FROM THE EDITOR

If all the adverts on the telly and displays at shopping malls are to be believed, right now should be the happiest time of the whole year.

Apparently, we should all be gathered around the fireplace with our big loving families, exchanging expensive gifts, eating elaborate meals and feeling oh-so-grateful, but looking completely stress-free.

Well, apart from this crazy cold snap that has meant the heating is back on, for the majority of Kiwis our Christmas realities have little in common with those festive fairy tales.

For many New Zealanders, it’s a time of stress. There are financial worries or family feuds to deal with, or there have been big life changes over the last few years – divorces, separations or the death of a loved one – that become all the more confronting at this time of year. And for others, who are already feeling alone and isolated, every Christmas carol can make them feel that loneliness more keenly.

I don’t want to be the Christmas Grinch here – it can be such a magical time and this issue we again have great festive meal and gift ideas – but I do want us all to think about the time of year a little differently, and with some more compassion for others and for ourselves.

So in the magazine this week, we kick off a series examining loneliness at Christmas. Over the next three weeks, we’ll look at ways you can use this time to really reconnect or look past all that over-the-top festive frou frou and concentrate on what’s really important – and what you can do to make it an easier, less stressful and compassionate time of year for everyone around you.

Enjoy your week!