Help- do I cancel christmas lunch!?

[Sarah202023]

I am hosting for 12 people for Christmas lunch tomorrow...but my husband has just this evening come down with norovirus. What do I do!? If I cancel, whoch given the the time id have to do on christmas morning, no one will have their own christmas lunch. But I don't want everyone to get sick... help!

Can you send out a plea for someone else to take over hosting if you provide all the food? You've bought it anyway. I'm sure someone will step in as the hero. Blitz spirit and all that.

Once DH has stopped running to the loo you'll all look back and laugh! Maybe. 😉

I’d rather sit in my garden and eat the grass piece by piece than risk ever having norovirus again. I’ve had it once and truly felt like I was dying!

It's just gone through my household. Dc1 started early hours of one morning. My hands were sore with the washing/cleaning/bleaching I was doing. Dc2 started 5 days later, and I started with it a day after that. Its so awful. Cancel.

Loving all the things people would rather do than go to OP’s house for dinner (sorry OP)

Cancel. The chances of you having it tomorrow are extremely high.

I’d rather stick pins in my eyes than risk catching this virus.

Id inform everyone and state the virus.. one person was sick at a restaurant near me and the whole place had to be shut and deep cleaned as every person there that day caught it :( its a nasty one.

See if anyone else can last minute host and provide the food. Im sure (well hope) given its christmas and the situation one of the 12 could/would step in?

No I didn’t have it confirmed. I assumed it was noro as it was doing the rounds at school (teacher). Had vomiting and diarrhoea and a temperature of over 38. But it could have just been a regular stomach bug I guess. Definitely wasn’t food poisoning as we had all eaten the same home cooked meal (veggie pasta).
Maybe OP’s husband has a regular stomach bug and not noro?
Anyway, I feel for you all OP. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

Glad you're cancelling, OP. My family had norovirus a few years back. It swept through us swiftly, one by one. It was brutal and I remain fearful of ever catching it again. If I was one of your guests, I would stay well away from your house and I also wouldn't touch your food!

I hope, by some miracle, you don't catch it.

This is what I'd do.

Tough one! You need to tell your guests immediately. Choices are for you to cancel or give your guests a choice: to come at their own risk or to stay away? Can you have the lunch in someone else’s house and isolate hubby? I’m assuming you don’t have the virus. Cancelling might be the best and safest for all? What a bummer! Hope you still manage to still have a Happy Christmas!

Cancel. Absolutely cancel. Not worth the stress or risk of spreading illness.

I doubt that any of your guests have literally no food they can eat for tomorrow. And in that unlikely case, they can order a curry.

It is a shame but not your fault and not worth worrying about. No one will starve. Have a merry Xmas.

There's something very specific about the way you vomit when you have noro

When I have a normal stomach bug there's warning I'm going to vomit, I can even breath myself out of vomiting if it's mild

With norovirus the vomit is coming out and at some force and with no warning and there's literally no way to stop it

It's hard to explain but it's different to a "normal" stomach bug

Once had never forgotten and there's no way in hell I would voluntarily go for Christmas in someone's house if there was noro there or eat food coming out of that house

Freeze the turkey, cancel tomorrow but invite for NY day instead. I hope you don't go down with it OP. Text guests so they have a heads up.

Oh no you cooked it today and your DH has norovirus. I'd not want to risk eating it tbh.

Two options

1, You ask you guests to collect your food and host in their house.

2, You bung everything in the freezer and say you'll do Christmas lunch next weekend or NYD.

Good call to cancel and no one will want your food. What a shame. I remember the year noro ripped through our family. We were all ill for 2 weeks and really weak after. There's no way you want to spread it. How do you know its noro? Is it D&V? Stay well clear of him and use a separate bathroom if you can. Wipe down surfaces and use disinfectant spray. Good luck.

90% of stomach bugs are caused by strains of Norovirus- there are just lots of different strains so some are terrible and start with no warning and others start gradually and are less terrible but the majority are strains of Noro.

Sorry but erm you do know the virus is in the air to all the idiots saying keep him upstairs. It would be very very uncaring to have people around, one of the top most contagious, quickest spreading viruses we have. Your 3 options would be cancel, go to a family member and cook your food there or re-arrange it for new years

I'd give people the choice. I'm not too bothered about catching a stomach bug so would still go, my brother and family would too.

This is a good idea

Good luck!

(And I mean posting this on MN, not about catching the virus, though I confess I'm probaby with you and would still attend the lunch even if just to keep OP company!)

I caught norovirus on Christmas Day a few years ago from my SIL. She very cheerily told me she’d had it just before, but didn’t tell us, and she’d prepared some of the food. We were going skiing after NYE, and my daughter who was only 4 years old caught it after me and she was so dehydrated we nearly had to go to hospital. We spent the holiday with her being sick non-stop and we couldn’t leave the apartment. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Don’t risk it.

I’ve had noro twice and the last time in January it landed my toddler and myself in A&E getting IVs and anti-vomitting medication. We had both been unable to keep anything down for 3 days by that point and were tachycardic. It is not just a stomach bug, it can be very dangerous and my gut flora is still recovering nearly a year later!

I wouldn’t attend or eat anything from your home, sorry OP! I probably would skip visiting you at NYE in your home too as it can last on surfaces for weeks and regular cleaners don’t kill it! It is so contagious we caught it at a drs appt for my toddler, not even being around anyone for hours on end! My husband somehow dodged it but he was on a work trip the first 5 days we had it and I bleached EVERYTHING.

Sorry your Christmas is so terrible but honestly if you get unwell or make all your guests unwell it will be worse! Seperate from your DH as much as you can!! Quarantine him and give him some bleach! Make sure he’s getting enough salt and water and keep an eye on his heart rate.

Have you actually ever had noro then? Because having it come out both ends at the same time, needing to go into hospital for an IV and being so unwell I felt like I was dying and my child throwing up and pooping non stop and crying have made me not want to go near anyone with noro! It’s not a 24hr sickness bug, tho I wouldn’t want that either! Noro lasted 5 days for us and took weeks to feel ok again