Is anyone else's Christmas not "ruined"?

[DumplingsAndStew]

Constantly reading about how Christmas will be awful due to restrictions on travel and numbers.

A few years ago, we started having Christmas alone at home, just me and the two kids. We take it easy, have a Christmas dinner and stay in pyjamas and just chill out. Its much more manageable for of us (additional needs).
In terms of activities leading up to Christmas, the main thing we do is go out looking at people's light displays, drink hot chocolate, watch movies etc.

But according to most people, our Christmas is awful and unimaginable to them. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Those of you with DC at university - haven't the Govt already announced a window in early December when students can travel home?

Nothing has changed for us tbh and our christmas is definitely not ruined. We prefer our own company and rarely host for Christmas, in the last 10 years I've only hosted once 🤷‍♀️ I actually can't imagine anything worse than cooking for a big group of people and have them all under my roof on xmas day. Bar visiting my DM who lives less then a minute walk away from me, we don't leave the house. We don't go to the pub, attend any parties or go out for meals over Christmas. A lot of my friends think my christmas is boring 😴 but I've always really enjoyed just spending the time with my little family and having a quiet christmas

I'm looking forward to it, less stress and demands, not feeling the pressure to arrange things or to go places.

I am secretly hoping lockdown remains in place. Around March time I start getting stressed about it because of family dynamics.. DH and his family are Christmas grinches but still expect to meet up, my dad loves Christmas and gets upset if I don't go to him ... DH refuses to host at ours because we did it one year and it stressed him out too much.

This year was going to be the worst as we now have a baby so our previous plan of splitting over Christmas and going to our respective families will no longer work. The one bright part of the pandemic is that we've been able to take the pressure off Christmas! DH's family have already cancelled Christmas, so if there is no lockdown we shall pop over to my dad's for lunch, otherwise we shall just stay at home with a lovely lunch for 3!

I find threads like this (and there have been numerous smug MN threads about how actually Christmas will be brilliant this year and they're really looking forward to a lovely cosy family Christmas) to be pretty tone deaf, and all the comments about "Christmas is what you make it" to be ignorant and obnoxious.

I'm facing spending Christmas completely alone and almost certainly with zero human contact since my entire family died.

Christmas is not "what you make of it" if your family has died. If your children have died. If your husband has died or is in hospital on a ventilator. If you've lost your home and your income due to COVID. If if might be your parents' last Christmas and you aren't allowed to visit them. If you have loved ones in hospital you're not allowed to visit. If you're reliant on food banks. If you're terrified because your entire industry has been gutted at a stroke.

If all your loved ones/immediate family live under the same roof, are all in good health, and you have enough money to be able to spend on food and presents without worrying about it, then you are extremely privileged. The "I'm alright Jack" mentality is all that's wrong with this country.

Whining that less fortunate people saying "Christmas is ruined" make you feel bad/shamed is just weirdly defensive and self-centred. Not everything is about you! Plenty of people are sad, angry, grieving, upset, devastated, etc.

They aren't being sad AT you.

We've resigned ourselves to the fact it'll be a quiet one this year and I'll be seeing my Dad at some point regardless of the rules as he lives alone and I don't like the idea of him being on his own at Christmas. I know Mum will be sad if she can't see her grandchildren though.

Not ruined here, we always stay at home without visitors (through choice). I'll miss the build up, Christmas markets, theatre, Christmas attractions etc

I'm sorry you are going through a tough time @PizzzaExpressWoking . I no longer have my parents around and miss them very much.
Christmas is often crappy for lots of people in normal times.
Not sure what, if anything to suggest. Hope you find a way to make it tolerable.

Same here but a bit sad about it.

4 years ago I had 7 adults and 2 kids in the house for Christmas. I complained about it at the time but it's amazing how quickly we've lost the family (mix of dementia, family fall out and emigration). Now we'll be just 4 of us and whilst it's lovely it's a bit sad that this is it now.

Christmas day itself is no ruined- I prefer the day itself to just be us.

It won't be the restrictions which prevent us from seeing people but COVID itself - I don't want to risk spreading the virus to elderly and unwell relatives so won't get to see them regardless.

Mine isn't. It's only ever me, my 2 children, my parents and my brother on Xmas day so that will still go ahead. Rest of the family (step dad's side) come to my parents' house on Boxing Day so not sure what will happen this year but they are getting fed up of doing it every year anyway so a break from it would probably be welcomed by them!

I always felt jealous seeing big family Christmas dinners with siblings and parents, lots of children etc but this year I am so grateful I only have a small family.

I am gutted there is no Santa visits etc as this year is probably the last year I'll get with my eldest believing (that's if she even still does I think she may be pretending) and it's the first year my youngest has a bit of understanding.

Other than that my Christmas won't be much more different than usual. I do appreciate I am lucky with this.

It won't be our normal Christmas - we always travel to Ireland to spend it with my parents and grandmother, and my sister and brother's families come too. That won't be an option this year no matter what gets announced so we're staying at home. Will definitely be different but I won't say ruined - we'll still try and make it as good as possible for the kids. Will miss spending time with extended family though and the build up to Christmas with panto, carol services, Christmas markets etc. all cancelled.

Usually my husband and I finish work on maybe 23rd dec most years - then head straight to the airport to fly to Ireland - then we go to my parents or his which is a long bus journey - then we spent the next week going back and forth between both houses - always love to see the family - but it’s quite stressful and come back to the U.K. exhausted!

This year il be 32 weeks pregnant at Christmas - and my husband and I are just going to stay in our own flat get lots of treats in and play Nintendo switch - I’m actually so excited about it 😂

Never mind Xmas, COVID has ruined my life. I dearly wish Xmas being a bit crap was all I had to think about.

It won't be the restrictions which prevent us from seeing people but COVID itself - I don't want to risk spreading the virus to elderly and unwell relatives so won't get to see them regardless.

I think this is a good way to think about it, but on the other hand some of the restrictions have been contradictory or illogical - for example I'm currently banned from seeing my partner (unless we meet outdoors which for me isn't practical) even though we both live alone, both work from home, and barely come into contact with other people.

It doesn't really make sense (and is sacrificing people's mental health over something that is very low risk) that people can still go to busy shops, take crowded public transport, and have kids in schools, but people who live alone aren't allowed to see even one person unless they can form a bubble.

DD will be going to her dad’s on Christmas Day so I will be alone. That’s ok usually, because we then go to my parents’ on Boxing Day for a big cooked meal, I get to see my family and it’s just lovely. If the restrictions stay in place, I will just be alone for the whole of christmas and new year. So I do find that posts a little smug, if I’m honest.

No change with mine apart from there probably won't be any Xmas fairs on. I normally love going to these with ds in the lead up.

I'm not bothering
Too exhausted, ground down
It would only be 2 of us anyway

I hate Christmas at the best of times and I'm wondering if, whatever the restrictions, I can use them as an excuse not to have to see my relatives 😂

For those who want a quiet chilled out holiday Cv-19 is a brilliant excuse for not having the stress of family over and cooking a huge expensive meal. I really wonder if anyone who is not a child truly enjoys these occasions.

I stopped celebrating christmas in the late 1970s. I found myself unexpectedly without a job and lots of credit card bills. I wasnt going into more debt to buy friends and family a load of tat they didnt need only to get a load of tat in return. So I made an announcement. No cards or presents this year. Dont get me anything.

Of course they did still go ahead and buy me gifts but I stuck to my resolution. The following year I made the same announcement in mid year, giving everyone plenty of time to cross me off the card and gift list. I also announced that I would be spending christmas on my own.

I am not christian and dont have children. So for me it was simply a few days off work with no pressures and freedom to do my own thing. Thats what it should be - the freedom to do your own thing either alone of with just immediate family.

I can see how hard it is going to be for some people ...friends who are unable to get over here to see family, friends who are struggling, people in care homes and hospital...I really hope there are ways that they can have some joy and hope at Christmas.
Our Christmas will be ok, the kids are happy for it just to be us, and just as giddy and excited about Christmas as they ever are, but we will miss my mum who died in June, and my sister who is abroad.

Our Christmas will be more or less the same as usual, although I will miss not going to Church. I am assuming I can still meet my elderly parents (supporting the vulnerable) and we usually just have a quiet relaxed day at home. Walks, nice food, board games. I am retail so just two days off suits me, I am not keen on sitting around endlessly .

Badly phrased 'I will miss going to Church'. .

Visit to Santa is cancelled, no panto, no parties, no extended family. But, it definitely isn't ruined. Christmas is so much more than these things.
We'll miss them - especially family - but we just need to enjoy what we have which, in reality, is an awful lot.

I've got 4 adult children, their partners and 6 GC. None of my kids live locally, nearest is 100 miles away. I'm actually dreading Boris trying to Save Christmas as I obviously won't be able to have them all here and I really don't want to deal with the argey bargey about who can come when.

I'm also not looking forward to the surge in numbers in January.