THINK OF OTHERS
Polly Arrowsmith (55) is a CEO from London who had ver y difficult and unhappy times at Christmas as a child and now makes sure others have a happy time, no matter how challenging their lives may be.
“My mum was a Sami – a reindeer herder – and lived 400km into the Arctic Circle. My first name is traditional English and my middle name is Annika, which is Finnish. Some of my family run cabins, hotels, huskies, or snowmobile tours and some of my family still herd reindeer, so Christmas is big par t of life for my family. However, I had horrible Christmases as a child and then as an adult.
“Sadly, my mum was an alcoholic until I was 14, and it was a pressurised time of year as we celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – as well as my parent’s wedding anniversar y on Boxing Day. When I was 7, Mum went back to Lapland and missed Christmas and my sister and I were driven from Aberdeen to Cardiff to spend Christmas with another family. Their four children spent two hours opening presents and we got a half-pound box of Milk Tray. It really felt like it was they had taken pity on us. I got really ill and had to travel back with a severe ear infection and the feeling of being without and missing what ever yone else had really stuck with me. It also meant I knew these happy family versions of Christmas that we saw ever ywhere were certainly not true for us.
“As an adult I didn’t star t enjoying Christmas until about 12 years ago, when I star ted giving away presents anonymously to the people forgotten about at Christmas. These are OAPs, residents at St Mungo’s charity, sex workers, women at refuges, and so on. I call it, ‘Someone Gives a Damn,’ which is what I had needed, both as a child and an adult.
“I’ve given away at least 2,500 presents that are all branded goods with a handful of chocolates, beautifully wrapped in cellophane bags with curled ribbons. Age helps me realise that Christmas is just another day. Most people’s Christmases are stressful, so we place less emphasis on the day and enjoy pantomimes, carols, and meals with friends in the lead-up.