How different will Christmas 2020 be?

[JollyElfDC]

So am I the only one worried about this Christmas?

I know things are slowly starting to reopen, but personally I think it is way to soon, and I think it will only make things worse in the long run.

I really want to do a big Christmas dinner with a house full of people, but if there is a food shortage, and we we have to social distance, I don't see that happening.

We were actually discussing at work the other day, (I'm an essential) that it might be a good idea to get your turkey now, and keep it in the freezer.

Sorry to be such a downer! I know we all come to this place to be merry, but the world we live in is a very different place than it was a year ago. :sad elf:

[chocolatechip1979]

I was thinking the same thing. Here in NV we are slowly opening stores,salons and day cares. Along with quick cares and dentist. Food shortage was never an issue here but toilet/tissue paper was really like finding treasure for a while. I really just don't want my family and friends living in fear. I have a few of them who haven't left their homes since the 2nd week of March. We will be purchasing our ham and turkey in Sept.

[lizziesnow123]

Good idea with the ham and turkey.:xmascandycane:
.I didn't think of that. I will be buying gifts early this year on line so there won't be any delays with deliveries and avoid going to stores...

I just know without grandkids, Christmas will not be the same....:elf2:

[JollyElfDC]

I really want my ham. I missed out on in it the last two Christmases. That being said, if Christmas dinner is only going to be 2 people, I don't see me making a ham.

[Bishop1954]

In my lifetime, I have seen many things that tried to remove the focus at Christmas... politics, wars, social unrest, etc. But my focus still is on the "Reason for the Season". So no, Christmas Eve and Day will still hold all the magic of my childhood and beyond... :xmashigh5:

[Elf_Erv]

perhaps church service online, fewer family members getting together because of the rona

[Bishop1954]

Possibly... but I can more see a larger area for a candlelight service to keep the distance while preserving the Reason for the Season... :snowman:

[snowbell1]

It will be very different for many as our numbers are going up and we've had a couple of new deaths so we know it will be a matter of time things will be shut down again for me it will be quiet as i'm shut down but,that's okay as i'll get to relax and enjoy the season which will feel good.With all that's happened i've learned how to slow it down and enjoy life just all those little things.

[Bishop1954]

Sometimes it is hard to get the full measure of life when you have to speed through life. I'm positive the season will bring as much joy as it has in years past... :xmaswink:

[snowbell1]

It will be an easy day actually easy holiday as it just being my son and i and our furbabes i'll do just enough baking and doing candies for us and it will be our normal dinner just smaller as we'll exchange our gifts and help our furbabes open theirs and we will just relax and enjoy christmas morning.This will be the first holiday i'll actually be able to just relax and enjoy the spirit of the season actually i think i'm really going to enjoy it all as i enjoy my quiet and relaxed life now,:christmastree: just so much you miss when life is fast paced.

[Bishop1954]

The crowds may indeed be smaller and gatherings at church service may have a little more distance to them. But the spirit cannot be dimmed by events, only in the heart and mine will be wide open to welcome the season once more... :my lord:

[ChantelleJoy]

I think this is such an interesting topic this year - especially in the UK where I keep hearing people say 'Christmas in Cancelled'! Rubbish! As if that were even possible.
Maybe the Markets are closed - maybe the shopping will need to be done online - and maybe there will be fewer parties and concerts, and plays - but we're so lucky to be living in an age where we can continue many of our traditions with just a little bit of effort and technology. As someone who moved 2000 miles away from her family four years ago - I can tell you that you don't have to be in the same room to celebrate together!

For example - AllThingsChristmas is co-hosting the Worlds Biggest Virtual Christmas Market: www.ChristmasMarket2020.com and I'm going to be spending the majority of the next two months doing whatever I can to re-create that festive, amazing atomosphere online for all of those who can't attend the Traditional Christmas Markets that have been cancelled this year. I hope you'll join us!

[snowbell1]

:merrychristmas:Sounds wonderful Chantelle i'll be around.

[chocolatechip1979]

OMG!! Chantelle... I agree with you 100%. Thank you for doing everything you do. My family and I are so excited for "The Christmas Market".. Whether you believe it or not the simple things you do bring us so much joy and we really cherish that. :santa2:

[Bishop1954]

I think this is such an interesting topic this year - especially in the UK where I keep hearing people say 'Christmas in Cancelled'! Rubbish! As if that were even possible.
Maybe the Markets are closed - maybe the shopping will need to be done online - and maybe there will be fewer parties and concerts, and plays - but we're so lucky to be living in an age where we can continue many of our traditions with just a little bit of effort and technology. As someone who moved 2000 miles away from her family four years ago - I can tell you that you don't have to be in the same room to celebrate together!

For example - AllThingsChristmas is co-hosting the Worlds Biggest Virtual Christmas Market: www.ChristmasMarket2020.com and I'm going to be spending the majority of the next two months doing whatever I can to re-create that festive, amazing atomosphere online for all of those who can't attend the Traditional Christmas Markets that have been cancelled this year. I hope you'll join us!

Well put. The spirit of Christmas transcends time, distance and current situations. It will be celebrated here for certain... :christmasdinner:

[amyboyce]

My husband and I have decided to lean into the difference rather than fight it. My elderly folks won't be able to join us this year, so instead of making a big roast with all the trimmings like usual, we've decided to have tacos on Christmas. It's the kid's favorite - he never eats the roast beef! So, I'm planning on spending Christmas Day in my jammies, drinking kir royales and eating my family's special Christmas Dip. I usually spend the whole afternoon in the kitchen. So, I'm sad my parents won't be with us - but looking forward to a relaxing day. In general, I'm actually hoping that this year is a bit of a reset. We've spent the past few seasons running all around, going to every holiday event in town, making a fuss over everything...I'm hoping that we can see family next year, but I'd be okay if the season remained a little quieter overall in years to come.

[Bishop1954]

Simple and relaxing can be a blessing in disguise. As you said amyboyce, most of us spend wau too much time running around and never seem to be able to slow down and really enjoy the Christmas season. So keep looking on the sunny side of life and we will all get through this and still have a very Merry Christmas... :hopxmas:

[Elf_Erv]

just me and the cats, distant family won't be traveling due to the pandemic which is getting worse

[Bishop1954]

It will be just the family here as well, but thank goodness for modern tech... :xmaswink:

[snowbell1]

Think it will be different for many,as my son and i are going to bake enough for us to last until after christmas and we'll be doing our own confections and for christmas eve we will be lounging with our furbabies and watching christmas movies and just munching,christmas morning we will have a light breakfast.Christmas morning will be spending time unwrapping our furbabes gifts and ours,then we will prepping for our christmas dinner which will be the usual our ham dinner as we listen to christmas music and if we have enough snow later we'll go out with the dogs and play in it.Same for Thanksgiving doing our turkey dinner of course we'll do a cheese & crackers with some confections and of course my grandmothers hot chocolate.It will be a cozy holiday here as we will be watching the parade on youtube we will be enjoying a few and some retro christmas commercials.This is a holiday that has become special to me as i can truly embrace the spirit as i'm usually to busy and running around this will be a holiday i will treasure,as i hope you all have a very cherished holiday season.:merrychristmas:

[Bishop1954]

With this pandemic still around (hopefully we will have found a vaccine by then), understandably people will err on the side of caution. But perhaps this year, with smaller gatherings, we can take a moment to look back at Christmas' past and temporarily travel back in our minds and hearts. Traditions however, do not have to be put on pause due to unforeseen circumstances. The dinners may be only for a few versus many, but they can still have the same contents if we desire. I do believe that one positive will be time. Time to relax, time to fully appreciate the season, time to reflect and most importantly... time to look ahead. :santa1:

[Symone]

On my side, it's going to be an incomplete family reunion (but that's okay)!
Some of us cannot travel back to our parents' house with all the safety rules in place.

Thanks to technology, we're going to be 'broadcasting' gatherings at different places on the big screen TV (I hope it works out well).
Though I doubt we'd be too engaged physically to care about what's happening on the other side (the TV) xD

We have friend suppliers for Christmas food and turkey too (because it's hard to get one in the stores), which we normally book 3-6 months before Christmas.
We only hope that the supplier is able to get them in time.

At best, we are going to have 6 of us, instead of a regular 11-ish.
Well, I guess we'll just make it as warm as we can, with what we have now. :treedance:

[Bishop1954]

On my side, it's going to be an incomplete family reunion (but that's okay)!
Some of us cannot travel back to our parents' house with all the safety rules in place.

Thanks to technology, we're going to be 'broadcasting' gatherings at different places on the big screen TV (I hope it works out well).
Though I doubt we'd be too engaged physically to care about what's happening on the other side (the TV) xD

We have friend suppliers for Christmas food and turkey too (because it's hard to get one in the stores), which we normally book 3-6 months before Christmas.
We only hope that the supplier is able to get them in time.

At best, we are going to have 6 of us, instead of a regular 11-ish.
Well, I guess we'll just make it as warm as we can, with what we have now. :treedance:

As long as the Spirit is there, it can still be one for the memory books. We are going to make a scrapbook page (with copies) and call it "A COVID Christmas to Remember"... :elf3:

[Symone]

You're right! Awh, that's going to be so memorable. I can copy that idea :D

[Mistletoe]

Both holidays will be heavily impacted for us. I have to say that I am interested to see how I will do. We have collectively decided to only do gifts for the kids in the family this year, which will be strange. And while it's always nice seeing everyone, and togetherness is a big part of the season, I'm also wondering if it will be a reset and make us appreciate things more. I'm looking forward to peacefulness and I trust my Christmas Spirit will be burning bright!

We bought our turkey in July and it's taking up too much room in the freezer!

[Bishop1954]

Both holidays will be heavily impacted for us. I have to say that I am interested to see how I will do. We have collectively decided to only do gifts for the kids in the family this year, which will be strange. And while it's always nice seeing everyone, and togetherness is a big part of the season, I'm also wondering if it will be a reset and make us appreciate things more. I'm looking forward to peacefulness and I trust my Christmas Spirit will be burning bright!

We bought our turkey in July and it's taking up too much room in the freezer!

Maybe you could cut it in half and do one portion for Thanksgiving and the other for Christmas... As far as your Spirit... I'll be able to see it from South Dakota. :xmaseyeroll:

[snowbell1]

Our numbers are are really climbing now so we may be shut down again for the holidays which for my son and i is not an issue we are looking forward to our quiet holiday here,this year we are enjoying the real feel of the holiday season it's been so amazing our home has a different feel this year it's hard to explain.Know what you mean mistletoe we got our turkey a few weeks ago it's big but,it was at a good price so it's in our other freezer and we got cans of cranberry sauce,all the other stuff for our baking .:santa2:

[Bishop1954]

This year will be different in more ways than just the pandemic. I will retire next Wednesday. Take the rest of November to visit my in-laws and then all of December just to enjoy the holiday season completely. I think I've earned it... lol. Like most everyone, it will be a bit quieter than it has in the past, but perhaps a closer listening to "Silent Night" will give it a whole new meaning of love, joy and peace on Earth. :xmaswink:

[Mistletoe]

This year will be different in more ways than just the pandemic. I will retire next Wednesday. Take the rest of November to visit my in-laws and then all of December just to enjoy the holiday season completely. I think I've earned it... lol. Like most everyone, it will be a bit quieter than it has in the past, but perhaps a closer listening to "Silent Night" will give it a whole new meaning of love, joy and peace on Earth. :xmaswink:
Hear, hear!

I mean, if we can't make this work, who can? We've got Christmas Spirit stored up in us!

[Bishop1954]

Hear, hear!

I mean, if we can't make this work, who can? We've got Christmas Spirit stored up in us!

Well put. Those in whom the light shines need to make certain others can see it even thru the fog of COVID-19... :elf3: