I love comedian Carl Mullan's Instagram videos where 'Ireland is on the phone to...' He has a knack of tapping into the right subject matter at the right time.
This week, as the Christmas madness ramps up, Carl called in on 'stress', just to make sure that stress would be calling in over the next few weeks.
I can state with absolute certainty that I'll have a stress head on me at some point over the next few weeks.
I spend the weeks in the run up to Christmas getting work finished up, getting the extra treats in, trying to avoid madness of any description in shops and bars, and having 'all red up' so that I can enjoy the time off I have with family and friends.
I just about manage it every year. It's as if Christmas sneaks up on me out of nowhere. No matter what I do, I never seem to be organised for it. If anyone can tell me how to get through December unstressed, I'm all ears.
I feel incredibly selfish to be focused on balancing home and work life in December, particularly when I look at people who are raising money for others, helping out in their communities and making life more comfortable for those in need.
It might be 'the most wonderful time of the year' for some, but for many others this is the time of year when hardship reaches melting point. Enter the community champions who are playing a blinder, because that's just what they do.
Nowhere is community effort more evident than in Pomeroy. Each year for the past 15 years, Pomeroy forest has become Santa's Magical Forest in the lead up to Christmas. (It was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic).
One of my best friends told me about it years ago. I promptly booked tickets for my niece and nephew the year after and they loved it.
Last weekend, I took my daughter there for the first time and it blew her mind. She and her cousin were awestruck by the train which takes visitors to the forest, by the elves in the post office, Franz the mechanic who was fixing Santa's sleigh, the elves in the work shop, the naughty snow men, the lights in the forest, and meeting Santa and Mrs Claus.
One hundred people from the local community volunteer to make this happen each year – they assume their roles and put on a convincing display. One of the cheeky elves hilariously asked us if anyone on the train was from Galbally. Parochialism never gets old.
All profits go back into the community and unsurprisingly, the tickets sell out like hot cakes... in September. It's a credit to all involved. (For once, I was organised and set an alarm in order to get tickets.)
Then on my radio show I have talked to people from all over who have been community workers for years. It's second nature to them.
From providing meals for local people, to creating buzzing community hubs that give people purpose to putting on a Santa experience in the local community centre at an affordable price, to helping new mothers who can't afford the essentials for their babies, I have had the pleasure to talk to so many people about the really important, sometimes thankless work they do.
The cost-of-living crisis is affecting us all, there is no doubt about that, but just like the Covid-19 pandemic, as we face into the storm, not all of us are in the same boat. Some have a chartered yacht, while others are in a dinghy that will capsize in the first gust of wind.
Christmas is a magical time. It's great to see the city centre buzzing in the build up as so many people are relishing the chance to properly enjoy the company of others for the first time in three years.
It's also a time of year when one small gesture can go a long way to making a difference to someone in need. That one small gesture is a challenge I'll be setting myself over the next couple of weeks, as I embrace the Christmas spirit, but try not to get carried away in the madness of it all.
