The plan, of course, doesn't work, but he discovers a sense of love inside himself that he'd never known before. Many of us are estranged from our families of origin, either through physical distance, childhood trauma, or through living a lifestyle our families don't understand. The media, our neighbors, even our friends, often portray the idea that everyone will be with people who love them, feed them and take care of them. The inner child in us longs for this kind of experience, which many of us never had. Usually this shame is not a conscious thought.
Many people react to it unconsciously.
Compulsive shopping, eating, drinking, working, and all the other compulsions and addictions reach their height at the holidays. There are usually attempts to soothe or erase the pain of the shame. The holidays are also a time of both conscious and unconscious grief. Lost loved ones are missed. Traumatic holidays are remembered.