“Cancelling Christmas” what would this look like?

[CraftyGin]

Imagine that at 9pm on Christmas Eve, a government minister tweets that lock down is intensivied with immediate effect. How would that affect you personally, recognising that we all have different ideas of Christmas.

Our church activities are 11pm service (which would be unaffected), and Christmas morning service. TBH, I would be happy to skip this service but generally have to show up as a warden. All of our services from March onwards are streamed on YouTube, and this will continue indefinitely

Presents - Amazon.

Guests - my DS1 and his wife have stayed for the last two years. With a short notice announcement, they would already have been here for four or five days, so presumably they would continue to stay. My locally living DS and DIL would not be able to socialise, but we could give them a food package.

We would continue to Zoom relatives far from us, and DS would be included as he is now.

Christmas food has leftovers built in, so we would not have any waste.

We’d carry on as normal, as would many, many other families - and no, that isn’t why people are dying or why lockdown continues. That would be due to the government’s enduring incompetence and arrogant contempt for the population. However, I think anyone who thinks there’s a chance of the same level of poorly communicated restrictions being placed on Christmas as have just been on Eid are kidding themselves. For one thing the whole shower of them are as racist as you can get, and for another there’s no way they’ll take the impact of cancelling or even significantly restricting Christmas on their own heads - either the economic impact (which will be much worse than the effect of restrictions in shops the rest of the year) or the impact of their popularity with the electorate. Why else would they state their intention to end furlough in October and social distancing by November? They know rightly that they haven’t a hope of actually getting the pandemic under control through competent leadership. It’s already too late for that. They’re already starting to change the narrative to ‘this is a fact of life now, we need to live alongside it - but by the way, if you get ill or die it’s your fault. If you don’t like it being your fault, blaming Muslims and/or immigrants is an evergreen handy alternative’.

We’d carry on as normal, as would many, many other families - and no, that isn’t why people are dying or why lockdown continues.

Without people following rules you have anarchy and society collapses. If we don't like the rules then we can vote them out, that's democracy but rules do have to be followed.

I agree though they aren't going to announce something like that on Christmas Eve.

Everything @upsidedownwavylegs said.

They need to stop targeting households and start looking at how packed out the pubs and shopping centres are. Typically they target the places that don't help the economy and get us fighting amongst ourselves over who's to blame. Same old same old.

Bugger all difference, except I can now ditch my misplaced guilt over being antisocial. Fabulous.

Absolutely nothing changes for us, it's not cancelling Christmas.

I presume people would have been sensible and avoided mixing households in any case this year and avoid indoor places like churches - if not, they are very likely to be the people who caused the additional measures being needed.

DarkHelmet that’s been the govts plan, shift the blame from themselves and onto Joe Public. They keep telling us how well they’re doing with their world beating systems etc - brainwashing the gullible (Daily Mail readers? 😂) and they fall for it hook line and sinker.

If "cancelling Christmas" is at all likely there will be a massive thread on here complaining about Ocado and the inability to get a slot/cost of delivery!

I don't think we'll be too bothered TBH. I've been more upset about tearing up all our holiday plans for the past 5 months.

Our Christmas market has already been cancelled, but that makes perfect sense - it is always rammed.

I certainly wouldn't miss the obligatory "work do" or the trips across the country to see our inlaws either.

It would be a bit annoying if social gatherings are banned, but I know I can cope now.

@Callipygion I can't decide if people genuinely don't realise this, or if they're just so far entrenched in the Covid gothic that they refuse to acknowledge how underhand the government is playing this. Either way, the government got exactly what they wanted. Many are at each other's throats and completely overlooking the blatant facts that pubs and shopping centres are rammed to the rafters with people, zero social distancing and of course no masks in food and drink outlets.

I don’t know either but I feel despair about it!

Another way of looking at it is that Jesus wasn’t even born in the 25th December any way!!

If they locked down on Christmas Eve we would already be at our relatives’ home if spending Christmas there.
If we were spending it here, it would have precisely no impact.

Christmas we generally stay home anyway.

Our Christmas has already been cancelled, we were going to Australia to spend Christmas with my in laws - obviously that won’t be happening this year. Fil is quite old & dh is getting worried he might never see him again

[quote DarkHelmet]@Callipygion I can't decide if people genuinely don't realise this, or if they're just so far entrenched in the Covid gothic that they refuse to acknowledge how underhand the government is playing this. Either way, the government got exactly what they wanted. Many are at each other's throats and completely overlooking the blatant facts that pubs and shopping centres are rammed to the rafters with people, zero social distancing and of course no masks in food and drink outlets. [/quote]
Responsible pubs (most of them) are certainly not rammed to the rafters. Pubs are seated only, tables spread out, customers not allowed to walk around or order at the bar. If you’ve been to a pub that is not like this I suggest you find somewhere more reputable to drink

Also these aren’t examples of cancelled Christmas’ they are examples of changed Christmas’s!

Yes you can go to Australia for Christmas, that’s shit, but you can still celebrate Christmas at home

*can’t go

It would have no impact at all. We spend Christmas as a family just the 3 of us. Only one year we had mum round. The food is bought, the presents are wrapped. No church. No random walks just because. We play , we eat, we watch telly and have fun.

Only difference would be no boxing day toy shopping for DD's birthday but that's neither here or there.

Sometimes being antisocial, grumpy gits comes in handy.

It’s our year at the in-laws this year. We travel on 22/23rd usually so we’ll already be there. Christmas would continue as normal! I’m not travelling home on Christmas Day because I’m suddenly not allowed to be in their house! I watched multiple neighbours welcome family for Eid on Wednesday & Thurs and safe to say I watched them continue to celebrate on Friday despite me being in a newly locked down area.. I don’t blame them. 3 hours notice was a frigging joke.

I’m planning for Christmas to potentially be at home though. I’m not convinced we’ll be able to travel & see people indoors over winter.. so I’m simply going to prepare for both options.

This would be AMAZING for me tbh OP. I am due to have a baby in late December so it would mean my hubby's family would have to listen and not come round and spread germs to my baby! I am also VERY organised so I would most likely have everything we needed well before time.

I do know though this would be upsetting for lots of families and would actually be a disaster.

@ChardonnaysPetDragon patio heaters aren't any more evil than lots of other things, such as central heating, cars and cluster bombs.

@nancy75 I don't go to pubs at all, this was observed at one of the biggest pubs in our city centre last week. It's ceiling to floor windows and I actually just stood aghast staring in at tables pushed together with 12-15 people sat at them, people wandering about, many stood at the bar. And that was just the one pub! The shopping centre is like a free for all, security have given up hope of keeping people to the one way system and now all the food court tables are available again it's like a madhouse.

Assuming it's the same rules as last time, DD would still be able see her dad, and I will still be able to see my parents on the basis of a care visit.

Food supplies and presents would have been bought by then so it would make very little difference to us.

After this shit show of a year nothing would surprise me.

I have never spent Xmas without my extended family. Usually around 25 for Xmas day at my mums.

If we went into lockdown I would assume my siblings/kids and I would still go to my parents. Just not aunties/uncles/cousins and usual extended family would attend. They would most likely stick to their smaller groups.

HolyForkinShirt

I hope your mum gets a well deserved rest!

Or at least one of you could return the favour. Poor woman.

Are there no in-laws involved either @HolyForkinShirt amongst the siblings, aunts, uncles do they not get a look in at Christmas ever?

@BluebellsGreenbells

HolyForkinShirt

I hope your mum gets a well deserved rest!

Or at least one of you could return the favour. Poor woman.

She does get a rest. Everyone helps with the prep /cooking and cleaning up.

Usually she does the least in fact as we all make more of an effort to help out iyswim.