5 day break...

There are loads of folks who have different understanding of what precautions are. Followed a young man into a supermarket yesterday, he had no mask, didn't stop to sanitise his hands and spotted him giving no thought to social distancing. There will be an awful lot of people meeting up at Christmas who will think they have been given permission to do as they please and will do so. And there are those who think because there is a vaccine we don't need to bother now. It's one day of the year, surely worth staying safe to be able to celebrate next year.

lets be fair most people will be very careful and follow the rules over xmas its the mindless people who could not care less about spreading the covid-19 that are the problem in this country did you see them on thec covid-19 march against the lockdown on television in london yesterday they are a disgrace and they should all have been fined £200 each for not keeping there distance

I agree with Fairview.

What is the point of not seeing our family indoors all year to undo everything for one day?

We are currently in a Corona hot spot so will not be seeing our family. Our children have decided not to see each other - we will all be separate.

We hope to meet up outside on a clement day and suitably masked and socially distanced, go for a (hopefully not too long!) country yomp. We will throw presents at each other!

'Crismouse' day itself will be celebrated in June with a Barbie, complete with crackers, Brussels sprouts and Crismouse pudding.

We've cancelled Christmas inside. Its one Christmas. We'll meet various family outside for a socially distanced walk as we have through the year.
Family over the road DD coming from highest spreading area of Wales along with DS from new strain south east area. No doubt they'll all nip to local shops and spread it.
Its about time Boris said sorry folks no mixing.

"Why does it have to be legalised by the government? Can we not just use our own individual common sense?"

I completely agree. I hate this idea that people are expecting their lives to be dictated entirely by government decree. If you don't want to mingle or think it's unsafe to see people, then stay away. We're going to our cottage in the country so we can at least be in the same postcode as the rest of our family but won't be having riotous Christmas fun. Christmas day will be just the two of us after dropping off presents at one daughter's, then much the same the next day seeing the other one. We've also isolated for several days now so we won't be taking any bugs with us.

I think that cautious and sensible people will be careful, and sorry, but I think those who meet up in large groups would do that anyway as they did during lockdown. I fear that we will go into another full lockdown but I hope that this time the police and military will actually monitor people's movements.

Yes, Situpstraight. I so agree.
People are unable to accept responsibility for themselves and if the Government don't ‘ban ‘Christmas, then Boris will get the blame.
People have a choice,but evade the responsibility of making it; so much easier to put the blame on the government, and then talk about infringement of civil liberties.

Just because the Government says you can, it doesn't mean you have to! We all have the choice. Don't blame the Government if we choose to take the risk. We've, sadly, chosen to stay at home. No visitors - too risky.

I honestly think people would of met up anyway and Boris knows this.byes it’s been a tough year for us all and he’s trying to reward us for the majority of us doing the right thing.mimgoing tonbe careful only seeing two sons for limited time host to exchange presents still no hugging and let’s get this over as fast as we can. Let’s be sensible.

We've just cancelled Christmas, its just too risky as DH has a dodgy heart, though not classified as vulnerable.

Sorry don’t know how I put recruiting in my message !!

The sensible thing would be stay in your own home. But 2/3 families mixing will only be a major problem if there are large numbers of different age groups who haven’t been careful.....in my case I have a household of 2 and a single person and a 2 person household will join us ..... 5 people ....all who know how to wash and behave. No children ...no teenagers....age range 23-73.My house is big enough for social distancing.....we won’t all be squashed on a sofa....and can leave a space between us at the table....windows will be opened! However this will not be the case for those households with 5/6 people each....unless you have a mansion how will 15/18 people distance? They are the problem especially when you factor in little superspreaders! Common sense.

It's madness! There would have been less upset and bad feeling if Christmas was banned for everyone.

Children aged 10-18 are now the risk-carriers, usually asymptomatic.

A 73 yr old friend in Wales will be hosting in her small cottage for 5 days and nights .....which will be a tight squeeze with people sleeping on sofas and the floor and only 1 bathroom ......her daughter and 12 yr old granddaughter, who are travelling all the way from the Isle of Wight on the ferry and through England and into South Wales to stay in a small cottage. Added to this mix will be her other daughter and grandson travelling from Dorset to Wales, and then her sister from the South of England.

All those different tiers travelling into Wales and mixing in a small cottage with one small bathroom and staying overnight for 5 days.

My friend says she is "allowed" to do this and "needs to" because she lives on her own.

I was speechless. She breaks the rules all the time so perhaps she is the "Wales superspreader".

It’s complete madness! I have a teenager still at school. Day to day this is a big enough worry but he will be expected to return to school in January with all the pupils that have been mixing and visiting relatives over Christmas. If they don’t extend the school holiday then we will keep him off until things settle down.

I toataly agree with you mama Caz it's a nightmare I have a big family but we definitely will be on video and not mixing.
I will miss them terribly but the alternative is worse.

There has just been a Granddad on tv who is in hospital with COVID which he caught recruiting from his grandson. He said if you saw the look on his Grandsons face when he couldn’t get his breath and was taken to hospital you would change your mind re getting together.

I don't think it can be stopped now. The visiting, not the virus.

I'm Christmassing at home, alone with the dog - the friend and I who had been going to meet for Christmas Lunch having cancelled that weeks ago.

There are some people who so long to see relations, that they will take precautions and go for it.
There are some people who don't give a toss and will do what they want, regardless.
At this stage, I feel both above groups will do so anyway, whether an official change of plans is announced or not.

I continue to do my household shopping at 07:00, which makes it a delightfully solitary experience, and my hands and purchases are sanitized as soon as I get them home.
In the new year, when the Christmas Spike begins to trickle in, I hope not to do any shopping for the month. No stockpiling, I always do try and make as many meals out of the Christmas food as is nutritionally possible! ?

Then I'll wait for the Group Five vaccinations to kick in??

travelsfar it isn’t about gifts is it? God I hope it’s more than that.

It’s about being able to see family, our GCs were in tears last night because they have realised that they won’t see us this year. But we are Face timing instead.

We are gritting our teeth, ref my post above.

To follow medical and scientific advice (and actually who really knows how accurate or not, that is) then they probably need to keep the restrictions going through Xmas...or even go into lockdown. I just don’t know how serious a situation we are in, and no doubt nor do many people-really. However....because I don’t know, we are going to be cautious and just not see our family this Xmas. It means travelling quite a way, and into a higher incidence area, and it doesn’t feel that the occasion is worth the possible risk. None of us celebrate Xmas in a huge way but I understand that some do and so it would be even more of a sacrifice. I’m very sad that I can’t see my children and grandchildren and am just trying to focus on happier times next year.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was a real Father Christmas who could deliver all our gifts to each other thus avoiding us having to meet up to do so

People are unable to accept responsibility for themselves and if the Government dont ‘ban ‘Christmas, then Boris will get the blame.

Nobody will blame themselves for being stupid.

Reminds me of a story a couple of Months ago, where a chap persuaded his father to go out to the local pub to watch a football match on his 80th birthday, his reasoning was that his Dad had been in lockdown since March and deserved some fun- result was his Dad died 3 weeks later of Covid. So very stupid.

Although as a poster said on here yesterday, ‘most people who die with Covid are old and would have died anyway’. Sickening.

Puzzler61, spot on, it's a perfect storm situation.

www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=xjG_VB-la7o

There are sometimes other factors to consider. If it was just down to me I would just quietly spend Christmas with my husband and no-one else. However my Stepson and his ten year old daughter have had the most awful year with two recent bereavements and so we are celebrating Christmas with them and my two other stepsons. Not what I would want at all, but we have to put the ten year old first.

Has anyonè wondered how people managed during the war!!?? They didn't have an option of having husbands, brothers, fathers and sons with them. For goodness sake put safety and health first and have get togethers when it is safe to do so.

Well said Cambia. Everyone has their own views about what we should and should not be doing. God forbid it if we don't obey the rules. We've locked down, worn masks, not mixed and the virus is still spreading. Each to their own I think but just be sensible