Christmas decorations.

Due to total estrangement from my son and my lovely grandsons I'm afraid my enthusiasm waned a long time ago. Christmas is something to get through and come out the other side. I wouldn't be seeing my grandsons even on a "normal" Christmas. My husband has never enjoyed it and has never seen the point of putting up loads of decorations but conceded for the children who are no longer in our lives. So no, I shall enjoy looking at them in garden centres but thats3as far as it goes.

Hoping my mood will change as time gets nearer but at minute I'm with you on this

Delivery slots are already getting harder to get. I would book one now before impossible to get one. If you are not set up for online grocery delivery I would do it now, so you won't be on s position of having to go out if you are unwell and live alone.

We usually go and pick a Christmas tree but I am even wondering if I can get one delivered this year.

I think I have read that Boris might drop rule of 6 for Christmas day.

Don’t think about Christmas if it upsets you.
It’s far too early, anyway.

If you can’t go inside a supermarket without getting upset, then do a click and collect grocery order. Or a delivery if possible.

Every year it’s the same old complaints.
Usually about who is spending time with who.

I had a Zoom birthday during lockdown and it was fun with a competitive element. We had exactly the same meal, at the same time and showed off at each stage, ours looks better than yours kind of thing! We even managed to argue over the pudding choices , again fun. We asked if the others would like more wine but of course they had to top up themselves. That would work well for absent families at Christmas although timings could be difficult if families in different time zones.

I love Christmas, but don't feel in the least bit christmassy just yet - probably because I haven't been out to be confronted by the shops, etc.

Newatthis
I’m sorry you’re feeling this way. Try to remember, just as others have said, that we’re all pretty much in the same boat this year, and not much to look forward to in the new year. Hopefully we’ll get a vaccine some time next year and things will begin to return to normal, although that will take a while as it will take time to inoculate everyone. For now, I’d say don’t focus too much on Christmas, it’s still nearly three months away. So long as the children get their gifts, and we all get to eat a Christmas dinner somewhere, then it’s as much as we can hope for this time round I’m afraid.

Sorry you felt sad. I do think we just have to accept this year is going to be very different. Look at ways you can make it a bit special and treat yourself. The good times will come again.

I haven't seen my family for nearly a year, and I usually go back to England to see them every three or four months. But it is what it is and getting on with it because don't have a choice.

So DH and I will hunker down and have a cosy Christmas alone, or with our very dear French friends if they can't get go to their family. Have to put a positive spin on it. It's really not that difficult, be resourceful.

For me it’s the build up to Christmas that drags me down, and it seems to get longer each year. I’m usually very confident but tears will be close. Seems so unbalanced and commercial and miles away from what it is really all about.

Let’s continue to reach out and support each other. And the Zoom dinner is a stunning idea. And I’d add some of the meal preparation to add extra fun. Be strong as you can and you’re far from alone.

There’s a hint in today’s papers that there could be relaxations in the rules over Christmas. I realise this won’t help everyone but it’s something to hope for. Also new infections are levelling off. Again a good sign.

I fully understand the OP's tearful moment as I've felt like that a few times during the last 6 months. I didn't bother to get out any of the usual bits and pieces at Easter as we saw no one and I felt very low. Christmas will be different this year as we will not be having our usual large extended family gathering, nor will we be able to throw our usual NY Day party, unless a miracle occurs. We've decided that all the lights will go up outside from 1 December as usual though and also indoor decorations and trees. They will provide cheer for anyone passing by as well as ourselves during the dark Winter days.

Already looking forward to Christmas. Love it. Have just bought a lovely new artificial tree and have bought some beautiful new Christmas crockery. Have already bought some Christmas presents. Im planning to do all my food shopping early as I'm wondering how the supermarkets will cope with the run up to Christmas food shop chaos. So intend to be prepared and as stress free as possible. Even frozen veg if necessary. Don't have any family nearby other than DS and DIL and dont know if we will be able to spend time with them. But I have decided I will make the house look extra festive and just enjoy being a little over indulgent.

Quite understandable, Newatthis. We are all feeling anxious and finding it difficult to make plans. I suspect that by mid-December many of us will decide to decorate and plan for a down-sized Christmas.

Not at all religious and since of the Children are now adults I really don’t bother much with Christmas at all, I do buy the grandchildren gifts but then I tend to work on Christmas Day because I work in a care home and I think it’s nice for other workers with small children to have that day off....

Thank you everyone for all your supportive comments. I will try to make best of it. I love the idea of a Zoom Christmas dinner.

We have a large box full of decorations that have been accumulated over the years. Most of which have been bought while we have been away or at Christmas markets on the continent. Bringing them out gives me happy memories.

Yes I think it’s a very different Christmas but we will have to make the most of it. I’m lucky I have my husband and youngest son still here with me but will probably not see my two other sons if this situation continues but I will make the best of what we have and look forward to next year and pray it’s all back to normal for us and that our health is good and we can survive this awful pandemic.

We will be moving house before Christmas and still have loads of de-cluttering to do and it's hard getting rid of stuff in a pandemic (having to make appointments at charity shops etc.) So we have decided just to write Christmas off this year in terms of a family celebration. We'll do cards and presents and have something nice to eat on the day and have phonecalls with our daughters and GCs. But we are hoping there will be more Christmases in future and this will just to remembered as the Covid non-Christmas. Still, just because I'm phlegmatic about it doesn't mean I ignore the OP's pain. We can't be told what to feel. I hope the sadness soon passes.

I understand,Newatthis.It's going to be a very different Christmas for many.I'm not a great lover of Christmas anyway,I'm a widow,but I have family.I've been enjoying going to shops after them being closed for so long,but I felt very sad the other day when all the Christmas stuff was on the shelves.We don't all want to see and hear Christmas everywhere,it's only October,it will get worse,it's so depressing.And you can't even find normal items,as they've been packed away for Christmas,and Halloween.

To me Christmas is a religious festival and whether I celebrate it with family, friends, or only with DH doesn't matter a jot.

If the thought of Christmas this year makes you sad, then perhaps just don't celebrate it. Have a holiday from Christmas and you will probably enjoy it even more next year.

Or you might decide that you can't be bothered with all the fuss any more.

I actually get rid of all my Christmas decorations apart from a load of tinsel which I do love a couple of months ago - nothing to do with Covid, just trying to declutter my one bedroomed flat. Previously things like that were stored in the loft but I'm no longer able to climb into the loft so something had to happen and I have no spare storage facilities or garage or anything like that so have had to be very ruthless with what I keep.

Let’s not forget the thousands of families who have lost loved ones in this epidemic sort of puts it into prospective......

We are having a Zoom Christmas dinner. Three families, us and 2 children, will have a lap top on the table, we will eat at the same time, and we will eat the same thing for each course so it seems we are sharing.

We haven't chosen the actual food yet, and suspect there will be a lot of negotiation!