is just around the corner. We are bombarded with happy images of huge families around a fire or dinner table, with smiles all around.
Everyone seems to be having a great time. I mean why wouldn't the media portray this image? It helps sell whatever product they are marketing this Christmas.
However this image of the perfect family life is far from the norm for many and all these airbrushed images do is highlight what they lack at this festive time.
The face of the family is changing within society, so the media needs to take account of this. People can feel they lack something, that their Christmas can't be perfect because they won't have the big family gathering, but that's not true.
They feel under stress to provide this great day, to be surrounded by people and have everything running smoothly; even if that means driving themselves crazy in the weeks before to organise everything.
That's not what Christmas is about. In Ireland alone a recent report showed that 1 in every 4 children are raised in a one parent families, and I am sure this is not that different in the UK.
What this means is that this perfect image simply doesn't exist, and people shouldn't feel bad that they don't have this, because what they do have can bring happiness in most cases.
It shouldn't be about all the latest toys, or the "perfect family" situation, but the sad truth is that with the help of the media that is what it has become.
Christmas is a time of celebrating what you have, not becoming upset or feeling lonely. Celebrate how you want and with whom you want. Don't worry about what you see on T.V - chances are the people broadcasting these images have a situation nowhere near as good as what they try to portray.
If things do get too much this Christmas though just turn on the Christmas Day episode of Eastenders and remind yourself it could all be SO much worse!!!
About this article
This article was written by Nicole Lynch from our Foyle newsroom. It was published on the Reach for the Sky website.
