We decided ages ago to not see any family / friends / grandparents over xmas.

For the sake of another few months of social isolation until a vaccine arrives I’m not willing to run the risk of my family potentially infecting others or exposing my own family to it.

Based on local friends / neighbours we’ll be in a tiny minority as pretty much everyone we know has flouted the rules right from the outset – they all still clapped for the NHS though.

Based on local friends / neighbours we’ll be in a tiny minority as pretty much everyone we know has flouted the rules right from the outset – they all still clapped for the NHS though.

Same. My old neighbours from the start were having friends and family over throughout lockdown 1, loads of work done on the house, people staying over etc. Were they out there every Thursday clapping for the NHS? You can bet they were.

loads of work done on the house

This was okay if done safely as it was work not leisure

Well my girlfriend has confirmed she is going to her parents for a few days, just the 3 of them. I’m not going home so it’s Christmas on my own. I don’t feel comfortable going with her, and her parents aren’t my biggest fans. At least I can go for a bike ride and not have to worry about burning the turkey.

You’ve got me worried about the Turkey now.

Yeah, the kerning on this site is debatable.

Like many we will be applying/adapting the rules with a little common sense to try and get through this as best we can.

I’ve got two kids (9+13) and my wife is a secondary school teacher – we want to try and see both sets of in-laws over Christmas but have ‘difficult’ circumstances to negotiate.

My folks are mid-70s and live in a retirement complex – both have minor underlaying health conditions and have been pretty sensible.

My wife’s folks currently have 4 foster kids (all of whom will be seeing their own families in the run-up to Christmas) and have regular contact with both of my wife’s sisters (both work for the NHS – one of them is a nurse on a COVID ward) and their grubby school aged kids.
They’ve all been a bit ‘fast and loose’ with the COVID rules – using ‘childcare’ as an excuse to do whatever they want.

We are planning to effectively isolate from the Friday before Christmas, and see my Mum and Dad Christmas day – this means we can reasonably assume all parties are ‘clean’ on this day.

Boxing day we’ll briefly see my wife’s parents and whoever else happens to be there on the day.
Following this we will effectively self-isolate again until new year to ensure we don’t spread whatever we might catch ’round her Mum and Dads.

Gutted we can’t see the usual other friends/families we normally see over Christmas but that is the way it needs to be.

Not looking forward to Boxing day – i feel like i might as well lick the doorknobs of a COVID ward.

It just seems madder than a box of frogs to me. Either we need to be locked down or we don’t. It’s not like Covid is taking five days off from spreading because it’s Christmas. No wonder some folk are confused and others are just saying **** it and doing what they please.

It just seems madder than a box of frogs to me. Either we need to be locked down or we don’t. It’s not like Covid is taking five days off from spreading because it’s Christmas. No wonder some folk are confused and others are just saying **** it and doing what they please

My thoughts exactly.

Well today has resulted in a flurry of incoming calls and messages to ‘arrange’ Christmas so we have made an early declaration that we will not be joining anyone for Christmas, we hereby await the fallout/mediation…

Not dissimilar to spooky above – thoughtlessly vaguely assented to going over to my sister’s some time over the Xmas period, before all this gubbins about Christmas Bubbles came out, am now reconsidering as OH is somewhat vulnerable and the case rates, albeit low both there and here, are higher than when we last saw them in the summer.

Could suggest going for a walk halfway between our 2 places but seems a bit harsh on the 3 infection vectors kids, who, no doubt, would prefer to be at home in the warm messaging their mates.

Don’t know what to do…

The latest (and I presume common) assumption is that a relative proposes to visit us, followed by another family member the next day, who is already meeting another household.

Until we pointed out that of course, it’s not two contacts each, it’s an exclusive bubble of three.

So if you are only meeting someone for a day or two, you are putting trust that those contacts are not seeing anyone else on other days.

I’ve not seen my parents since August, when they popped round shortly after I broke my leg avoiding an altercation with John Deere on my road bike. I’ve got two sisters, with children, so have decided that I won’t be seeing my parents, because I know how much joy they get from their Grandkids. It’s a bugger, but given that we’ve got F-i-L staying with us, a necessity. Just seems utterly stupid, allowing such mixing indoors, but I expect nothing less from this Govt.

So much easier not to bother. My parents live round the corner but contact at Christmas will be 2 metres apart on the doorstep, as it has been pretty much since about the middle of March.

Once they are vaccinated (both either side of 80) then we’ll have a proper celebration.

It’s been agony not seeing my kids and grandchildren this year. Plenty of tears have been shed by us all.

But we’ve all settled into a new routine of meeting regularly by FaceTime which has helped.

To meet up now will not only expose us to the risk of infection but upset us all when we have to part again for who knows how long.

I’d rather knuckle down and carry on as we are until the glorious day when we receive the vaccine and can truly start to rebuild our society.

The mixing of households and the liberal application of the law has been a real bugbear of mine right through, especially given my job working on the pandemic response, and I expect it’ll be equally frustraing both under the new tiers and Christmas. The data, which is publicly available, on which the new tiers is based is stark about where we are where we need to get to. I want to see my folks next Christmas too so doubt very much we’ll be seeing them other than a distanced door step present drop. I suspect they will bubble with my sister, so that’s a 6 and us with my FIL. As above, we’re close to getting this moving the right way and IMO can’t risk it going sharply upwards again in January and when flu season really hits.

Another one here who is having to fight the various parts of the family who don’t understand it’s 2 households only over the 5 days. Add in various birthdays around Christmas and New Year and it’s turning into a bloody nightmare to the point where I’m about to say I’m seeing my parents and my sister only. Trouble is I’ll turn up at my parent’s house and others will descend on it anyway.

Might just not bother at all at this rate.

I’m honestly quite glad Xmas is cancelled this year for my family. Xmas has no sentimental value in our family and is more about who can get the most expensive presents. Pretty sad really. So I’m going to be spending the day up in Kielder on my bike on my tod.

It’s about time we had a scaled down Christmas as last couple of years it’s got out of hand, my OH getting ridiculously stressed and spending tonnes of money we dint have, with me just using it as an excuse to get pissed every night in December and a rise in fractiousness and arguments. Last Xmas Eve was ruined cos my OH freaked out cos we ran out of wrapping paper for the kids presents and instead of consoling her I just had a go at her cos it was all so silly.

We re now separated by the way so looking forward to a Xmas period on my own with possibly Xmas day and boxing day with the kids. We need to calm Xmas down it’s just a frenzy. It’s not just us I gather

Dropped a bit of shopping off at my parents this afternoon and we’ve agreed we’ll have a proper Christmas get together when we are allowed, and they have had vaccines. They are quite happy to miss this Christmas if it means that they can have a few more.

For Tory voting Brexiteers, they are finally pissed off with Boris & Co for this latest cock up.

Despite the in-laws being our childcare we’re just meeting the 3 sets of grandparents outside for a walk over a few days.

Enjoying a quite Christmas playing with Duplo, brio, Playmobil, some colouring in and probably a bike ride with the wee man.

We’ve not had the conversation about Christmas yet. Between Mr Pea and my families, we have 8 “households” including my mum and my M-I-L who both live alone. One problem is my mum, who is 74 and has been totally flouting the rules, with several of her mates, continuing to visit each others’ houses, eating and drinking with each other. I’m just as worried about catching Covid from her as us passing it on to her! I don’t know what to do!

Vicky Pea – Same situation here. I think the problem with some of the elderly, is that they don’t know anyone who has caught this, so until they have the evidence in front of them it’s hard to compute. Also they are old and haven’t got long left and want to enjoy life. This of course is not all older people, most are very responsible, considerate and are self isolating.

If people are still undecided as to what to do in this free for all over Christmas, have a little thought for the NHS staff.
I was chatting to a friend in town yesterday. It was brief as he was queuing at the local fish mongers. At first I didn’t recognise him, as he looked like a broken man. He is a doctor and his wife a GP. They are just, sleeping, eating and breathing in the little time they have off work. Its these people who are going to be trying to look after the extra cases in the 3rd wave a few weeks after January.

I for one am going to wait a year and help them.