Christmas 2020

Christmas for most people looked very different in 2020. It was my first ever one entirely in my own home and also the first one where I didn't see any of my family in person because of the COVID-19 government guidelines here in the UK. My mum is classed as vulnerable so I stayed away in order to help keep her safe and healthy. I usually spend a couple of days at her house from Christmas Eve until Boxing Day. So, as I was unable to do that this year, I decided to make my Christmas as special as I could.

I bought decorations for a table centrepiece and a matching garland for my mantle, I got new table mats, made a table runner from three different Christmas fabrics I have, I made myself a Christmas Eve box, bought far too many sweet treats and I put up a second, smaller tree that had my Grandma's decorations on, so I wouldn't be alone over Christmas and New year.

Christmas Eve

I woke up silly early but eventually managing to get back to sleep. I was working 9-4 and we'd been steadily busy Christmas week instead of rushed busy as we usually are. It looks like a lot of people had decided to shop online instead of heading into town to buy their gifts.

I got home and as my housemate had left for his girlfriends the previous night until early January, I had the place to myself. He had bubbled up with her during the first lockdown and as his parents are also vulnerable, he went to his girlfriend's instead.

I got into my pj's, made my tea of a jacket potato with cheese, set the kitchen table for Christmas Day, washed up the pots and got a Quorn sausage roll out the freezer for part of my Christmas Day buffet-style tea.

I skyped with my brother for a bit in the evening, my mum wasn't feeling very well so I didn't get to talk to her. My brother as I usually play a board game on Christmas Eve night but we just chatted and had a catch-up instead.

When we finished our call, I opened my Christmas Eve box that I'd made for myself. I covered the box that I got my Mela weighted blanket in during the first lockdown and put in a few treats for that night and the following few days.

This meant that because I woke up later than planned I was later having my breakfast because had to wait for the oven to warm up first. It wouldn't have been an issue but I needed to be showered, dressed and out of the house for church by about 10.15 am as the service started at 10.45. As I was sat drinking my tea I was thinking about how nice it would be to just stay home and leisurely get ready for the day, but I knew as I wasn't seeing anyone in my family that day or anyone at all for a few days, that I really should kick myself up my own ass and move off the sofa to the shower.

As expected, the church message and seeing my church family was very uplifting. My mindset had been helped earlier that morning with a really beautiful sunrise which I took a photo of, as it's something I do. I chatted to Pastor P when I got there and he showed me some of his sunrise photos, now he and I going to have a sunrise photo competition. He's going to print out our best ones, put them up in church and see if we can get others to join in.

I walked home in a happy and positive mood and while the oven was warming up again and my Christmas day dinner was cooking, I opened my gifts to me while also watching Singing in the Rain that was on the TV. I've seen it before but it's been a while. I had my dinner and listened to the film in the background so it wasn't too quiet in the house. I wasn't in the mood to listen to Christmas music so the film stayed on the TV in the living room.

After clearing up and washing the pots I made a fresh cup of tea and set up my laptop for another Skype session this time with my mum, who was feeling much better, and brother who lives with her as her carer. I hadn't opened any of my gifts from them, but they had done some in the morning while I was at church. I opened my gifts from them, then we did mums gifts from me, that I had ordered online and had sent to their house for my brother to very kindly wrap up for me. Then it was mums gifts from my brother and his gifts from me. There were lots of chats and laughs in between the gifts as we usually do when I'm there in person with them and the call lasted 1 1/2 hours! My mum was much better, and it was so good to see her on my laptop screen, even if it wasn't the way we usually do Christmas

My Mum asked where I was this morning, I said Church and explained how I've been going a while and that it would be good to see people today. She's known for a while but I'd never got around to telling my brother as he's someone who pooh-pooh's things that he doesn't understand or that he's not interested in. Last year I didn't have the mental strength to deal with whatever he would say, so I just never told him. But now he knows and I think he understood about me seeing some people this day would be good instead of not seeing anyone.

Then I caught up on some vlogmas video's on YouTube and had a thoroughly lazy afternoon.

I had another buffet-style tea but forgot to get some eggs so I was unable to try making my first ever cheese flan that I had planned on doing. I was going to do a crustless one because a blind-baked pastry case is a faff even if it's premade ready to roll pastry. I had some Marks and Spencer trifle and Christmas cake for pudding. The Christmas cake was one from Marks and Spencer with royal icing rather than the rolled on icing which I don't like. It's nice but missing the booze and defiantly not as good as the one my brother makes from my mum's recipe, I also didn't have any decorations to put on the top of it as I usually come home with a section the one my brother makes.

At 7.40 pm - 9.10 pm, it was Call the Midwife Christmas special time, which had been recorded under COVID rules with social distancing during the summer. It was later than usual being recorded due to the first lockdown shutting filming down for a while.

Then it was time for milky hot chocolate and bed.

Boxing Day

I had another sleep in this morning so I must've needed the rest the past few days, after waking up early again but I managed to get back to sleep easier than the past few days.

I'm still feeling happy, calm, positive and hopeful even though it has been a very different and a much more solitary Christmas this year.

After breakfast and getting ready for the day I started to prepare my planners for 2021, I caught up on some Instagram tasks as I needed to create and schedule some posts for the few days following Boxing Day.

In the afternoon I watched Cinderella and Grease on the TV, before making another buffet tea.

Next door had their grandchildren round so it was noisier in the evening than the past few nights, I'm not usually here to hear it on Boxing Day but as I was watching the film 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society' on the TV I didn't hear them that much.

It was another good day today, chilled, calm and positive.

Evaluation

I missed spending physical time with my family over Christmas so I'm grateful I was able to see some people in real life at church on Christmas day. I had come to terms with the thought that I would not be able to see family at Christmas from around September when the numbers in the UK started to rise again. Then especially when we had the November lockdown to lower the numbers in the hope that some people could have a more normal Christmas.

I'm also glad that I made it a bit more special for myself with the Christmas Eve box and the table decorations.

How was your Christmas?

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I'm looking forward to hearing from you!