Some Black LGBTQ+ folk, like Shane*, will be spending Christmas with family that they have not been able to come out to in any capacity. "My Jamaican parents are homophobic and transphobic among other things," they say. "I find Xmas hard in particular because it’s supposed to be this time where you’re around family, celebrating going into the new year and counting blessings but there’s always tension when we’re all in the same room together – we don’t know what to talk about." It’s even harder seeing presents and cards for them that are marked with the wrong name. "It’s bad enough that my non-binary identity gets invalidated by them every day but it really stings when you read 'daughter'. I wish I could sleep through it and [wake up in] January." Shane credits their chosen family with keeping them sane and alive throughout this period in their life. "I think I wouldn’t be here without them; they’re more like a family than my biological one."