“She was new in town and didn’t have any friends, until she decided to trust a handsome stranger —Hallmark movies and true crime podcasts.”
~ Jennifer McAuliffe
By the time you’re reading this week’s column you’ll probably be wearing your stretchy pants and contemplating another round of leftovers. Congratulations! You made it! Hopefully there was a shortage of drama and an abundance of laughter, thoughtful discussions and happy memories made. If not, if this was a rough one for some reason — the first holiday without a loved one, the first holiday where your adult kid has to work instead of helping you make the stuffing, the first holiday divvied up between in-laws, the first one you’ve spent sick or alone, or one where the weather fouled up your travel plans — I’m sorry. It hurts.
I think we’ve evolved enough as a society to acknowledge that “the most wonderful time of the year” can also be poignantly bittersweet and a little disappointing in the best of times, and lonely, painful and demoralizing in the worst of times. For many, “the holidays” loom like an emotional version of one of those extreme sports obstacle courses, complete with the climbing wall of party obligations, the electrified pool of family opinions, and a rope swing over a mud pit of grief and sorrow. Sounds fun, right?
What it sounds like is the plot for a Hallmark Christmas movie. And why are those so enormously popular? Because they’re relatable (and because we’re all suckers for a happy ending.)
How do we apply that Hallmark trope to our own holiday spectre? Think like a writer and craft your own story.
Above all, don’t take it seriously. have you noticed how the characters who take everything too seriously are the ones who end up ridiculed?
Hallmark movies are by no means critically acclaimed dramatic presentations. Nor should they be. They’re an attitude, an approach to the holiday season we can adopt. Things are guaranteed to go awry. It’s not the end of the world, it’s a plot twist.
At the end of every Hallmark movie the lesson learned is that the values we hold most dear are what makes the season matter: kindness, generosity, community, friendship, connection, and graciousness. Those things are an attitude, and your attitude is your choice.