Day 17 – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Let your hearts be light …
Christmas is approaching quickly, and we suppose many of you are already preparing for the day so that it will be as merry as possible under this year’s circumstances.
Decorating the living rooms, planning out the Christmas meal, wrapping presents, choosing your Christmas playlist, … whatever it is, we are sure you are preparing for the fest in one way or another.
As for ourselves, first we will do a thorough clean-up of the house to make it Christmas comfy, then check in with you all for the last day of the advent calendar. For the evening we have pre-ordered ourselves a nice Christmas dinner from a local restaurant (including sticky toffee pudding, of course!) and for afterwards we have a couple of your movie recommendations lined up!
The four of us will put up our feet, enjoy each other’s company and RELAX 🙂
We will have an “ET calling home” Skype chat with our Austrian family and take some strolls around the countryside before it’s time to count up the points and send calendars out to the winners of our advent calendar challenge.
That should help recharge our batteries for what’s to come in the new year. There is so much in the pipeline for 2021 already but all that will need proper planning-out!
We’d love to hear how you are intending to spend Christmas Day! What’s your merry little plan for this Christmas? Are you doing things differently than normal or are you sticking to your usual family traditions? We’d love to know! 🙂
PS: Uploading photos should work again, Papa Rudi could fix the issue with larger file-size pictures.
DAY 17 – Your Merry, Little Christmas
Task of the Day:
Tell us about your merry (little) Christmas Day plans!
Achievable Points:
5
I’m agonizing over whether or how to attend my girlfriend’s annual family Christmas Eve dinner. Not a big group, but not recommended. I feel silly either way. For Christmas day, I’ll spend some time at my daughter’s house, where there are just two of them, one of whom tested negative just this week.
Like so many people, the pandemic has modified our “normal” plans. We are exchanging presents outside on Christmas Eve day, but opening them in Zoom on Christmas.
I work on Christmas day, helping to keep the trucks fueled and running. Tonight, the wife and I drove about town, looking at Christmas lights, cups of cocoa in the cup holders. On the 27th, my next day off, we have planned a simple Christmas, presents, a fire in the fireplace, more cocoa (of course), the MonaLisa Twins Christmas album playing, and a nice turkey dinner.
We will be celebrating Christmas on the 26th this year. My two married sons both plan to be at their in-laws homes on Christmas Day, so they will rendezvous at our place the day after. They won’t arrive till early afternoon so we plan to have “Breakfast” for lunch (French toast and ham) followed by gift unwrapping (assuming the kids can wait till after lunch).
I will be spending Christmas Eve (which is the “big” day in Germany) at home with my boyfriend this year. On the 25th and 26th we will visit his and my parents, who live close by, and go for a nice Christmas walk together. It’s the first time in my life that I won’t be spending Christmas Eve with my parents and my brother and the first time in my adult life that I will be at my own home for that day – which is something I am actually looking forward too. We’ll be having a nice, quiet day with an online church service, some good food and music, maybe a movie…
I have the great privilege of working that day in a hospital, with incredible caring people. I don’t have any family plans, as I don’t have any family close by. I usually work on the holiday to give others the chance to be with own families. That is my gift to them.
Thanks for doing such an important job!
My daughter and her boyfriend have a beautiful Christmas tree and other decorations, and I’m going to work a short midday shift and then go to go to her house with food and we’ll open some gifts and maybe watch a Christmas movie, and it will be pretty simple and low key and socially mostly distanced.
Thankful wake up to presents under the tree. Cinnamon rolls and eggnog. Church ( virtual this year). Visit family – again virtual this year. Fantastic dinner. Nap. Watch a Christmas movie with all the house decorations.
Going to make beef stew watch a few holiday movies and also a NFL Football game that will be on. I think will watch sn Andy Williams Christmas dvd I got from Amazon. Growing up I always watched the Andy Williams Christmas Special that was on. As far as play list you may think I am weird but my favorite holiday music to me is any of the Beatle’s album since I usually got s Beatles album for Christmas each year growing up. When I was in the Air Force and I could make it home we would decorate the Christmas tree listening to the white album and it would put me in a holiday mood. Of course in the next few days I will have to watch Die Hard. It is a Christmas tradition.
My son got married during Christmas week in 2019…he recently returned home from his 2nd Tour of Duty with U.S.Army…so naturally we would love to spend time with him and our daughter-in-law this Christmas…I won’t be able to be there as I’m holed up in this hospital …I’m going stir crazy….so my plan ..now..is to just do what the doctors are telling me do and hopefully I’ll get out in time or at least before he has to report back to Ft Carson in Colorado…..????thank you girls for the imagination that you have and so many ways of getting us “seniors” to be active …Love You ????
I will be spending Christmas Day on my own with my new cat,I will cook a traditional Christmas turkey dinner and give the cat some turkey and sit and watch tv or a dvd in the afternoon
Finally an easy one. I only will calling my grandparents, eat and maybe a Christmas movie with my parents. Nothing else. For once I don’t have to stay with a million of relatives that I see once a year
No big plans.
I guess i’ll be listening to the MonaLisa Twins all week.
Thanks for the cheer.
I hope Santa comes through with all the new instruments.
Jacki,
Just read your posts and I am with you , I 62 now and always look forward to the holidays to see family and friends, this Covid has been horrible for all of us and we do the masks and social distance but It bugs me, I am a hugger and love to get back to where we once were before this started. Hang in Jacki, me and my family will be thinking of you and everyone who is not with their familys this holiday season.
Mona and Lisa,
Hello, this year because of Covid we are keeping it low, just Me, my wife and Maddie and our 3 children. We usually do a huge gathering of about 15 to 20 people, friends and family but thought to be safe and to celebrate in 2021 and beyond it is a good idea to make this commitment. So my wife Nancy is making Lasagna, Hot Sausage, Ham, Potato Salad, Home Made Bread and rolls, and dessert will be pies and what we call Dirt, which is chocolate pudding with cool whip and oreo cookies, soo good. And sit in front of the fireplace and listen to Christmas Music , of course your CD will be the first one we play and just enjoy each others company and be happy.
Hoping to go home and see my parents but I have been on site in Portland Port for my work and waiting for it to be ok to enter my parents bubble. 🙂
Plans are for as many of the Klan to get together at my house for Christmas Dinner and gift opening. Since there really aren’t any kids in the family age wise to make a big fuss over with gift giving we don’t do much exchanging of presents anymore. My grandchildren are living in Ireland currently while their dad works remotely on what they are calling a 3 month working vacation. After Ireland throws them out after 90 days, we really don’t know if they are coming back to the states or are headed to somewhere else on the other side of the Atlantic. Scotland has been mentioned but we don’t know right now. So the old farts are finishing up on the decorating which got hampered with remodeling going on. I have a feeling when Christmas is over we will head to the mountains for a “White Christmas” and see if freeze to death. Would love to get to the cabin, start a fire and sit back and nap on the couch. Lol. I think I would rather be in Ireland with the kids though even if it’s December.
Oh my favorite time of the year, except for the weather. I love the festive atmosphere, the food, decorations, seeing everyone; what? I’m not going to see everyone? No travel? Yes and no.
We will stay home this for Christmas. I hope to see our daughters long enough to exchange gifts while wearing masks and social distancing as best we can. It’s going to be a challenge for sure. But, Christmas without the girls would be much too depressing.
We have already decorated and put up our tree. We are enjoying the colorful lights and decorations.
So, staying home for Christmas. Wishing everyone else a safe and Merry Christmas!
And, what about the yes part of the travel question? Laurie and I will fly to Raleigh, North Carolina the first of the new year to take care of her Mother who suffers from Alzheimers. There is simply a period of time when the family can’t find anyone else to be with her 24/7. Maybe we’ll get the vaccine before then, but I doubt it. Hopefully, we will survive it and the world will be different for Christmas 2021. So, enjoy your holiday season and may we all have a safe end to this year. Wishing a Happy (and more normal) New Year to everyone.
My son and daughter will be joining me for Christmas Eve dinner. Megan and her family will drive over from Oregon the day before and it will be a very special Christmas because my 6 week old granddaughter “Reyna” will be the guest of honor!
Well we are going to our daughter’s house for Christmas. I will be grilling a 12 lb ham. we will open presents first and this year we have our first great-grandchild so that should be exciting. Then my wife and daughter will start doing the rest of the cooking and then that afternoon we will all sit down for a wonderful dinner. Then all sit around and watch the kids play with their new toys and talk about how we all ate too much. 🙂
It looks like the lock down will be tightened so the plan is my coffee and me by the fire keeping the virus at bay.
We’re going to see our niece and nephew to enjoy the children opening their presents and then settle down for what will be a lovely – and much needed – relaxing afternoon of food, drinks and TV. Bliss!
Nothing much here. Wake up, make breakfast, open presents, drink more coffee, call my mom, cook dinner, eat dinner, and hang out by the fireplace until bedtime. I don’t think we’re having any friends over for dinner, and my wife has gone vegan so it will be pretty simple as far as cooking.
The day will begin the way most do, with one (well, two) twists. The kids will get up at the crack of dawn and get into their stockings. Then when I and my wife get up we’ll eat breakfast (haven’t decided what that will look like yet) and then we’ll turn them loose on the Christmas tree. The two twists this year will be our two cats and their first Christmas. Since they have to thoroughly investigate and approve of any new thing in the house, the gift opening could be quite fun. I hope we can get the wrapping and tissue paper into the recycling before they shred it.
Normally we would then convene with the rest of the extended family at my parent’s house for a dinner and evening of songs and games. This year, that won’t happen 🙁 We’ll just be staying at home. On the other hand, it may be nice to have a quiet low-key Christmas at home without all the drama and bustle. So I have a few new games under the tree and we will probably have fun with those and several bottles of wine 😀
Your cats sound like my Luca. He is extremely inquisitive and must check out everything that comes into the flat. He also explores the neighbours garages if they leave their doors open.
This Christmas day we’ll do a repeat from last year, and the year before, which is becoming our “tradition” now since we moved to NC and our family isn’t close, but dispersed all over the globe. Just my wife Lisa and myself enjoying a nice meal, maybe watch a movie, but mostly spend quality time with each other. Very peaceful and low key.
There is nothing like Sticky Toffee Pudding at Christmas. Lisa, you got me hooked on it. In Canada it’s not very well known, and I can’t find it at the regular supermarkets or bakeries, only at a select few restaurants and dessert and coffee places. So whenever I go somewhere and I come across Sticky Toffee pudding, I have to stop and get it, like here in the picture below from last year at Christmas in a little country café.
This Christmas is going to be just the two of us, MJ and myself. A cozy Christmas with some nice food, Christmas snacks, eggnog, and plenty of Christmas movies. Will watch some of the movie recommendations from the Advent Calendar, and plenty of “Christmas” and “Walking In The Air” playing. Will do the Webex thing with my siblings to wish them a Merry Christmas. Christmas eve, will walk around the neighbourhood late at night looking at the lights reminiscing Christmas’s past. It’s highly unlikely we will have a white Christmas where I am, but will still hope for it. Haven’t had a white Christmas in a while. Christmas eve I usually stay up pretty late, sometimes hardly sleep at all. Must be a subconscious Christmas tradition from childhood, always too excited to go to sleep waiting for Christmas morn. Wow, can’t believe Christmas is just next week!
Next week, just before Christmas, will drive out to my dad’s care home, and drop off my “crafty” Christmas card I created from scratch for him. Thank you for the Crafty Advent, or I never would have thought to do it. Beats a regular card any day. The care homes are all locked down, and even family can’t visit, so will drop off the card with the nurse at the front door. BTW my dad is now declared covid free! What an ordeal just a few weeks ago; I’m so grateful! The whole family is planning a big birthday bash for him, for his 93rd we missed this past November, hopefully in the new year some time. His recovery is my Christmas miracle this year. At my new work, Boxing Day is not a holiday! I’ve had Boxing Day off as a holiday for the past 30 years at my old work, but oh well, hopefully it will be quiet, and won’t distract me from my Boxing day online shopping! I usually do more looking than buying these days though. Well good thing Boxing day falls on a Saturday this year (just checked).
Couldn’t post a picture again.
Here’s me about to enjoy some Sticky Toffee pudding from last Christmas. In the holiday spirit my Christmas plans hand written in Toffee Brown ink. 🙂
The photos don’t do the colour justice, as the brown ink goes on the page like real rich shiny brown toffee, makes me hungry.
Went for a peaceful Christmas Eve walk around the neighbourhood. In our neighbourhood community newsletter at Christmas they do a contest for the best lit up house and choose a winner. We all benefit by the really beautiful Christmas decorations. Here are photos of some decorations around my neighbourhood.
The best part though was the Christmas Eve peace and reflection. There is still some snow and everything is frozen making for a perfect Christmas Eve walk.
My family has sort of scattered and our traditional Christmas activities changed over the years, but some things are the same, albeit with fewer attendees. All of our family members who are close enough arrive at my parents’ home around nine in the morning, and we have a brunch, catching up on the nieces and nephews, grandchildren (and great grandchildren) who are unable to be there. We then all return to our separate days, to join later for a dinner, usually at my sister’s. After that Skype with some relatives on the west coast, and then settle for presents to each other, however that may go. My siblings and I don’t much exchange gifts, but we all get a little something for our parents, and perhaps a gag gift will appear. Come to think of it, the tradition of just being with family hasn’t changed at all, it’s just the how that’s different.
Well because of Covid it will be Christmas home alone this year. Normally I would go to either my aunt’s house or my nieces but my niece is now living in Florida and well we have to maintain distances this year so no aunt’s house. It’ll be just another day for me.
I’ll be thinking of my late Mom and Sister though.
Christmas Eve this year, we will watch “The Hogfather” movie.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Pratchett%27s_Hogfather
This is a kind of our family tradition, we do this each year December, 24
I think that’s the most Christmas movie ever 🙂
There will be also lots of delicious food.
And the anticipation that of all the wishes coming true very soon.
This Christmas will be a little lonely .. in my family we’re used to choosing one of the family houses and having a big Christmas dinner.. so this year I’ll stay at home… My girlfriend will stay for a short time and then she’ll go to her parents’ house.. my daughters will pass quickly with my grandchildrens..then I’ll have a individual dinner, some goodies, good music (MLT Christmas songs included of course)., some movie..joy in the heart and wishes that everyone has a great Christmas It will be a good Christmas , even with the difficulties of this year We have a lot to thanks.
My Christmas will be pretty much like most of my past Christmas’s……..just me and my brother (never gets old). Will unwrap our presents we give each other & drink a glass or two of egg nog while listening to the MLT Christmas album. Can’t think of a better way to enjoy the special & sacred day.
A more straightforward challenge. Thank you.
A normal Nesbitt Christmas would be the 3 brothers and their families getting together at the house of ether of my brothers (they are big enough). This year though, whilst it will be allowed for us to do so due to the UK Christmas amnesty, we do not feel that it is right to do so.
David and I live in London which is in tier 3 whilst Andrew lives in Oxfordshire in tier 2. Travelling from tier 3 into tier 2 is usually frowned upon so we will honour this despite the Christmas relaxation. I will go round to David’s house on Christmas Eve and stay there until the 28th. We are in the same ‘bubble’ so it is allowed whatever the circumstances. We won’t do anything special, possibly play a board game or something similar and more than likely go for a long walk, weather permitting.
On Boxing Day (26th) David and his wife intend to go away for a 2 day break. We all work together and they have been so busy over the last 4 months that they need as much rest and peace as possible. They own a physiotherapy clinic and we have never been busier, virtually no appointments untaken for months (I do the books and work on reception). They may well still go due to the Christmas loosening of the rules but they’re still not sure that it is right. They need the break in my opinion. This will leave me to look after their 2 kids who, despite being 18 and 16, love having their uncle there in such circumstances. I’ve done it for years.
I think that we are so busy because lockdown made people realise that they need to look after themselves. They can’t spend their money on much at the moment so they are coming to us to keep them feeling fit and good about themselves. Sitting around home does not do anyone any good especially posturally. Yesterday’s challenge in encouraging people to get out and about wherever possible was so so good and wise.
On a great note for us, Andrew was able to visit our mother in her care home yesterday. This is the first time any of us has been allowed to do so for months. He said that she seemed well and was a lot more aware then we thought that she might be. He sent us a photo and she looks fine although the physio in David noticed signs that makes him think that she has had a slight stroke. Always the professional!
Can Papa Rudi have another tinker with photo uploading please as I still cannot upload any to yesterday’s challenge. One was successful yesterday but nothing since. Thank you
I’m not really sure what I’ll be doing this Christmas. Normally I get together at my parents’ house in Kentucky with my siblings and their families, but that’s out this year, so we’re planning to schedule a big Zoom meeting for opening presents.
Beyond that, nothing is set. Most likely my wife and I will have a meal with my stepdaughter and her family, as we did at Thanksgiving, and exchange gifts in person. They live just 45 minutes away.
Last Christmas I lent my vinyl copy of Orange to my brother, who’s into 60’s music. I was going to pick it up a few weeks later, but then the virus hit and I haven’t been back since. So I’m hoping I get to open it as a Christmas re-gift.
Unfortunately this will be a very quiet Christmas. Normally we have a big family party on Christmas Eve. This year, we are doing a “drive thru” party. My wife and her family are going to prepare some the normal foods. My sister in-law is will pack them and we will pick up our party bag in her driveway to take home.
On Christmas day it will be just my wife and I except for a quick exchange of gifts with our adult kids while wearing N95 masks. We will try to make it special but without spending the day with our kids and family, it will not be the same. We are making plans for something special next summer.
Like many of you our Christmas is going to be low key this year. Me, my wife and my two daughters who are still at home with us. I’ll be making my Special Breakfast that I do every Christmas morning. Not sure what it’s going to be yet! Then presents, and later a nice dinner. It will be a good time for us all! I’m thankful. I hope you all have a great Christmas too!
We typically spend the day at my wife’s sisters house with her whole family.
It gets pretty insane there, but usually fun.
Play scrabble, contact uno, and such
Sis in law and I usually cook up a big dinner.
This year we were gonna do it at my house, but with covid we decided it’s a bad idea.
So this year, it will just be me, my wife, and my son.
I will still be cooking a big dinner, maybe ham? and pie!
Hard to be festive this year, but I’m trying
Will definitely be blasting your Christmas albums among some of my wife’s favorites
(my Christmas wish, is to NOT get “Wilbur the Christmas Mouse” stuck in my head for a week again!)
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PS– Still having trouble attaching a photo, the photo was just shy of 6mb, and I resized and shrunk down to about 500k — still wont let me attach– get no error.
The virus restrictions here are still pretty tight, and my wife is in the high risk category, so we will be having a quiet Christmas day – with a few phone calls of course. We often hosted a Christmas Eve party in the past which is of course out this year. We usually open a present or two on Christmas Eve, then the rest on Christmas morning. We will probably light a fire in the fireplace, it always seems to make things more festive to us, then watch a movie and/or play some games. We will look at it as a quiet, romantic Christmas Eve.
It’s easy to get a bit depressed this Christmas; your Advent challenges have helped me keep more positive.
Our Christmas is always small and quiet. Church on Christmas eve. Christmas day we’ll have our son and his girlfriend over to open presents and have a small meal. No travelling this year.
Having a limited Christmas like many others. Just the 3 of us and our 5 pets. Will still have present opening Xmas morning and a big meal in the early afternoon. We will phone the rest of the family to talk and spread greetings.
Having the MLT club “family” is a big plus this year.
I’m getting the first of the 2 Pfiser vaccine injections this Saturday. Hopefully I won’t have a reaction and will be feeling back to normal by Xmas.
Unfortunately, I think this will be the first Xmas that I’ve ever spent alone, thanks in part to stupid Covid crap…. where I live , the Public Health Officials are encouraging for people to stay home within their own bubbles and celebrate, because in Ottawa, the case numbers are constantly spiking then go down a bit , then spike again . I did get an open invite, along with my 2 nd oldest brother to go out to our oldest brother’s for Xmas Day, to spend with his family, and I’ve not seen them physically since last year at Xmas ( they aren’t much for videochatting,as well as my 2nd oldest bro, too, so we text/call one another to keep in touch.
My 2nd oldest bro and I both work with elderly, so with that in mind , we may decide to stay put at home but I’m on the fence with this, part of me longs to see my oldest bro and family in the flesh but at sametime because working with elderly, I don’t want to inadvertently bring back the possibility of getting Covid and giving it to them….Damned if you do, Dambed if you don’t kind of thing….
Normally, depending on my oldest bro’s Xmas plans, pre Covid, they usually would gave both me and 2nd oldest bro over on Boxing Day as they would be spending Xmas Day with one of my sister in law’s many siblings ( she’s the 2nd youngest out of 12) and I’d be going out to a cousin’s place out in the country, to their farm…that is a true country Xmas… Stupid Covid, put a damper on that, not even going out to my cousin’s farm this year… I ususally would bring my beloved fudge that everyone loves to both places.
I’m sad, angry at Covid… I’m up in tge air on my decision but most likely will end up staying put, maybe in Spring my brothers and bros family and I can get together if safe to do so by then… my 2nd oldest bro also has a few health issues going on so he doesn’t want to take a risk getting sick…
If I’m going to be solo this Xmas Day, MLT Xmas music and other Xmas song faves of mine shall be heard, Xmas movies watched, oerhaps some baking too…. Whatever the day brings, will just make do the best I can, but safety and well being is important .. !!
The “ET Phone Home” reference is cute, I have an ET stuffed toy, and a photo if me holding it that I will share sometime in the future…
Thankyou also to Papa Rudi for fixing Upliading Photos issue…
Hello Jacki,
I understand your angst on visiting your brother over Christmas. I am now 60 and recently moved into an over 60s block of wardened flats. I am the youngest here and undoubtedly the most active and am so aware of doing everything I can to avoid bring the virus into the block. Plus I work for my brother at his physio clinic. If any of us get the virus we will have to close for at least 2 weeks plus we have many elderly patients so again avoiding the virus is very important.
However, there are times when we have to look after ourselves and do what is right for us. Meeting your brother over Christmas will improve your mental and emotional wellbeing and enable you to work better afterwards. Only you can decide if this is more important than your desire to keep everyone safe but please think about yourself. Will the risk of going to your brother’s really be any greater than going to a store or travelling to and from work? Or even just being at work.
Hi Philip, Tgankyou for your reply….I’m really thinking about going to my oldest brother’s the more I think about it…someone will have to come pick me up and drive me home as no buses go out to where they live..,they live about 45 mins away out in the countryside . I’m going to let them know what I’ve decided in a day or two. Maybe in Spring/Sumner 2021 I can finally see my 2nd oldest brother in the flesh as he is not coming out to celebrate at our oldest bro’s place… as he has health issues and can’t risk getting Covid
As in Germany the main day of celebration is December 24th, I will go to my parents for lunch (until dinner), where my brother and his girlfriend join, I will wear a mask when I’m at my parents because it’s remommended by official guidelines to do so. I didn’t buy presents at local stores, as It’s not that safe shopping there, because nearly nobody keeps distance there and some even don’t wear their mask correctly – so I decided to buy gifts at a big online shop and let it deliver to my parents, in that way I can give them to everybody when I’m there. I will stay at home on the 1st and 2nd holiday, won’t be going to my parents out of safety measures, but will still get some nice food from a takeaway restaurant and maybe even get some seasonal coffee and cheesecake as a dinner treat from a fanous coffeehouse which is quite common in the UK.I will take an afternoon stroll thorugh the park, listen to some classic tunes and watch one or two fairytale movies.
Haha…love the ‘ET calling home’ (thought there was something ‘other-worldly’ about you two twins!) LOL….
Anyway, back to Earth, I will be spending Christmas Day with my lovely wife Helen in our home here in Bentham on the Yorkshire/Lancs border. The Government has caused so much craziness in constantly changing the covid rules in recent weeks, that like many, we don’t know what to do for the best. Visit an elderly loved one? Not really viable, my mum is in her 90’s in a care home, but think it’s wise not to visit her just yet as the best they allow is to speak to each other through glass and over an intercom.
So, like many other families in the UK, we will be having a quieter time and make the best of the day we can. We will be having a traditional Xmas Turkey dinner in the afternoon after a lazy morning and then, watch a Christmas feel film in the evening. We have yet to arrange it, but my grown up children are arranging a Chrismas day ‘zoom’ get together at some point, so we can be with each other in some sense…better than nothing.
This year I will not meet with my family in Fresnillo Zacatecas due to the pandemic, so on the afternoon of the 24th we will have a virtual meeting to ask Mom for her blessing.
I still don’t know what I’ll have for dinner, on the 25th in the morning we will have another virtual meeting to greet my mother and to see the nephews open their gifts.
Later I plan to go for a walk to the beach and if possible wait until the sun goes down.
the music to listen to is in those days and like every day it is MLT
Well I’ll be house sitting in Sydney over Xmas, looking after six cats. Consequently, Xmas day I have booked into my favourite Thai restaurant there (and the most popular in Sydney), which is a short walk from where I’ll be staying. I’ll be meeting up with one of my sisters who I haven’t seen for over a year now.
As part of Sydney has just detected another Covid19 cluster after weeks of no new infections, I’m hoping the border isn’t closed down again before my trip. I’m scheduled to fly there next Tuesday.
The key phrase for my Christmas celebration is “flexible and adaptable”. I have lived alone for 9 years so I have my own little set of traditions. On Christmas Eve, I make myself a homemade pizza, turn off all the lights save for those on the Christmas tree, and watch “Scrooge” as mentioned in an earlier task. On Christmas Day, I walk by the river near my apartment and recall the event that prompts this holiday. My daughter and her almost 12 year old son have not yet decided on their plans and my son, his wife, and their 4 year old son plan to stop by on December 26th to visit and to exchange gifts. There are many family dynamics at work here (not all of them pleasant), so it is best for me to remain flexible and to be grateful for such time as me and my children and their families are able to share. I hope and pray for our talented hosts (Mona and Lisa and their family) and all the members of MLT club and their families to have a joyous celebration.
Nice dinner with just household family. No church live but online. Maybe a drive to look at decorations . Peaceful relaxing time in front of wood stove. Hope everyone is able to find the joy in his/her life this Christmas season.
We are planning a quiet Christmas at home this year. My wife’s parents live right across the street, so we will spend a lot of time with them and our oldest son, who is home from college. Our other son is in the Air Force and is deployed this winter, so we are missing him. We are hoping to speak to him soon.
My family lives a couple of hours North of here, so we may do a Skype session with them, too. They are trying to stay safe and not have any visitors.
Last night brought sixteen inches of snow and it’s still falling. It’s really beginning to look a lot like Christmas here now.
JP is tuning his skis in the Catskills
My wife’s parents house number is 27 (ours is 26)
Naturally we refer to their house as “Club27” 🙂
JP
We’re not much for either elaborate traditions or planning! All I know for sure is we’ll open presents Christmas morning, and dinner will probably be a little fancier than usual, which sets a low bar. My sisters will hear from me. Christmas as usual.
Looks like picture uploading is working for 600 pixels width (75 kB jpg) but not 1200 (290 kB).
In Finland, the high point of Christmas holidays is the Christmas eve. That’s when we usually light candles on the graves of deceased family members, listen to the declaration of the yuletide peace, have Santa to deliver the presents and have Christmas dinner. Christmas Day is a day for resting, playing board games and reading books. The Second Day, called in Finnish, tapaninpäivä, is for visits to the relatives. This year, as we all know, a lot of these traditions cannot be followed. This Christmas will be the first one after 1984 that there will just the two of us and our dog. The photo I’ve attached is from 2018.
We’re planning a slightly scaled-down Christmas gathering. Our family is pretty small, anyway, but for the first time in recent memory, no one else is joining us. We usually have one or more basketball players from our local community college that live overseas, but for their safety, we didn’t get to this year. The family that is gathering is doing their best to quarantine ahead of the day.
Besides being with loved ones, the thing I’m anticipating most is sharing your Christmas album with them all for the first time! Possibly the only good thing to come from this virus is discovering your music on YouTube while browsing versions of “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”! I listened to 4 of your albums (Christmas twice!) While at work yesterday after receiving them in the mail the night before!
At work. Always work on the Holidays. All alone. No point in sitting home by myself.
Sorry to hear that, Eric. Please know you’re an integral part of the MLT club family! I hope work goes well for you, especially during the holiday season!
I forgot to say, in my earlier post, thank you for the video – it was the perfect start to my day! I have your Christmas album and have been listening to it, and will definitely be playing it Christmas day as part of our festivities!
Christmas certainly will be different this year. Here, in Ontario Canada, we appear to be heading into another lockdown. At the moment, we are in the red zone, which means very heavy restrictions on gatherings. The recommendation is that celebrate with our own household and no others. There is an exception for those who live alone; they may join with one other household. Our usual tradition of attending church on Christmas eve will be disrupted. Our church will broadcast a service on the radio so we will listen to that, and probably light some candles and sing along. We’ve had a little candle-lighting ritual each Sunday evening in Advent, pausing to reflect on hope, peace, joy, and love – the four Advent themes. On Christmas eve, we will light the Christ candle and pray for all those good gifts for our hurting world. Then we will probably enjoy some cookies and egg nog around the Christmas tree, and sing some carols.
We have been busy baking already, and wrapping gifts. Christmas shopping was done via ordering this year, but I tried to order from our local businesses as much as possible. Our Christmas day celebration will begin with gifts. There will be my daughter and me, and my brother and sister-in-law who live with us. We will connect with my parents and my other brother and his family via Zoom for opening gifts, and then later in the day during dinner. I’ve delivered candles, matching napkins and napkin rings, Christmas crackers, etc. so that we can feel somewhat united. We will all light our candles at the same time and my father will ask the blessing. It will not be the same as being together in person, but it will still be fun. We plan to share Christmas memories – I love to hear my parent’s memories because their childhoods were so different from mine. I’ve lined up some silly Christmas jokes and trivia questions. Maybe we will even try charades over Zoom! I’ve tried really hard to see this celebration as a challenge to be creative. That makes it so much more fun!
My plans for christmas day is being with my parents it will be a small christmas but fun non the less
My wife and I are spending Christmas day by ourselves, (plus dogs) probably like many others, due to COVID. Our sons are also having their own separate celebrations. Usually we would try to have a meal or some time together. Difficult, at times, as one of them works shifts and that can include Bank Holidays. At least we are together, even if there are just the two of us. Many people will be on their own so we still count ourselves as lucky.
There are no rules here. As for Christmas day, I will have 4 days off from work (paid of course)
Other than that there are no plans at this time????
I know I will see my daughter and her family, but when I don’t know.
We will have a home cooked meal. Open presents, waiting till one person opens one, so everyone can see what they got. Then the next, and so on. Then spread out and have a paperball fight with the wrapping paper. Sometimes we save the cardboard tubes that the paper came on, and have a free for all bopping each other on the head, till we all fall down laughing our selves silly.
I do know next week I will make my nuts and bolts snack mix (have you made it yet? If so how did you like it?)
Many years ago my mom made Ambrosia,.
Cut up 3 bananas
3 apples
4 oranges
4 tangerines
2 grapefruit
Saving all the juice
Sprinkle in 1 pack of coconut
Mix in large container and chill overnight .
So good.
My wife Margaret and I will just spend the day together at home. We have been married for 35 years and the best of friends. We will probably speak to family via phone, but have a quiet day.
The current “rules” in our part of Scotland are that a maximum of three households can form a temporary Christmas bubble (or Bublé as one of our daughters calls it: no prizes for guessing one of her favourite singers). Travel bans have also been relaxed for 23-27 December, although 27th is a Sunday and the 28th is a “bank holiday” in the U.K., so the rule-makers don’t seem to be allowing for reduced travel options at the end of the bubble period.
Bubbles can meet indoors and socialise with a maximum of eight “adults”, not including (ie not counting) children under 12.
Our Scottish Government, however, has now suggested only two households should meet up together and meet up only on one day within the 5-day bubble period. We are even being urged not to visit other family outside our one household at all: “unequivocally the safest way for us to spend Christmas”. Celebrations should also be outside as much as possible. If indoors we should keep windows open and regularly clean/disinfect touch points. No overnight stays unless absolutely unavoidable.
As of today (but this may change) we plan to host three households, including our own. Both daughters will be here, one with our new son-in-law (they were married in our garden in July), but also my sister- and brother-in-law, and their dog. Five will stay here overnight, while two (and the dog) will travel home.
We also plan to visit the newlyweds in their home on the 26th for a family stroll along the sands in St Andrews.
I’ve already referred to one of our family traditions – the cycle ride to a local garden centre for Christmas Eve brunch – in an earlier post. Our local church, where we all usually attend a watchnight service from 11:15pm to just after midnight, will this year be a virtual YouTube service at 6pm, so we may even have an early night for once on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day will be spent finalising the preparations for lunch, an exchange of presents (I’ve referred to our “secret Santa” arrangement in an earlier post) and television, with at least some watching the 92-year-old Queen’s Speech from 3pm. Some of us (the “republicans” in our midst) may choose to go for a walk instead.
One of our daughters marks up the TV guide pages with a highlighter pen, and she’ll no doubt have a number of programmes we’ll watch together.
Last year, with a Salvation Army boyfriend in attendance, we had musical duets, but this year I suspect it may be a board game instead.
I’m sorry to have begun this post with a list of rules and regulations, but that is the nature of this pandemic where we are, and I suspect it may not be that different for many MLT Club members this year.
I take the opportunity today (and no doubt there may be others before this Advent challenge finishes) to wish everyone a happy Christmas and a guid (Scots for “good”) New Year in 2021.
The latest restrictions announced for Scotland this evening mean the original window from 23 to 27 December has now been reduced to 24 hours only on 25 December 2020.
We should still be able to have our family meal together, but plans to have some family members stay overnight have now been abandoned, along with our own plans to visit St Andrews on Boxing Day.
In the latest revision to our plans, six (and no dog) will now convene for the day in St Andrews, not in Perth. This offers the most get-away opportunity to most (four of the six who don’t live in St Andrews already), but not to the dog, who lives in Glasgow.