So if Christmas is no mixing of households indoors

[RunBackwards]

What will you do?

We usually have the four of us (two young adult sons) my parents and my sister and her family (two teens). TBH as the children have got older it's been hard enough to make the day special/different to any other day but if it's just the four of us I can't see it being much different to today.

What do you have planned?

Will you comply with the no mixing of households. It's already in play here, although my sister is in another area where it's not. My parents are being very compliant, although my FB feed suggests most of people aren't.

No doubt whatever happens in the New Year will be due to the decisions made by the entire population - all I was suggesting was that people in the NHS are as likely to make ‘questionable’ decisions as the rest of us

If you’re right then it’s going to be a grim New Years for everyone then as NHS workers will be falling ill and self-isolating due to pretending the virus doesn’t exist on Christmas, leading to staff shortages.

I prefer to think your neighbour is a minority.

In the meantime it might be good for everyone to consider that there’s a cost to society for insisting on a multigenerational shared food party in the dead of winter during a pandemic.

My plan A is to spend Christmas with my family (dd7, DH and me) and my mum and her partner.
Plan B would be to spend it either with just my family or with the addition of my friend who is in our support bubble. (She is hoping to spend Xmas with her parents and siblings and I won’t judge her for whatever Her choice is).

I am lucky in that I live near my mum and MIL so we can go for a walk/glass of fizz in the park with them at a social distance if necessary.

I’m generally a rule follower so fairly certain I’ll stick to what we are allowed to do. My mum has always been a rule breaker though so she’s keen to press on with plan A regardless.

We're ignoring the rules. We'll have four households together total of 14 people. We're nearly all working from home anyhow so risk is tiny.

@wirldsgonemad

We're ignoring the rules. We'll have four households together total of 14 people. We're nearly all working from home anyhow so risk is tiny.

14 people????? You devil!!!

Those who are planning to ignore the rules, are you local to the other families you plan on visiting or hosting? How can one ignore the rules if their families are 200 miles away? I imagine there'll be police stopping people and issuing fines or sending back home if travel restrictions are in place

Personally we're waiting to hear what the rules will be and then will plan accordingly. It depends how strict they are as to whether we'll follow them, but I'm not usually comfortable breaking rules.

@GalaxyCookieCrumble

Do you think the Government will not see their loved ones or not mix houses over Christmas? No body tells me who I can have in my house, I am dam sick of the lot of them.

The rules are there to protect us. Your attitude is ridiculous, frankly.

I think we should have a staggered Christmas. If you are not religious why does it have to be celebrated 25 Dec? If it is important to have everyone together, do it in November.

Employers could help by allowing days off. Restaurants could offer discounts.

Staggered? Are you insane? Let’s just have a quiet Christmas this year, keep our heads down and follow the fucking rules.

We will be with my parents. They are retired, I'm a SAHM, DH is working from home. DD is in school so she has the most contacts but I'm happy with the level of risk that creates (ie. fecking tiny). They live round the corner so no travelling required. Them plus us makes six so we're within the RoolZ with that, but if it's no household mixing at that point they can just fuck off.

@FredtheFerret

I'll be ignoring the rules. I am - apparently - safe to mix with around 1,000 secondary aged children every day, without masks or social distancing. Roughly 150 different ones in a classroom each day. And that's fine.

I have 4 young adult DC who don't live at home. Each and every one of them is welcome to come here for Christmas Day if they are off work and feel like it. Along with their live in partners. If I'm safe at work I'm not refusing to spend Christmas with my family.

I'm with @FredtheFerret

I see 120 or so different students every week day. I'm not in the UK but 3 of my kids are. If they can't come here for Christmas, I'll be so sad. It's not looking super likely though as all Ryanair and EasyJet direct flights to near us have already been cancelled until March.

I have extended family members who were very vocal about lockdown being necessary in the run up to and throughout Eid to stop families mixing.

Those same people are now also insisting that they will have their usual Christmas meet ups regardless of what the Govt tell them.

The hypocrisy is palpable.

@Sertchgi123 There are many families for whom it might be the last one altogether, if you have elderly or terminally ill relatives. Maybe they'll just work it out on a case by case basis.

It's a realistic strategy. Save moaning in Jan about all the idiots.

Following the rules.

DSIS and her DP like Christmas on their own - plus they're a flight and a train away - TICK

DMIL and DH's family are a 5 hour drive-ferry-drive away and we do love them, but DMIL is mid 80's..healthy as a horse, but....... plus I'm not getting on a flight or a jam packed ferry any time soon, so there you go. My parents are dead and my Dad's side of the family are too big to get around. My Mum's ... let's just say I'd be better off posting on the Stately Homes thread about them.

Christmas at home vs home. M&S click and collect ordered for the 23rd. New jammies ordered for everyone and more new decorations planned. I'm actually really looking forward to it.

We created traditions when DD was 1. Spag bol for Christmas Eve dinner. New Jammies. Bucks Fizz (n/a) for breakfast with pancakes.

This year I think it will be plenty of Disney+ with a quick jaunt out to the park to SD with some friends and back for the Big Lunch.

Being outside/"normality" after so long at home is disturbing to me now. I had to be in town on Saturday - short train ride then power shop into two shops and I hated it.

My lovely home is officially my sanctuary.

[quote vizlsapup]@Sertchgi123 There are many families for whom it might be the last one altogether, if you have elderly or terminally ill relatives. Maybe they'll just work it out on a case by case basis.

It's a realistic strategy. Save moaning in Jan about all the idiots.[/quote]
Oh the irony!

@Dotinthecity

I think most people will, quite rightly, ignore the "rule of 6" and spend Christmas with their families as normal. It's rather sad to think that people will be so rigid/ blinkered in their thinking that they'll allow family members and friends to spend Christmas in their own.

I find this response so annoying , like whats the point of the whole rule of 6 at all , the point is to reduce the risk to spread to multiple people. Just in case u wasnt aware

This year we'll (family of 4) be spending Christmas in our own home.
We are tier 2 but even if we were tier 1 I'd be being extra careful this year.
My parents are vulnerable.

... those of you ignoring the rules, I hope you are not behind all the dangerous schools threads and mask police threads.

That would be hypocritical! 😉

I will be ignoring the rules at Christmas. I just don't care enough any more.

@kateandme

So Boris or any leader came out today to say "right tomorrow everyone go and mix with your family. ForGet everything go ahead." I hope youd think it was f** crazy. The virus doesn't know it's Christmas Day. you're basically just going ok let's spread it who cares. The virus doesn't have an inbuilt system that says ooh Its Christmas let's ease up for the day. I can't believe what Ive read on this thread. Also This risk assessment s*, it's not a risk assessment it's a virus it doesn't care about you risk assessment. It'll kill you if he wants to. And if everyone does what people on this thread are saying it will spread. So I ask again.if a government today came and said go out and do what you want would you? And if you would then I don't even know why I'm writing this. because you are the problem . and you're why the lockdown keeps going round and round.

I think this is a very good point and sums up it for me

I agree with Kateandme too. But I’ve worked in a café for three months, having lost my long term job to Covid, and I’ve seen how 75% of people will lie and scheme to get their own way and ignore rules. So I know people will be selfish at Xmas too. They’re probably the ones that clapped on their doorsteps every week for the NHS and consider themselves outstanding members of the community because they put a rainbow in their windows.

They’re probably the ones that clapped on their doorsteps every week for the NHS and consider themselves outstanding members of the community because they put a rainbow in their windows.

Nope, didn't do any of that virtue signalling bollocks.

What is guaranteed that we will all have a very shit and very restricted new year. Which will probably go on for some time. And could have probably been avoided had people bothered to be a bit more careful.

Sigh, do people still it get that the rules aren't about keeping individuals safe but reducing the spread overall?

I work in school and I am sick of hearing people justify breaking the rules along the lines of "If it's safe for me/my kids to be in school..."

The rules are there in the hope that we can reduce the spread enough to keep the schools and other crucial services going. Plus if you don't think you're "safe" at work why would you risk spreading it to all your relatives by deliberately having contact with them that you've been advised against?