Discussions

All the discussion around Christmas the past few days got me thinking that maybe if we shared our ideas about how a pandemic Christmas might look like, it will help others who are unsure how to approach it come up with ideas and inspiration of their own.  
 
What will your pandemic Christmas look like? I'll start.  
 
Our large extended family decided back at the beginning of October that Christmas was a no-go, so we collectively decided to draw names for kids as we always do (so cousins get one gift from an auntie/uncle/grandparent), and the auntie/uncle/grandparent etransfers the money to the parent. The parent then buys the gift and puts it under the tree for the child, from their aunt/uncle/grandparent.  
 
We've then agreed to all take lots of pictures of our Christmases at home and submit them all to me, and I'll make up a slide show for all of us showing our Christmas together, apart. We'll maybe have a Zoom visit too that day.  
 
For our other side of the family, the kids and I have been talking about doing a 12 Days of Christmas themed scavenger hunt for the cousins. We just came up with the idea today, so we're not sure quite how that will look like yet. I know my mom is busy baking care packages for my siblings and their families that live near her, so they don't miss any of their favourite treats.

Aside from 3 hours this summer, I haven’t seen my side of the family since last Christmas. As hard as it is, We have decided to skip Christmas this year as we all have jobs that depend on us and a few of us don’t have paid sick days if we were to get sick.  
 
My husbands side of the family is small but we are also skipping our Christmas with them and planning to celebrate in February, if things are better then.  
 
It is very depressing but we are trying to stay positive and will do something just the 2 of us. We will FaceTime friends and family. It won’t be a regular Christmas at all but hopefully these sacrifices will mean we get to see each other sooner rather than later

Personally, I don't find it disturbing nor depressing. It will be a relief for me to not have to say no to going anywhere this year and not to get hugs that I really don't want anyway. Now for those who are single, I can totally see an issue for some (maybe do something special for them), but really, the rest of us should not feel so slighted...my opinion only, of course.  
 
We will have very basic, inexpensive, practical gifts...a bit more so this year, and keep it simple with some of our usual decorations (the kids already put some up), and our usual family celebration meals in house. If it's nice, maybe a bonfire outside. Music can be played...and sung. It's okay.  
 
I think simplicity & creativity is very appropriate this year...really, any year. What is important after all? Stuff? Busyness? Shopping? Materialism is highly overrated...and expensive. You can communicate with family in a lot of ways nowadays. Gifts can still be sent away or directly to an alternative address if desired.  
 
Simplicity is key. Don't think of it as a hardship. It is actually a positive to focus on the good & not the ugly hate, negativity and prejudice that oozes all around us right now.  
 
I keep thinking of folks who loudly proclaim, are they going to cancel _____? First, halloween, now Christmas, next up, New Years then Easter. For those of other beliefs...their holidays too.  
 
I think...have these people ever watched "The Grinch"? Could taking the stuff away cancel their holiday? No. It went on anyway. It was in the attitude. It will come, and it will go. It is on the calendar. Nobody can really "cancel" it. Even if you are alone...it can't be cancelled.  
 
Make the best of what you've got. Be grateful for what you have. Be positive & look forward to experiencing something unique. Challenge yourself to make it more unique. You might really like your new ideas.  
 
It is just really not worth fretting over what is being missed. If that is what people choose to do, then they have essentially cancelled the holiday themselves.  
 
This thread about alternative ideas is a good one. I can't say that I have any ideas that might appeal to others except to maybe revisit old fashioned or uniquely themed ideas & activities that are acceptable. We will just go ahead with things that our immediate family will find interesting and appealing, just as we've always done.

I will be spending Christmas alone with family in another city and Province. We are not getting together either. So we are taking advantage of FaceTime or Skype on Christmas Day. Then having a fun discussion on our family thread on WhatsApp.  
I don’t mind being alone at Christmas so for anyone out there who is going to be alone here are some suggestions.  
Christmas is a special day. Make this special day about doing nice things for you. Plan a nice meal, get your favourite dessert, plan an activity or two like watching movies, reading a good book, going hiking, walking or whatever you enjoy doing. I saw a quote today that said solitude is about celebrating the richness of self! What better time to celebrate that than at Christmas.

I have to say, I am adoring WhatsApp. I just use it off my wifi (I don't have a data plan), which is fine because i"m always home lol. But we have a family thread and I have never communicated so much with my siblings, ever. And I'm able to share bits of my kids and our day like never before. It makes us feel not so far away.

At one point some family were on the other side of the globe It helped us keep in touch with each other. We have had a lot of laughs with posts. Sometimes we try to outdo each other. When our thread gets too quiet, I like to post a funny video about a topic related to something in the family.  
It is a nice way to keep in touch.

I worked up North for many years, and have spent many Christmases away from family, and many of those alone. And that was back in the day, before internet and Skype!  
As has already been stated, you need to decide that you are going to be fine with it, and have a plan. One Christmas I read a series of books. One year I made a queen sized quilt. One year, my now husband and I watched all the Rocky movies! Some years I just worked the whole time, which was fine too.

My aunt always puts together a meetup at my grandmothers care home, so that is a no go this year. But the staff have scheduled and coordinated video chat sessions available, so that is always an option.  
 
I don't know if I would call it an alternative Christmas idea, but I was thinking of doing a painting for my grandmother (which I would mail as my gift).

I totally agree with you....it’s depressing to me though because I’d love to be able to hug my family. Sure talking to them on FaceTime is good but nothing beats face to face. However, for some, I’m totally okay just doing FaceTime from here on out haha  
 
It’s not about missing the busyness or the material stuff at all...it’s about missing that family time. I think it would be easier to accept if I had been able to see them over the past year or at least know when I’d be able to see them in person next. It is what it is though and we’ll get through it! My husband and I are just planning on binging Xmas movies and eating nuts and bolts lol

My brother wants to try https://gather.town

I have to laugh everytime someone brings up ghe Grinch this year. Have any of you ever watched it? The whole point of it is that the gifts all don't matter if you're just living for yourself. The Whos all convince the Grinch to leave his isolation and come join hands around the tree while they gather in a town wide group to have a feast. Kind of the opposite of what we're allowed this year, haha! So please stop bringing up the Grinch. It's likely this year be cause we can't gather like all the "who's down in whoville" and celebrate being with friends and family (which is the truly wonderful thing about Christmas for most of us, and the whole point of the Grinch), we're going to end up buying more gifts and material things than ever to have a good Christmas!! Of course there are exceptions but I expect that will be the general rule!

I have watched it, many times. Lol  
 
I brought it up because people seem to not think about its full message. It is the first time I've brought it up & have thought about it since the first mention of halloween bring "cancelled". It hasn't been mentioned here either, but some selfish attitudes (not just on here) have shown that a reminder of goodness & positivity is in order. It doesn't have to be all gloom & doom, panic, fear & hate. The who's could have chosen that. They didn't. The story teller knew what he was saying.  
 
My point is that the holiday itself (like any other) cannot be cancelled. The Grinch serves as a perfect illustration and the people who will still meet virtually, in spite of restrictions (having "everything" taken away), support that. The other point is that nobody has to wallow in the "poor me, I don't get ____" selfish camp. Look at what you have that is good, don't focus on the stuff you can't have. What good does that do? The who's didn't and they chose to be happy...did you hear them sing?  
 
The normal festivities may be *altered*, but you *can* still meet virtually with your "who's", which the imaginary who's back then didn't have the option of doing, lol. No matter what happens, the holiday still exists. Meeting with other¹s virtually, so interaction, has not been stopped...the who's of today can still meet & celebrate & their attitudes can be positive. As mentioned above, many family members in times past have had to be separate...and had no quick way to make contact with any family.  
 
To buy more stuff because we can't meet physically seems odd to me, as it is a great opportunity to spend less & chat more (if one wishes), and focus on people rather than things. Notice that the who's didn't need to go get more stuff to compensate when they discovered that their stuff was gone.  
 
But then again, that's just my opinion and it is taking this thread somewhat off topic.  
 
There have been good suggestions here so far.

I'm kinda glad you brought that up. I hate that people are saying things are "cancelled". They're not. They're just different.  
 
Halloween was a great example. We did something different. You know what? We had a great time. The kids were happy, and it was actually less stressful overall. The adults in the house treated it like a grand adventure and sucked the kids in, we get to rewrite the rules so let's work together to reshape this to suit us! So we did. And it was wonderful.  
 
Maybe this idea that everything is "cancelled" and some people freaking out is a symptom of how not okay people are with themselves or their lives? Yes, you need to reach into yourself and dig deep (some deeper than other) to figure out what's important, what's essential to you, and how to reimagine those things. It's a level of introspection we're not really socialized for anymore (if we were ever?).

I will be keeping my eyes peeled for ideas. Some of my family and friends live in different provinces, some of them single living alone, and usually come out for the holidays. They greatly miss the company of other people.  
 
 
What I have thought of so far :  
 
1) I am printing out colouring pages of a ginger family and getting my daughter to colour them. Going to cut them out and attach a ribbon to the top like an ornament. We will send a family representing ours to everyone we normally see with our usual Christmas card saying “since we can’t see you this Christmas we made these people for you to hang out with instead”. If they want to hang these scraps of paper on the tree, they can.  
 
Here is the website for ginger people, families and couples.  
http://www.coloringcastle.com/gingerbread_man_coloring_pages.html  
 
2) I recently discovered this House Party app. I haven’t actually tried it out yet but it looks good.  
You can video chat and play different kinds of games together using the apps buttons:  
-trivia games (Harry Potter trivia, 90’s movies, animals, sports, movie villains,etc)  
-UNO  
-Heads Up (I thinks it’s different kinds of charades?)  
-Quick Draw (Kind of like Pictionary?)  
and quite a few more.  
 
So if Christmas looks like households only then we will book times to open presents together via online video and then book times to play games/video chat.  
 
Edited by Seana-T, 2020-11-25 22:39:02

Thanks for creating this post and great ideas!  
When you have a couple ideas of the logistics or ideas for making clues for the scavenger hunt I would love if you shared a few for inspiration.  
 
It makes me think of a Hallmark movie, “On the 12th Date of Christmas” where these two coworkers have to create clues to lead people to local sites/businesses and have the players snap selfies at those places when they’ve thought of the answer to the clue.  
 
(I don’t care if people judge me. The Hallmark movies bring such a lovely sense of nostalgia)  
#ProudHallmarkMovieWatcher  
 
Edited by Seana-T, 2020-11-25 22:31:21

Last year, I used Pinterest to look up a huge amount of Christmas-themed foods to make (think waffles in the shape of Christmas trees, etc). We had at least one fancy or fun Christmas delight every day for a week!! Plus we did lots of crafts—there are so many cute ones with cheap materials!

Any ideas for helping family members spending Christmas dinner alone who live far away?  
 
Zooming/Face time is great, but I can’t picture eating a meal and FaceTiming would go over well with all the noise feedback. I suspect setting only one plate for yourself would feel pretty grim for some. The only thing I can think of right now is putting a Christmas movie on at the same time and having solace knowing everyone is watching the same movie?  
 
Edited by Seana-T, 2020-11-25 23:08:18

I’m having Christmas dinner by myself this year. I’ll have music playing and if restrictions lift so I can have a nice Christmas plant on the table with me. I will have a nice glass of wine. I even dim the lights to make it a nice atmosphere. If I feel like it I may move supper to the couch and put on my fav Christmas movie while I eat.  
It’s all in how you think about it. While Christmas is a time to celebrate family and friends, it is also a time to celebrate self. Something we don’t do enough of.

I tried it last weekend. We had a blast! We were on there for 3 hours before you knew ut.  
 
Thanks for mentioning it here.  
 
P.s. I kick butt at drawing for the Pictionary game.

I got a 2000 piece puzzle for $10 contactless exchange on the local swap and shop! We will be working on that through Christmas!  
We have been going to Lake Adam and doing some shorter hikes since summer, but if the weather is good, we were thinking of a long loop on one of the days over Christmas or New Year's.  
I also plan to give home made gifts to my family for their birthdays in 2021, so will get started on the February birthday gift over Christmas.

Thanks for letting me know! I’m thinking this will definitely be happening for us on Christmas Day!  
 
I’ve looked it up for people who have older iPads and can’t get the app, there is an actual website for the app that you could pull up on a laptop. When you click download I assume you would click “Chrome” as in using it in Google Chrome?  
 
https://houseparty.com/  
 
Edited by Seana-T, 2020-12-10 11:44:34

Yes, I bought a 1000 piece Christmas-themed puzzle for us to work on.  
 
I'm hear lots of people are doing Christmas food deliveries!! People are swapping baked goodies via contactless delivery, and planning on cooking meals and dropping them off for family that they can't spent time with.  
 
It's been great to see so many houses decorated this year! It seems like it's more than usual - although this odd weather maybe plays into that???