Christmas is a wonderful time for all the family, especially so if you have young children in the household. The magic of the season of goodwill never really leaves us but for children it can be a truly wondrous time, when they’re surrounded by love and dreams really can come true!
For parent’s though it can be a very different story as we run around like headless chickens trying to make sure all the “magic” happens!
That’s why it’s really important to make sure that you take every opportunity to remind yourself that Christmas isn’t all about piles of gifts and fancy foods but about spending extra special time with your loved ones.
Every year on TV we see a roll out of Christmas advertising campaigns, some great, some not so…lots cleverly creating scenes of a perfect family Christmas.
This year though there is one campaign that has caught my eye as it really stands out from those that have gone before!
Sainsbury’s Christmas in a Day is a really ambitious project that sets out to document how real people like you and me prepare for and enjoy our Christmas in modern Britain. It’s directed by Kevin Macdonald and produced by Ridley Scott, and the result is a ‘no expense spared’ 45 minute film that is being released in cinemas around the UK before appearing in shorter bursts in other media such as TV ads and on the internet.
Kevin Macdonald is an Oscar winner whose film A Life In A Day used so called ‘crowd sourced’ footage and this new special festive film also takes the same approach. It’s been edited down and created from more than 360 total hours of pieces filmed by the public and submitted for inclusion. The subject matter of this film though, really sets it apart from the earlier work!
Macdonald explained:
“It was completely unlike any film that I had made before, and it really was an experiment in creating the opportunity to hear and see ordinary people share their lives, their loves and their fears.”
“While we were working on it (the previous film) we kept talking about what an “in a day” film might be like if we could just choose a particular day that was already significant to people, and thought it had to be Christmas, because it is the one time in the year when everyone steps back from ordinary life for a day and we get to stop and think about our lives in a way that we are all just too busy to during the rest of the year,” he explained.
The result is a series of really interesting vignettes that show private moments and give a unique insight into how other people go about their own Christmas experience. You can watch the video here. Perhaps there are scenes in it that you recognize from your own family experiences?
Your Snapshot To Remember?
Although Macdonald’s film is a wonderful snapshot of life at this most lovely time of year, the most important thing that comes across and to remember is that everyone is different and enjoys Christmas in their own special way.
If My Little 3 and Me had to capture some snapshots of our family Christmas they would definitely have to include some Christmas baking and Christmas crafting because they are strong family traditions, sometimes successful, sometimes disastrous lol! An absolute must inclusion would be footage of the children making chocolate tree baubles, because it’s so much fun, so tasty and something we all do together every year.
If you had to capture some snapshots of your family Christmas to contribute to a project like this what would you choose?
(In collaboration with Sainsburys)