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Covid

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Original poster

Christmas Bubble - what are your plans?

81 replies

ClaireP20 · 02/12/2020 05:52

Hi all, I can't sleep as worried about the bubble! Determined to be good and stick to the bubble, but struggling to work out how. My mum is going away to stay with her sister. That's good, one less. I have my brother and children, my mil and fil, my sil and children. My mil and fil, and sil and children all want to meet as 1 gathering. But they will definitely see others during that time. Tricky..

But...what are your plans? How are you managing your bubbles..are you honestly sticking to the 3 households?
X

OP posts:

Littlefluffyclouds13 · 02/12/2020 06:03

Do you want me to be honest? I think the whole think is a terrible idea.
I work in a school and have two teens at big secondaries. We won't be seeing anyone, as sadly the people we'd normally see at Christmas are vulnerable to covid and there just isn't enough time to self isolate before Boris's 'magical' little Christmas window.
The whole thing is a joke!
I'm dreading returning to my crowded classroom a week after everyone has been doing 5 days of indoor mixing

ChasingRainbows19 · 02/12/2020 06:05

No bubbles for me, I work on a ward, my siblings also work in public facing jobs. I normally have a Christmas meal with dad and siblings/extended families. My dad is clinically vulnerable and we’ve shielded him most the year, not risking it now. My partner will see his family (one house) on the day for a visit but I won’t be going as they are l elderly and I’m not prepared to put them as risk due to me working on a ward.

We will all visit my dad separately. but door step/outside. We are making him food and taking it to him. He is totally on board and we all plan to meet up properly next year when vaccines are rolled out and the virus prevalence is much less.

TattiesGone · 02/12/2020 06:09

We both have parents who are on their own. Mine is too nervous to be inside with anyone but we'll see her one of the days outside socially distancing. The other is coming for Christmas but he's in our bubble anyway. So overall we've decided not to take the government up on their offer to mix households for Christmas :) We have dcs who are at school and will have been with 90 other kids a matter of days before Christmas so while I'd not worry too much about it myself i can totally understand my mum's reluctance to spend Christmas with anyone. I'll see my dsis briefly, again outdoors and socially distanced but actually I'll definitely give her a quick but big squeeze on the day.

ChasingRainbows19 · 02/12/2020 06:09

@Littlefluffyclouds13 I feel for you. Working with patients is hard enough in a pandemic but at least I have ppe.

My sister is in a school too and it’s been really hard for the staff. They’ve had lots of positive cases since half term of both staff and children. She is worried every day.

I agree with you about January but people will choose to do what they want. The risk is still there and it’s their choice. I couldn’t live with the guilt if I gave it to my dad. He has got a few years in him yet! He is totally on board with a different Christmas luckily. But other older people are very insistent on still celebrating and will take the risk.

TreacleHart · 02/12/2020 06:12

No bubbles for us . I fail to see how it's been advised about meeting people indoors or at least stay 2 metres apart, but for 5 days you can spend time to indoors with people including close proximity around a table. I'd rather not.
Plus I feel I'm continuing to protect my loves ones to do so .

Macaroni46 · 02/12/2020 06:16

Honest opinion? I think you're trying to see too many different groups of people, especially if some of your in-laws are also seeing other people. I'd keep it simple and say no to some of them. As long as no one is left on their own. This year Christmas needs to be different.

Greenglassteacup · 02/12/2020 06:26

No Christmas bubbles here, just us, having Christmas dinner and going for a walk in the woods together. Mixing with loads of people indoors for 5 days is a really irresponsible move at this point in my opinion

ThankYouDebbie · 02/12/2020 06:35

Nicola Sturgeon said that they've made these rules to give people some boundaries. You don't have to go up to the limit of what's allowed. And if you can manage with not mixing, then you should do that. We're sticking with our existing support bubble.

Mindymomo · 02/12/2020 06:36

You cannot have different sets of bubbles, you pick 3 and stick to it throughout Christmas.

We are only having my brother round and as he is single, he’s in our bubble and we see him once every 2 weeks. Luckily all my family feel the same and we won’t be doing big get togethers this year.

PirateCatQueen · 02/12/2020 06:36

No bubbles for us.

In your situation, I’d avoid your ILs, as they’ll be seeing other people.

Bikingbear · 02/12/2020 06:37

Yes I'll be sticking to one bubble of 3 households. I do not want my house to be part of a chain of transmission.

Although its becoming such a PITA that I might just not bother.

Bluesheep8 · 02/12/2020 06:37

No bubbles here either. I fail to see how covid is taking 5 days off over Christmas. My mum and step Dad said they are not comfortable visiting (they would have to stay 2 nights due to distance) due to age and underlying conditions and I've made the decision not to see anyone else inside (I am vulnerable myself) As a widespread family, we've stuck to the rules since the start so why would we celebrate our achievement by increasing the chances if one of us getting covid for Christmas?
A lot of people seem to think they should mix, just because it's allowed. I know of one person who is desperately trying to find another household to make up the 3!

Heartofstrings · 02/12/2020 06:40

We're pulling our boys out of preschool a couple of weeks early to have Christmas with my mum, step dad and nan. My nan had sepsis in lockdown 1 and nearly died so there's no way I'm missing this Christmas. I recognise I'm very.lucky to have this option

DipSwimSwoosh · 02/12/2020 06:41

We are doing one outdoor meet up with my sister on 27th. Then booking a holiday place for the new year near my parents so we can see them outside a few times.

Littlefluffyclouds13 · 02/12/2020 06:44

@ChasingRainbows19 thank you, yes it is very hard! Joyful too thankfully.
My situation is extra hard as my dh is currently living away from us as he's been very poorly and is extremely vulnerable to covid.
I know everyone's sadness matters etc but when I hear people discussing which cousin/auntie/random family members to see over Christmas, I just want to scream 'I just want a day with my husband!!'

SpeckledyHen · 02/12/2020 06:49

Adult (25) son is coming home . He works with husband and son in our family business and sees them both everyday so I’m happy to take the risk .
We would normally see my in-laws and my brother and sister and families but that’s not going to happen this year.

Bromeliad · 02/12/2020 07:16

We're seeing my parents who're retired and in their early sixties and my DB and SIL who're working from home. I have a toddler who doesn't go to nursery and a seven month old and my DH works from home.

None of us have been going shopping or doing anything except endless sodding walks since March. We're in Greater Manchester and I can't wait to be allowed to see my family indoors when we would have never increased the chain of transmission anyway. We weren't even allowed to see anyone in our garden for most of the summer. I'm so excited!

Flev · 02/12/2020 07:44

So your mum and sister are seeing each other = not alone.
Your In-laws are seeing each other = not alone

I'd check in with your brother and see how he and the family are doing, with a view to possibly seeing just them.

DuzzyFuck · 02/12/2020 08:00

Prepared to be shot down but I think this bubbles thing for Christmas is absolute madness and will cause chaos.

It's a day. One day. I firmly believe that 'bubbles' should have been kept to a single household or single parent household being able to bubble with one other household so that nobody is forced to be alone, and that's it. Job done.

Bluesheep8 · 02/12/2020 08:05

DP and I both WFH, my mum's retired and step Dad WFH. We all still go out for shopping. I'm still not taking the risk. Plus it means one household travelling from one tier 3 area to another with at least one stop en route.

Bluesheep8 · 02/12/2020 08:06

Prepared to be shot down but I think this bubbles thing for Christmas is absolute madness and will cause chaos.

Agree wholeheartedly.

IceCreamAndCandyfloss · 02/12/2020 08:08

Prepared to be shot down but I think this bubbles thing for Christmas is absolute madness and will cause chaos

I agree. We won’t be mixing either. I don’t want our family to get ill and neither do I want to contribute to what will be an awful January after all the mixing and the spread that will happen in schools and workplaces after.

Just because something can be done doesn’t mean it’s should be. We are so close to vaccines we should have left the rules as they were and people could celebrate when it was much safer to do so

glitterelf · 02/12/2020 08:13

I am sticking to the 3 households but know one of the households will go on to meet more than the 3 but only after they've seen us.
That household has had covid so I guess they are thinking they are safer now. The other household we've been in a bubble with throughout so I have no concerns there and know that they are doing all they can and following the rules.
There's lots of family that I won't be seeing and that's going to be really strange.

vanitythynameisnotwoman · 02/12/2020 08:13

I too think not distancing inside when we are sooo close to having a vaccine and may not need to distance from Easter is pretty crazy. So I'll be home alone - joining my family's Christmas and my best friend's Christmas via video call. We'll have months, years to spend together.

gingercat02 · 02/12/2020 08:15

Just my Mum (79), DH, DS and me. The more people you meet the bigger the risk

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