“It doesn’t feel like we’re thousands of miles apart”
Kay Wallace, 65, and husband David, 79, from Nottingham, will celebrate with children, Gemma, 35, Sarah, 34, and Rob, 31 – thanks to technology
B
eing such a close family, Christmas has always been a special time of year for us. Ever since the children were little, we have followed the same tradition – on Christmas Eve we’d have a family
meal followed by Midnight Mass. The next morning we’d open our presents then take a roast dinner round to a local elderly person or couple who were having to spend the day alone – a sort of festive meals-on-wheels if you like. We felt it was important to teach our children that this is the season to think of others. Then it was all back home for the Queen’s speech, dinner, drinks and games. We kept up the same routine for many years until our eldest daughter, Gemma, and her husband, Andy, moved to Adelaide in Australia in 2005. We missed them all year but felt their absence most keenly each Christmas. In 2009, David and I were over the moon when Gemma and Andy’s little girl, our first grandchild, Ella May was
born. That year they came back to Britain and we were able to celebrate Ella’s first Christmas all together. It was extremely hard to say goodbye to them again,
but Gemma showed me how to use Skype, which allows us to make video calls through our computers for free. It was a revelation! It was so much better than talking on the telephone. I even watched Ella climb out of her cot for the first time – a memory I’ll always treasure. Now when Christmas comes around we have a new
tradition. We all gather round the computer to chat on Christmas Eve and then again on Christmas morning so we can open our presents together. I really enjoy seeing Ella’s delight as she opens her new books and plays with her toys. For us, Skype has been such a wonderful invention and has allowed us to have the best family Christmas we can, even though we live on completely different sides of the world.