00:00Jumping into the festive season and shaking off the holiday blues, government data shows
00:09Australians are connecting less with one another, both online and in person, and Christmas
00:15can be an especially lonely time.
00:18In Darwin, the nation's smallest capital city, these mates are instead focusing on
00:23the chance to celebrate Friendsmas, a get together with chosen family marking the festive
00:29season.
00:30It's the people you meet in places that are fantastic, like Darwin, that you want to spend
00:35your time and eat good food and have a good few drinks, but yeah, it definitely helps with
00:42a lot of the maybe loneliness you feel at this time of year, living away from family and feeling
00:47maybe disconnected.
00:48I'd like to make it an annual tradition.
00:51My wife is very keen on setting it up most years and so is her very close friend Dana,
00:58so I just let them host and organise.
01:01That need to connect over the holidays continues from the smaller capital cities to Australia's
01:08largest.
01:09If you switch on the television, you're always being reminded that it's the festive joyful
01:15period, that people are coming together and there are so many people that are not in that
01:21situation.
01:22So it's a constant reminder that you are alone.
01:25In Sydney, an 800 strong army of volunteers prepare weekly meal services, helping combat
01:33loneliness and food insecurity.
01:35Regardless of whether there's 100 people here or 250 people here or whatever it is, it just
01:41fosters a sense of community and people sit on big tables next to each other and they
01:46talk to people who they probably wouldn't have talked to otherwise.
01:49Over in Perth, Christmas Lunch in the Park is serving up three course feasts for about
01:551,500 marginalised and lonely people.
01:58If you've got space for extras on Christmas Day, reach out to your friends that might be
02:03isolated, that might not have family close by.
02:05Invite them over.
02:06You'll have a fun time.
02:07The holidays may feel isolating, but it's important to remember you're not alone.
02:13Connecting with friends and the local community can help.
02:16I have a long time.
02:17Here's a
02:31story.
02:33I have a long time.
02:35What are the things that?
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