Unexpected Christmas Day for 2 - what to do?

Still able to visit family on Christmas Day. Having cancelled flight's to visit family we are visiting other son who was on standby in case we did have to change plans. Only going in time for the meal. I know, it only takes 15 mins exposure to pick up the droplets or touch a contaminated surface once to become infected. We will be restricted to kitchen/diner with french doors open and hopefully be able to go for a short walk afterwards before heading back home. If we weren't allowed any visits I would dress up a bit, have a bucks fizz breakfasts and a reasonable dinner then slum out for the rest of the day. It is just one day and not being particularly religious, other than enjoying seeing children with their Santa gifts, the day doesn't have any significant meaning except it being a holiday.

This is your chance to try Christmas on your own with your husband.

It might just make you want to reconsider the enormous gathering you usually have.

As you probably have already bought or ordered most of the food, I would go ahead and cook some of it for the two of you.

Certainly, dress nicely, decorate as usual and enjoy your Christmas alone.

This is what we do when we are alone at Christmas.

Daisymae

I'm thinking that I will spread the dining out over the day. So starter late morning, late lunch then pudding in the evening. We don't like big meals so this will work for us. Having a veggie Wellington delivered so no faffing involved.

Good Idea Daisy

Do whatever you feel like on the day. No plans, no expectations. Take it as it comes, may just depend on the weather. We are the same here. Probably beans and toast for lunch, what does it matter? We must just think ourselves lucky to be here and have food and shelter many don’t.

Just the two of us for the first time in 46yrs of marriage! We shall have panettone and Buck’s Fizz for breakfast after opening stockings, listen to or watch a church service so I can cry at the ‘Yea Lord we greet thee’ verse in O Come All Ye Faithful (as I always do in church on Christmas Day, no idea why, I just do), open our gifts, zoom call all the family and have a smaller Christmas dinner with chicken instead of the large turkey already bought and frozen. In the afternoon it will be a good walk followed by TV by the fire.
For those on their own and struggling to fill the day the following link might be useful?
www.wea.org.uk and look up free Christmas activities - a full day of all sorts of things to engage with.

I'm so, so upset I won't be seeing my DD&GC for Xmas dinner as arranged, first time we have not been together for Xmas! Can't do zoom call as I will cry all the way through! so better not to go there.

Two of you together doesn't equate to being on your own unlike anyone who has been widowed.

Be grateful you are still alive and have your husband with you. Anything else is irrelevant and unimportant.

Having said that, I shall put on a nice dress, cook myself a special meal accompanied by a good bottle of wine and settle down for the rest of the day to do whatever I choose, not forgetting a new toy and a special lunch for my cat!

Happy Christmas everyone.

I wasn’t complaining about it just being the 2 of us - in reply to some of the sniping posts. I said I know we are lucky - it’s just the 6 days notice that have made me think about it. Yes I do blame Johnson and co I think he should never have taken it on himself to curry popularity by relaxing the rules in the first place. I was just interested in what others were doing with a last minute change of plans.

I'm thinking that I will spread the dining out over the day. So starter late morning, late lunch then pudding in the evening. We don't like big meals so this will work for us. Having a veggie Wellington delivered so no faffing involved.

My OH and I have had a few Xmas just the two of us, they have all been lovely in their own way. Some have been 'slobbits', we even walked the dog in PJ's one year!

We always have the works food wise, b'fast is usually eggs Benedict with smoked salmon. Lunch a starter (this year I will make smoked mackerel pate), followed by Turkey and Gammon with all the trimmings and if we have room we have all the usual festive puds. Play scrabble, watch the queens speech, and generally slob!

Xmas eve is home roasted Gammon, jacket spuds and salads. Boxing day is cold meats and salads t h enemy the Turkey is b tagged up into single portions and popped into the freezer.

The Christmas we had planned disappeared ages ago - daughter and son-in-law with their son (our only grandchild) were coming over from America; other daughter with her boy friend were coming from Manchester - they were all going to stay for around a fortnight! My 93 year old mother lives nearby and she was coming as and when she pleased to join in.

But all international travel plans were cancelled and as daughter in Manchester is still in lockdown/ Tier 3 (and is worried about putting her Gran at risk), we both decided back in October that she and her boyfriend will not be coming.

So it will be just the two of us until Christmas Eve, when I'll take my mother to Church and in the afternoon we will listen to Carols from Kings and do the prep for Christmas Day - stuff the (small) turkey, make the gravy, bacon rolls, mince pies etc.

On Christmas Day morning my mother ( who we set up in a support bubble with us) and I will Skype my sister, who lives in Australia, before we go to Church for Choral Communion. Then it will be home for a glass of Cava and opening presents with my husband. At Christmas Lunch we will have all the usual things - lighting the candles, pulling crackers, setting the pudding alight etc. Then my husband and mother will probably fall asleep in front of the fire and I'll clear up in time to watch the Queen at 3 o'clock. After that, if it's dry and not too cold, we will go for a walk in the local park. Then speak to both daughters on WhatsApp and watch our grandson open some of his presents. My mother will want to go home after tea, so my husband and I will have the evening to ourselves in front of the log fire.

Not the Christmas we had planned, but I'm choosing to make the most of what we do have, and trying not to dwell what we're missing.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a much happier New Year 2021!

I can’t believe I’m saying this as I’m not a religious person but I think I’ll take a walk to our beautiful village church, light a candle and say a little prayer for the world and every living creature in it.

We will be staying in our pyjamas all day . Opening our presents in the morning and having a Christmas dinner in the evening ( in our pyjamas ) . You do what ever makes you happy . Merry Christmas ?

We are in Wales so locked down. My daughter and grandchild were going to stay for the 'allowed break' over Christmas. We have have had Christmas on our own for several years now so I was thrilled that they wanted to come.
Trying to see positives here.
We are all alive and relatively healthy. I have persuaded my OH that we stay in the guest room and pretend we are on holiday ?

Very first Christmas ever with just the two of us. We will still do the full Xmas meal, hopefully a walk (weather willing) and then a Skype call to our son in America. He would normally be home for a couple of weeks at this time of year, but instead is stuck in a tiny very urban high rise apartment, with virtually no outdoor space, on his own. Dreadful. We feel fortunate to have a decent size house and garden, the TV, internet, books and each other. Roll on 2021 and the vaccination.

hubby cooking a small goose - I am making the stuffing! probably bucks fizz and salmon and toast for breakfast... We always make stock from the goose so have some of those itsu dumplings for making an oriental soup in the "diet days" after Christmas! We have been working from home together since March so, apart from the festive food and no work, it will be much the same as usual! Our neighbours are all in touch with each other which is nice and we will share delivery slots if needed in the Christmas aftermath. Last year I celebrated my 60th birthday with friends in a rather lovely location. It will be very different this year!

Firstly it’s not ‘thanks to Johnson & co’ ... it’s thanks to all the thousands of Covidiots who didn’t adhere to the rules earlier on in the piece .....!!!!!
And lucky you to be ‘Just’ the two of you .... as above, there are thousands of people on their own with dear relations thousands of miles away in USA, or a long way away in Wales, me included. I’d give anything to be ‘JUST the two of us’.....

jocork
Do you have a cool bag, that would help keep things warm and maybe gravy in a vacuum flask. If not you can put the food in lidded boxes and wrap them in a towel to help keep them warm. You can leave yoy meal, covered in foil, in a very low oven to keep hot till you get back. It's very kind of you to provide for your friend x

This will be our third Christmas with just the two of us. Children stay in their own family group and meet in-laws either Christmas Day or Boxing Day as they are much closer. No meeting up for anyone this year though as two families are in tier 4. A quick Zoom or Whatsapp call as usual. Two families have their own traditions now. One single son prefers Christmas alone and won't join anyone and another family is in Australia. We are used to it now. DH wouldn't bother either if left to him! It can be lonely as he lives for his iPad!

Just do whatever you want to do, there will be just the 2 of us this year, we can't wait. I will cook our favourite food and have our favourite wines - probably fall asleep in the afternoon. Bliss

It was going to be 4 of us, and bought a smallish turkey, which will now stay in the freezer, probably until Easter. My 2 sons (separate households) moved from tier 2 to tier 4, so we have invited other half's son who lives on his own and will get a leg of lamb or joint of beef. Starters were already made and frozen so we will have those and make a simpler desert, probably apple pie and butterscotch sauce instead of a meringue roulade or pavlova.
Big foamily celebration with delayed presents will wait until we can get together.

We will possibly walk round to the cemetary to put something on the family plots that are there. Usually do this in the week leading up to Xmas but will give us a reason to go out This will be weather dependant because if it is raining DH wont go out!!! Then home to have a christmas dinner, feet up and the TV. One of my sons ordered us a M& S Christmas afternoon hamper so will possible partake of a slice of cake and a cuppa late afternoon. We may even delve into the chocs later on in the evening.

This year it will be just the two of us for the first time in 40 yrs. It's my birthday on Christmas day and since our daughters had children of their own I have not been allowed to cook on christmas day, my duties being to entertain the little ones and keep them out of the kitchen,so this will be the first time in 13 yrs that I have to cook a christmas dinner. We will have a proper christmas lunch with all the trimmings including crackers and candle table centre. We will eat at the table, which is an event in itself. I will wear my top with a reindeer on ready for the video calls with the family. I've bought treats such as chocolates and we will have a small buffet tea in the evening.

I'm going to be alone as my plans to visit my DD in Scotland have been scuppered. I'm in tier 4 and don't have anyone to bubble with so it will be a zoom Christmas. DS and DiL will probably join us on zoom with baby GS from Germany. Just need to agree the times now to fit around their contact with DiL's family too. Not yet decided whether to dress up or not - may go for a nice top for the zoom but stay in comfy jeans or leggings - no-one will know! As for food I have a neighbour who doesn't have a cooker or a microwave. I'm going to see if she has anything sorted as she is usually invited elsewhere. If not I need to figure out how to take her a hot dinner round without it getting cold and still come back for mine! It's about a five minute walk away so probably need to deliver all in one go. Any suggestions gratefully received. Already decided it will be tipsy trifle instead of Christmas pudding for her then it's only one course to keep hot! I could deliver a cold starter the day before maybe. It seems mean not to provide her with every course but practicalities are complex as she has no means to reheat!
There won't be much present opening either as my present from DS and DiLwas delivered to my DD's home in Scotland! Hope I'll be able to go there in the Spring and that 2021 sees us in a better place. (I did have my first cry of the pandemic on Saturday when the news came but I was already wondering if I was doing the right thing so now feeling slightly relieved. At least I don't have to face a 400+ mile drive! Every cloud ...)

Pippa22, I send my sympathy to you; I'm very aware of those who are alone and are missing their loved ones. (A close family friend will be very quiet this Christmas; her husband's birthday was on Christmas day.) Not a day goes by without me appreciating DH: we both feel very grateful for having each other, and especially so in these difficult times.
Like some of the other GNs here, DH & I are having Christmas together. It'll be a day (or two) of relaxing. We'll have buffet food, a few drinks, some well-chosen (recorded) TV programmes, Netflix, books, and Skye/Zoom calls with family, who all live far & wide. Possibly there'll be a game or two - Jenga comes to mind. Dress will be "smart casual" and the day will start late, with a smoked salmon brunch.