Pass the mince pies- Christmas Chat Thread Part Deux

Jude13

DvB has said it all. My struggles running with a mask only to see fools running around without one. Our new back garden has a fence at a lake where people are running past without masks. Grrrrr.

I have been telling my pals that this is what it can feel like being an expat all the time, no pals or family to drop over and just seeing your own household.


I am thinking of putting the tree up in the hall, as the centre piece of the house.

It's beyond disappointing to read what's happening out there. I'm cocooning and I felt a bit guilty for just taking a spin in the car when my partner went to the shop late one evening. I sat in the car and waited. It was a novelty for me to even be wearing shoes!
The only other time I leave the house is to go to hospital for treatment.

This year was supposed to be a very busy year. Two new babies in the family, they'll probably be crawling around by the time I can meet them
6 weddings, 3 are postponed, 3 in limbo.

I have my own wedding next year, we are engaged since Christmas 2018 so we've it well planned, all the main things are booked. We had hoped to start looking at honeymoon destinations this Summer so obviously that won't be happening. We haven't been away on holiday in over 2 years so the honeymoon was going to be a big highlight of planning our wedding, aside from the cake

Right now when I think of Christmas, it seems really far away, but in a good way! I hope by then we'll all be safe and well.

DvB

Deleted User wrote: »

Right now when I think of Christmas, it seems really far away, but in a good way! I hope by then we'll all be safe and well.

One thing being on this christmas forum has taught me is that once the daily countdown goes into the 100's (i.e. 199 onwards) the year seems to fly by at a fair oul lick, I expect this to be no different, other than not having the luxury of a holiday abroad to break the time up.

TRS30

Unfortunately my experiences has been similar to most of you, seen plenty of groups of people who definitely don't all live in the same household, heard a lot of parties, seen multiple cars parked outside a house etc. Similarly we have missed 2 weddings, big anniversaries, milestone birthday parties etc however didn't mind as knew it was for the greater good. Sometimes I do feel like a mug for being so strict, especially with the kids seeing friends and grandparents, especially knowing that other are doing pretty much whatever they want.

Listening to the numbers going down and down has given me some hope that even with not everyone sticking to the restrictions enough are that things are working. I can understand that it's difficult for people however staying at home (if you can) is not that hard and while I have bit my tongue and not said anything if Christmas is ruined more that it needed to be because of the stupid few who couldn't sit on their sofa then I could well have a Michael Douglas Falling Down episode :mad:

Jude13

It'll surely fly! I think I just have this mental block because I've a family wedding in Autumn, and it's shrouded in uncertainty. I really hope we can all start to feel relief as we get closer to Christmas

I watched Cast Away at the weekend, I always forget that it starts off being set at Christmas time so it was a nice little surprise!

Jude13 wrote: »

I am thinking of putting the tree up in the hall, as the centre piece of the house.

When planning our house, I knew instantly where the tree would go

Jude13

^^My dream house would be designed with the tree in mind, and a long landing and ornate staircase so I could see the little elves faces as they run down to see what Santa left them.

Michael Douglas Falling Down, what a vision TRS30, I felt like that a lot driving over here. My OH would love the super power to flip cars with her mind, once no one got hurt.

TRS30

Good old road rage, think it gets to even the most calm and laid back at some stage

New Home

Jude13 wrote: »

^^My dream house would be designed with the tree in mind, and a long landing and ornate staircase so I could see the little elves faces as they run down to see what Santa left them.

Michael Douglas Falling Down, what a vision TRS30, I felt like that a lot driving over here. My OH would love the super power to flip cars with her mind, once no one got hurt.

Sooo... like the staircase in The War of the Roses, then?

Jude13

Had to google it but yes.

kitten_k

We are another household that is sticking to the rules. My goddaughter hasn't seen her grandparents or uncles since March, has no interaction with other kids and is counting down the days until phase 2 so we can go see people. We live more than 5k away from any family so cannot even meet up outdoors with anyone.

DvB

On a christmas related tangent, that client of ours that I spoke about previously, well we had a conference call this morning and it came up that their christmas schedule has already been messed up. They are involved in christmas media releases etc. and have said that a lot of them have been cancelled already (due to soaicla distancing) or have been changed to virtual events rather than 'tastings' and 'welcomes' etc.

They said from talking to their suppliers & businesses they in turn supply and/or engage with that alot of christmas planning starts now in the retail/hospitality/media sectors & that they've all been messed up massively by the pandemic so not to expect even an early return to normality to pass by unnoticed at christmas time. On that note my RTE buddies have told me that many of the shows we take for granted at christmas tend to record in the spring/summer & that loads of these havent gone into production and run the risk of not being completed or indeed being done at all because of the pandemic.

So it seems, albeit 6/7 months away our christmas experiences that we take for granted may already be changing....

TRS30

DvB wrote: »

On a christmas related tangent, that client of ours that I spoke about previously, well we had a conference call this morning and it came up that their christmas schedule has already been messed up. They are involved in christmas media releases etc. and have said that a lot of them have been cancelled already (due to soaicla distancing) or have been changed to virtual events rather than 'tastings' and 'welcomes' etc.

They said from talking to their suppliers & businesses they in turn supply and/or engage with that alot of christmas planning starts now in the retail/hospitality/media sectors & that they've all been messed up massively by the pandemic so not to expect even an early return to normality to pass by unnoticed at christmas time. On that note my RTE buddies have told me that many of the shows we take for granted at christmas tend to record in the spring/summer & that loads of these havent gone into production and run the risk of not being completed or indeed being done at all because of the pandemic.

So it seems, albeit 6/7 months away our christmas experiences that we take for granted may already be changing....

freshpopcorn

Not to bring the mood down but I don't want to be miserable but I’ve no idea how things will be around Christmas if we still have strict social distancing.
How will Santa’s grottos work for example.
Then there’s your generally Christmas shopping before people went in groups sometimes and strolled around the place. Now it will be like a semi military operation and it won’t be the nicest exercise.
The whole lead up and buzz may not be there i my opinion.

TRS30

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Not to bring the mood down but I don't want to be miserable but I’ve no idea how things will be around Christmas if we still have strict social distancing.
How will Santa’s grottos work for example.
Then there’s your generally Christmas shopping before people went in groups sometimes and strolled around the place. Now it will be like a semi military operation and it won’t be the nicest exercise.
The whole lead up and buzz may not be there i my opinion.

I keep trying to convince myself that things will not be that different and that it's still awhile away and somehow things will improve massively before then. Deep down I know it wouldn't however it gets me too down to think about it too much.

On the plus side I think this forum is going to be every more important and hopefully even busier

DvB

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Not to bring the mood down but I don't want to be miserable but I’ve no idea how things will be around Christmas if we still have strict social distancing.
How will Santa’s grottos work for example.
Then there’s your generally Christmas shopping before people went in groups sometimes and strolled around the place. Now it will be like a semi military operation and it won’t be the nicest exercise.
The whole lead up and buzz may not be there i my opinion.

I had been trying to ignore that side of things as being one of the things I have no control over so no point stressing about it until nearer the time, but that zoom meeting has really got me thinking about how 6-7 months is not a long time in the greater scheme of things and it wouldnt take much of a set back to our easing of restrictions and balls up the most wonderful time of the year.

Whatever about our sun holiday being ruined, if Christmas follows and is anything like the situation we have now it'll be a bag of rotten brussels sprouts... i.e. it'll stink!

freshpopcorn

DvB wrote: »

I had been trying to ignore that side of things as being one of the things I have no control over so no point stressing about it until nearer the time, but that zoom meeting has really got me thinking about how 6-7 months is not a long time in the greater scheme of things and it wouldnt take much of a set back to our easing of restrictions and balls up the most wonderful time of the year.

Whatever about our sun holiday being ruined, if Christmas follows and is anything like the situation we have now it'll be a bag of rotten brussels sprouts... i.e. it'll stink!

I'd generally be positive or try and be positive but all this talk about this being the new normal doesn't fill me with excitement for the future!

DvB

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I'd generally be positive or try and be positive but all this talk about this being the new normal doesn't fill me with excitement for the future!

Agree.

It's ok to have bad days, it's not easy to stay positive all the time. I know I'm finding it hard this week.
The new normal is so weird. I was scrolling through a news website and one of the advertisements was for a face mask/bandana type thing.. I'm looking forward to seeing the Christmas themed ones!

Loughc

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I'd generally be positive or try and be positive but all this talk about this being the new normal doesn't fill me with excitement for the future!

The new normal won’t affect us in here or your own personal traditions. The shopping is my least favourite part and I’ve been moving away from it over the past couple of years and just shop online.

As long as I can spend time with family and chill out at home next to the tree I’ll be happy out. That’s what Christmas is to me.

freshpopcorn

Loughc wrote: »

The new normal won’t affect us in here or your own personal traditions. The shopping is my least favourite part and I’ve been moving away from it over the past couple of years and just shop online.

As long as I can spend time with family and chill out at home next to the tree I’ll be happy out. That’s what Christmas is to me.

I really like the shopping element of Christmas. Even tough I wouldn't buy a lot.
I generally go with somebody I get on with. I'd visit various shopping centers, to see the lights and Christmas stock. Go for food,etc afterwords and this will be different now. I don't enjoy online shopping at all to be honest. It doesn't have the same feel.
I would only really do this at Christmas tough and wouldn't be near shopping centers, city, much.

Caranica

The Holiday is coming back to Netflix in June. Hurray!!

freshpopcorn

Caranica wrote: »

The Holiday is coming back to Netflix in June. Hurray!!

It's on now TV now if you have it!

freshpopcorn

I forgot Yesterday we're into the 210's now!

Won't be long until we have 200 days to go and as far as I know our first case of Covid19 was confirmed when we hit the 300 days to do. I actually find the time has gone a lot faster than I expected.

Jude13

Though I hate Christmas shopping in person, the shops are rammed and for some reason I always feel ill as there seems to be a troop of people who have buckets of perfume/aftershave on, probably as they will hit the boozer after. I do mine online, I do love wandering around town to look at the hustle and bustle. I just can't see people going in to rammed shops anymore.

It's Eid here this weekend, basically 1-2 days off after the weekend, dependent on moon sighting. It's the locals Christmas.

DvB

I have to admit I like the whole getting out to the shops (if not under pressure) to pick up a few bits & take in the vibe & enjoy the decorations etc. Its a big part of the build up for me. We get the vast majority of our gifts online so I suspect being under no pressure there helps that experience though.

I'm in agreement with LoughC though, the real part of Christmas is family getting together etc. as once the holidays actually start I avoid the shops like the plague, fingers crossed we'll not be restricted on that score come Christmas.

Jude13

Just got a lovely Christmas tingle there about family getting together. We won't have seen them since last Christmas, as we were not planned to be home this Christmas and our summer trip home is most likely canceled it looks like April 2021 till I seem the family again. Our elves will have grown so much.

TRS30

Loughc wrote: »

As long as I can spend time with family and chill out at home next to the tree I’ll be happy out. That’s what Christmas is to me.

Same for me. Christmas to me to spending quality time with family. Seeing the excitement on the kid faces when opening their presents. Everyone been in good mood and people (in general) living up to the spirit of Christmas.

I do like the odd bit of shopping however was never one for the sales etc and leave that to my wife. My sister or Mum are always happy to go with her so I get to stay home and play with the kids. Had some great days between Christmas and New Years last year just playing with toys, watching Christmas movies and eating

Feel a little better today as was pretty down yesterday afternoon thinking Christmas would be all doom and gloom.

DvB

TRS30 wrote: »

Same for me. Christmas to me to spending quality time with family. Seeing the excitement on the kid faces when opening their presents. Everyone been in good mood and people (in general) living up to the spirit of Christmas.

I do like the odd bit of shopping however was never one for the sales etc and leave that to my wife. My sister or Mum are always happy to go with her so I get to stay home and play with the kids. Had some great days between Christmas and New Years last year just playing with toys, watching Christmas movies and eating

Feel a little better today as was pretty down yesterday afternoon thinking Christmas would be all doom and gloom.

For me the shopping is simply a part (& a small one at that) of the build up. Once I get that big grocery shop in around the 22nd or 23rd I wont go near them again until we need a grocery top up. Cant stand the sales & never understood the getting up early on Stephens day to grab a poor quality shirt for a €5 saving... went down once a few years ago to the blanch SC on the 26th & retreated sharpish... was awful, & shattered some of the christmas illusion, so refuse to go down that route again.

The world out there may be pushing for more shopping days (only a matter of time before they open on Christmas day IMO) & longer hours but I reckon I'm far too stuck in my ways & wont be availing of any such changes. Christmas will be spent at home (mine of another family members) & not at a shopping centre.

freshpopcorn

DvB wrote: »

For me the shopping is simply a part (& a small one at that) of the build up. Once I get that big grocery shop in around the 22nd or 23rd I wont go near them again until we need a grocery top up. Cant stand the sales & never understood the getting up early on Stephens day to grab a poor quality shirt for a €5 saving... went down once a few years ago to the blanch SC on the 26th & retreated sharpish... was awful, & shattered some of the christmas illusion, so refuse to go down that route again.

The world out there may be pushing for more shopping days (only a matter of time before they open on Christmas day IMO) & longer hours but I reckon I'm far too stuck in my ways & wont be availing of any such changes. Christmas will be spent at home (mine of another family members) & not at a shopping centre.

I'd agree with you here. The sales are generally rubbish.
I'll just missing my casually going around looking at the decorations and lights.

DvB

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I'll just missing my casually going around looking at the decorations and lights.

Exactly. Its just a little part of the build up buzz.