Starting to feel really stressed and would appreciate some advice

I believe It would be best if everyone takes a LFT before attending a party that would help me to feel more safe in a group situation and wearing PPE. Keep those windows open too.

CrazyH I agree with you too.
We have to start living a normal life, to totally avoid COVID we will live half a life at best.
Last Christmas we had our daughter, SIL and grandchildren to stay ( against the rules) we all did a test beforehand.
I am so glad we did.

It is not unreasonable to ask guests to take a lateral flow test.
If this gathering is being held in your home I would insist.
Alternatively, don't attend yourself.

The attitude of your husband and his family give an insight into why covid is spreading so rapidly.

Having covid 'not very badly' is not a welcome prospect and you would have to isolate for ten days yourself.

Make sure that you have had your booster jab as well. If you have had all three jabs, you are well protected and if the worst happens, you are very unlikely to have COVID very badly.

By the time the party happens your DHs son will have tested negative so the other relatives would not be able to catch it from them. Presumably if they test positive then the party won’t happen as meeting them will be the whole point of it.

CrazyH I agree with you. I went to Tenerife in August with my daughter , her partner & gd . We returned unscathed & chilled . My in-laws went to Blackpool for 3 days & contracted covid . Your visitors from abroad are more likely to be ok as you mentioned they had to test before travelling here. Enjoy your Christmas & stop stressing so much , you have been vaccinated & follow the rules / mask , sanitizer, etc & enjoy. My friend was diagnosed with cancel just before first lockdown , age 52 she has hardly left her home since to keep herself safe & now she has been given only a month to live . Consultant told her to go & enjoy the time she has left . Too late for her I’m afraid ?

Even the UK government is saying to do tests before meeting with others.
I think it would be reasonable to ask all the family members to test, even if no-one had been in contact with the Thailand relatives.

Hopefully my sister is arriving here on Wednesday from the US. She is having a test on arrival at the airport to hopefully get a quick result but in the meantime she is staying with me. I will isolate with her until her result comes through, if negative, all will be well and the rest of the family can come round. If it’s positive, I’ll have to isolate with my sister for however long the rules state - ten days if the new variant but not sure otherwise.

There is no way would I expect my sister to stay in a hotel on her own for a couple of days, we intend to take frequent tests before all family gatherings and visits to mum in her care home and are not planning to go to the shops, cinema, theatre or any large gatherings so hopefully all will be fine. Luckily I don’t have any hospital appointments until mid January, I had an MRI scan yesterday and await the results before decisions about further treatment is made.

I refuse to get paranoid about Covid anymore, I’ll wear a mask, test, shop online, avoid crowded indoor places etc etc but I am still going to carry on having a life outside these four walls.

Ask them to do a lateral flow test, and all being well, just relax.

Aren’t you being a bit paranoid? We’ve just spent a day in a Hotel , staying overnight……the lobby was packed. The tables were fully booked. Patrons were milling around. I had my covid pass but no one checked it. No one checked anything…lateral flow results, nothing. I think this Covid business is gone really far. How are we going to get an immunity, if we are going to isolate ourselves? Have a nice time with your visiting family. I have been a fatalist. I am in the here and now. Majority won’t agree with me…

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask everyone to take a test. I was at a friend's house the other evening, and she asked everyone to do a test. There were only four of us and we have all been very careful, but all the same, it only takes a few minutes and put her mind at rest, so nobody minded at all.