Just Say No to the Hollywood Holiday
Christmas day. The nuclear faux family sits by the exquisitely-decorated tree, expressing delight and happiness over what gifts have been unwrapped. The well behaved children play quietly with their toys. The dad gazes into the mother’s eyes with love and adoration. Everyone’s clothing is coordinated. There are no wrinkles, muffin tops, beer guts, or rogue nose hairs. It is a beautiful moment.
Except that this moment, which is heavily featured on television and in magazines, is nothing like most people’s life. Because in real life the children have awakened at an ungodly hour, ripped through the presents and one toy is already broken. The sleep-deprived parents are still fighting over the snippy comment dad made the night before while trying to put together the bike for junior. There’s a mountain of laundry unwashed so one kid is wearing swimtrunks; another is sporting an old dance recital costume. And oh great, the baby just threw up on himself and now the dog is “cleaning up” the mess.
I don’t know why ad execs and Hollywood types set these sort of scenes. But these images always irritate me. Families come in all shapes and sizes. Not every adult is a parent. Not every parent is coupled. Not every couple is happy. Not every child is physically perfect, nor issue-free. And not every family celebrates Christmas. Heck, not every family can afford a Christmas.
This time of year, it is easy to get caught up in the quest to give our loved ones the “perfect Christmas.” It is easy to visualize what the perfect holiday “should” look like, especially when we see it plastered all over our television screens and in magazines. – - -
This post was written by Lisa Bertrand of St. Louis Family Life. You can read the rest of the post here.
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