Recently, I had to travel back home to be with my family due to a sudden and difficult situation. One of those moments that reminds you just how fragile everything can feel. Thankfully, things turned out okay and in the days that followed, I noticed how me and my family started our comforting rituals that help stitch everything back together again.
Every family has their own way of coping. For mine, our strength has always been in our ability to find humour in every moment, perhaps even when we shouldn’t. And, being honest, our love of food is definitely a big factor.
Once the initial adrenaline wore off and we found ourselves catching our breath again, it. It was what we gravitated towards to bring back a sense of comfort, joy, and normality. And that was our shared fandoms.
We debated which Star Wars film to watch (for the record, my heart belongs to Return of the Jedi, but Empire Strikes Back won the vote). We restarted the Marvel films from the very beginning and dusted off our Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit set - reminding ourselves that it’s probably about time to give them a re-watch too. And for my mum, we curled up to watch a bit of Emmerdale and Coronation Street, her long-standing TV companions.
None of this sounds particularly groundbreaking. In fact, it’s incredibly ordinary. But that’s exactly why it felt so comforting. In those everyday moments, we were able to nudge life back into something that felt familiar again.
And it made me deeply grateful, for my family of course, but also for the stories and characters that helped us reconnect and feel like ourselves again. These franchises might be global entertainment giants, but at their core, they create meaningful, emotional touch points for families. Something to debate. Something to rewatch. Something to bond over.
I don’t take that lightly. As someone who works in the kids and family space, it was a reminder of the quiet power of shared cultural connection — especially across age groups. Being a fan of something isn’t always about knowing every detail. Sometimes, it’s simply about connecting with the people you love over a shared story that brings you comfort. It’s about sitting on the sofa with your family and a giant bowl of crisps, watching The Avengers, and feeling that everything might just be okay.
