Has anyone altered their 2020 Christmas plans already?

[PersonaNonGarter]

It is our turn to host my family. They are easy guests but are all coming from quite far away so here for minimum two night more likely 3-4 nights stay. At least six people plus maybe a couple more on Christmas Day.

We’ve dealt with this before by getting out of the house: Boxing Day theatre, cinema tickets at least once during stay, sales shopping and so on. Can’t see this all being back on. Board games only work for so long.

I am now feeling the stress of planning Christmas against a backdrop of lockdown and social distancing. Will I spend £££ and stress about it and they’ll cancel/be forced to stay away anyway.

Anyone else grappling with similar? Are you planning exactly the same Christmas as before?

Is it just not being able to fill time with activities that worries you? There could be lots of walks!! And they are all adults so up to them!
But you could pre-empt by saying to people 'who knows what will happen, I think weneed to plan to be separated at Christmas this year' and then change nearer the time if its going to be possible.

We usually all go over to my parents and stay - me, dp, dbro, sil and 6 dc and step dc

I can’t see that happening this year and am going to tell my dds that it’s going to be xmas at our house with just our own little family.

Then if anything else happens it will be a bonus

Seems way too early to be talking about Christmas. It's 1 August!

We have been asked to go out for lunch with a relative, I'm not keen to do anything really least of all eat out. It'll be the first xmas since a death in the family.

I'm planning early in terms of presents as I'm worried about not getting DC presents sorted in time if another wave does arrive.

Trips out we usually do bowling Christmas Eve which is already booked and sometimes lunch out and tea at my parents.

Luckily this year I have DS12 who's only request is to have our annual cinema and pizza hut with friends visit and DS who will be 20 months so doesn't know what we would usually do so will play it by ear.

Hoping for a Christmas Train Ride at Tanfield if they run and a Santa visit at our local Children's Role Play place as it was lovely for little ones last year - so fingers crossed.

Christmas Day is just us usually with an hours visit from my parents to see DC as we have always said we prefer to be at home since having DC

@LesLavandes

Seems way too early to be talking about Christmas. It's 1 August!

I always think of Christmas immediately after summer hols tbh, so this is only a little earlier and in part is because covid are my summer!

We’ve already said we won’t be doing Santa visits or any of the usual outings in the lead up this year.

There are usually 15 of us for Christmas Day, I can’t see that happening. I’m hoping we will be allowed to see one household and we will just have Christmas with my parents. My brother’s have in laws they can see. Otherwise it will be a rubbish day on our own trying to eat Christmas dinner off our laps.

We don't have any family/friends so it's always just me, DH and DD for Christmas. It usually makes me feel a bit glum that we've nobody to share Christmas with but this year I'm actually glad that I don't have to worry about not having loved ones who I (possibly) won't be able to see - my heart goes out to those in that position. It must be awful and I hope that it doesn't come to that.

Our plans have altered inasmuch as we won't be able to do lots of the things we usually do - so no carol services or theatre trips (the theatre we go to at Christmas emailed yesterday to say they're not opening until at least March next year, and their Christmas programme is postponed until Christmas 2021). Also there's the possibility that we won't be able to do our usual meals/drinks out stuff. And if there's a second lockdown Christmas shopping will have to be done entirely online, which will be strange. The lights switch-on and Christmas markets here have already been cancelled, too.

I predict a very quiet, home-centric Christmas without many bells and whistles - a bit like the ones I remember from my 70s/80s childhood. There's not even going to be the usual raft of Christmas TV given production was halted, so we'll probably be getting lots of TV repeats from then too! I don't mind, classic Christmas TV is the best.

I suppose the most frustrating thing is that we can't plan anything with any certainty, so none of us can now exactly if or how our plans will change!

We're usually booking flights in Aug for Xmas so we're thinking about it too. It's a long train to the ILs and a plane ride to my folks.

We haven't seen either since before lockdown but all are high risk health-wise. I'm not sure it's okay to go on public transport and then meet up with them. Plus we have a toddler who will lick everything en route and then blow raspberries in everyone's faces.

We usually go to my mums for Xmas Dinner but its been scrapped this year and everyone is doing their own thing. It'll be strange but I'm actually looking forward to it!

We're usually invited to Mum's for lunch and it's my middle sister's turn to host a small tea we also do on Christmas day so it's not all left to Mum. All in the one town.

I'll make sure our fridge and freezer are well stocked and will have a large chicken in and the trimmings to be able to do our own Christmas dinner if we aren't in a position for 3 households to mix indoors at that point. We usually make our own dinner a few days later exactly how we like it rather than what Mum prefers to serve, so it won't go to waste. A few nibbles and treats in the freezer.

Panto is already cancelled and as that's a family evening out and I usually buy the tickets for everyone as a gift, i'm going to have to buy actual presents for people beyond the token thing to open I usually get.

We may have to drop presents at Mum's and MIL's rather than go round and have a cuppa and open gifts together.

Pretty sure the school Christmas carol concert is already a no, so that's one less stress for me to write and prep the thing with 200 kids. :)
Otherwise it's business as usual as we don't get up to much at Christmas time.

I think this will be the final death knell for Christmas in our house. No DCs (not by choice) and Christmas is the one time we feel really sad about it. We quite often go away. MIL doesn't enjoy it either but quite likes coming to us as it's pretty low-key whereas DSIL makes a fabulous day of it (which I love personally but DH and MIL find it a bit forced).

We won't even be able to risk a tree as we have two psycho kittens

So in view of not mixing too many households I suspect it will be DH, MIL and me. Won't even be able to have a drink as MIL has (rightly) given up her car this year. DH has never driven.

Sigh.