Christmas is a lovely time for a lot of children and families. I always loved Christmas when I was little. I was an only child so sometimes it was lonely with all the adults, but I got spoiled rotten and I loved the whole Christmas atmosphere …
We’d get up early on Christmas morning, open our presents then set off to church for the Christmas service. We’d always go to my Nan and Grandad’s house for Christmas dinner with my other Nan and my Uncle joining us too.
“I come from a very small family so it wasn’t a huge affair, but it was always amazing!”
Nowadays, it’s quite different. My grandparents are no longer with us and neither are my parents; I lost both my parents in 2012, within six weeks of each other. Dad died quite expectantly and Mum died of a broken heart soon after.
This was brought home to me a week or so ago. It would have been my Mum’s 80th Birthday on 4th December. As Mum and Dad were both avid church goers, I thought it a fitting tribute to visit their church on the Sunday closest to Mum’s birthday.
I hadn’t been back to the church since the funerals and what dawned on me while I was there was that I had never been to a church service there without them being present. I wasn’t quite prepared for this and almost expected to see them both there, Dad serving and Mum in the congregation. It was a lovely service and a great morning; everyone was so welcoming though it was still emotional to say the least.
It also got me thinking about all the people on their own at this time of year! I’m lucky I have my children and all three of them are with me for Christmas this year. Some people don’t have any family and the time over Christmas, not just Christmas day, can be very lonely. It can almost seem more lonesome when you think of all the families celebrating together around you.
So please do spare a thought for your neighbours and friends who may be on their own. As a business, Extra Help provides home help and domestic cleaning services, mainly to the elderly, but really, to anyone who needs it.
A lot of our clients are elderly and often on their own now, some have families and some don’t. We are very lucky that all of our wonderful home helpers are willing to go out on Christmas day and over the Christmas period to give our clients the help and support they need.
“People shouldn’t be alone at Christmas!”
If you’d like to know more about the services Extra Help provides or know someone who needs a helping hand, have a look at our website or give us a call on 0845 618 2904and let’s see how we can help.
Until next time …
CLAIRE ROBINSON
PS Why not visit www.extra-help.co.uk and find out more?