But we have so much to be thankful for!
Here I am, currently sat listening to the latest Coronavirus briefing about what is happening right now. We now have 1 in 85 people testing positive (not counting care homes and hospitals etc.) That is quite a lot isn't it?! My youngest daughter was sent home from her school on Monday along with her school bubble due to someone testing positive. I have to admit, that really flagged up how close to home it is still.
But I refuse to let that spoil our build up to Christmas this year. That doesn't mean we will start acting irresponsible and doing whatever we like and not sticking to the rules. It just means that I will do everything I can to make this time as 'normal' as possible for my children.
It is never going to be easy not seeing family over Christmas and it is the time of year that brings us all close when we perhaps go months without seeing various family members. But I am one of the lucky ones. I live with my husband and 2 beautiful children and spending Christmas with those 3 will mean everything to me. We have FaceTime for everyone else. We are all blessed in this day and age that we can always video call family and stay in touch. I almost feel guilty when I think about the people who won't be so lucky this Christmas. The elderly who live alone and have no family near enough to form a support bubble with. The families that have lost family members and won't feel much like celebrating this year. The NHS workers who will be continuing to provide health care all over the Christmas period and the staff who may not even be able to spend time with their own family for fear of passing on illnesses if working in COVID wards. The families that are struggling financially this year due to businesses closing or losing their jobs. And so, so many more!
So what can we do to stay grateful and make it a good one?
Well, you could start by doing what we have done in our family and decorate your home early for Christmas to get in the festive spirit! I know it's not for everyone but it definitely cheered up my girls at the weekend. We put the Christmas music on and spent a good couple of hours decorating our tree and living room. The poor things have had hardly any excitement this year as we chose to not visit many public spaces apart from outdoor activities so this was definitely a bit of excitement for them. I even bought a decoration for our tree as a keepsake to mark this year of craziness.
You could do some online Christmas shopping. I know some people like the hustle and bustle of traipsing the streets looking for all the cutesy Christmas gifts but I'll be honest, for the last couple of years, I have enjoyed shopping online with a glass of Baileys in my hand and a mince pie! That can't be that bad, can it?!
You can still find plenty of bargains. And don't forget the small businesses and businesses that are local to you. They need your help more than ever this year. I will definitely be supporting mine.
How about making your own gifts? Things that don't cost a lot of money and may mean so much more to people to know that you went to that extra effort. You could print off some photos and post them (not necessarily in frames, maybe just the prints.) Family LOVE photos to update their frames each year. You could make jam! Buy some cheap jars from amazon or eBay and find a nice jam recipe online. Package them up with a little ribbon and a jam label and voila! Or how about some homemade cakes or biscuits? There are some amazing recipes online and the ingredients never cost too much. It's another activity that you can get the kids involved with, too!
How about some Christmas crafts with the kiddos? Get the coloured paper out, some glue, get yourself some sequins and glitter (my husband HATES glitter, he calls it devil dust ha-ha) and make some pictures or cards to either put up at home or send to loved ones. These are the little things that children remember. Every year my girls will say "remember when we made this or that last year, Mommy?" and I am always surprised that they've remembered it. I would suggest doing these things sooner rather than later though as I expect the postal services will be mega busy on the run up to Christmas, especially this year with lockdowns and tier systems in place.
Ok, so the next thing I thought about this year is games! Who doesn't love a family game and who doesn't love playing games at CHRISTMAS?!!! I have the fondest memories of playing games with my family at Christmas time. We would always play a new game that my brother or I had had as a gift that year or we would enjoy a game of monopoly or cluedo. They were my faves. I also remember playing bingo almost every Boxing Day at my grandparents house with the whole extended family.
We have started to play more games in our house now the girls are a little older. We bought Jumanji last year and also Guess Who - love that game! But at Halloween this year I looked up cheapy games on Amazon and it's literally full of fun, inexpensive games! I have ordered more but the Christmas versions too like, Christmas Bingo, stick the nose on Rudolph, toss the antlers on the reindeer etc. There's LOADS!!! and the kids LOVE THEM! Get yourself on Amazon and have a look what there is under 'Christmas games.'
MOVIES... Is there a single soul in the universe who doesn't enjoy cuddling up on the sofa as a family, putting on a Christmas movie and chomping on some yummy treats with a hot chocolate???? I have yet to meet such a person but I know that this is one of my absolute favourite things to do over the Christmas hols. Well, it doesn't have to be a Christmas film as there are literally hundreds of family films to watch so I thought I would list some of our favourites:
- Elf
- The Grinch (both versions)
- Home Alone 1 &2
- The Christmas Chronicles
- Nativity
- Over the Moon
- Matilda
- Ugly Dolls (this is one of my personal faves)
- Frozen 1 & 2
- Boss Baby
- Madeline
- Annie
As nobody knows how the end of the year is going to pan out, we have to stay positive so as not to spoil the magic. Yes, it's disappointing that the kids may not be able to visit Santa this year or experience the magic at an event but we have to remember one thing... they have us. And that is all they ever actually NEED at Christmas time. It's not about the presents, it's about our PRESENCE. This year will be a Christmas to remember for sure as the one year that was different to all the others but it's down to us to keep it as special as we can, no matter what happens going forward. As long as we have our health and family (in person or via video) that is our wealth...
And it always will be!
