Christmas Forum 2021 : A Year in Review

Loughc

It's that time of the year where I post my thoughts about the previous 12 months (bare with it, it's a long one!) and encourage you all to do the same.

Ironically I started last years review post with this "It's safe to say 2020 was a year like no other, one we will never forget." Little did I know the end of 2021 would end up being much worse that 2020.

Forum wise we have had another record breaking year for the Forum, slightly nudging out 2020 by just 15 posts. An outstanding achievement considering the sh!tstorm we encountered in July which essentially left us offline for 8 days an unprecidented amount of time. Couple this with the fact this new playform just isn't as user friendly as the old and we are not found as easily as we used to be so the number of passerbys has decreased.

With the future of boards at an all high uncertainity it really makes me appreciate the community we have here and hope that this survives in one form or another should the plug ever get pulled on us.

After summer we looked forward to pubs, clubs, gigs all reopening and for a brief moment we seemed to be getting back to the old normal, even people had begun abandoning their work from home lives and began returning to the office. Then the next variant hit.... but this wasn't like 2020, while restirctions weren't as harsh as 2020 COVID seemed to hit much harder in December 2021 than 2020.

It seemed if you didn't have COVID you were most likely a close contact, people's plans were being changed, cancelled and visits were almost impossible to navigate. Everyone tried their best to rally and keep Christmas going as much as possible.

On a personal note, I became a father for the first time in December, I'm already counting down the years until Santa becomes the main focus of Christmas in my house. With a newborn baby on board we decided to have Christmas at home just the 3 of us, I got to cook Christmas dinner for the first time and I was delighted how it turned out. We were worried about Christmas day feeling just like any other day but we were wrong, it felt so Christmassy the dinner really makes it feel so special.

Now to the negative, I debated about even posting this but I think it's important that we can admit that sometime Christmas can be a bit sh!t. I really felt this season wasn't the best, the newborn had us exhaused we were so out of sorts. All of our visits were cancelled due to COVID so I really missed seeing Family this year. I know we do look at Christmas with rose tint glasses but this one wasn't the best even ChristmasFM hit a dip this year.

The positive is November 21 was a lovely month and is peak build up IMO, still hopefully for a much better year and Christmas in 2022. While 2021 wasn't the best year it still doesn't dampen by love for Christmas, we all know Christmas isn't just a day and there was still so many positives from 2021 and loads more to look forward to in 2022.... let's just hope this is the year COVID fecks off or gets so weak to the point they stop reporting on it!

Loughc

Just wanted to add, I still throughly enjoyed ChristmasFM and I really was sad when it went offline again until November, there was a dip for a week or so where the playlist got stale is all.

Also looking ahead for 2022... Forum wise... the tournaments are coming back! I'll be kicking off a new nomination thread in the next day or so for the first tournament of 2022 and trust me it's going to be a BIG one, this will split opinions for sure!

DvB

Sorry folks, this might be a long one, so feel free to skip...

It’s weird how quickly the forum reviews of the year seem to come around, it genuinely doesn’t feel like a year since the last one, however here we are with another year over & a new one just begun.

First & foremost, I can’t let any review go without thanking our two mod’s, @loughc & @posy, both of whom deserve huge credit for the high regard in which this forum is held. Given the year loughc has had I’m amazed he was able to stay involved as much as he did & huge credit to posy for keeping the show on the road when life took over for our newest parent in the Christmas forum... great job guys!

Anyway, back to 2021... A strange year, stranger than most, that’s for sure. It had its ups (there was a couple) and its downs (more than we’d have liked) but one thing’s for sure it was far from boring (well, maybe not the last week, but I’ll get to that later)

I went into the year feeling positive that it would be better than the one before, however the instant return into lockdown meant it was May before I sat at my desk in the office again and despite talk of vaccines etc. fatigue had set in, I was done with it all and mentally struggled at times. The one thing I will say is that the year was a busy one and went quickly, once the summer arrived and we could attend matches again (even managing to meet mates for a beer after one of them) life seemed to be returning to something resembling normal and we could start to plan for Christmas! A Normal Christmas!! Yay!

As per the usual I longed for milestones throughout the year & thankfully they came and went with surprising regularity, the Euros’, a week down the west in the summer, the kids back to school, the October bank holiday weekend in Kilkenny, and then the build up started in earnest... Christmas FM back online & TV adverts (with little or no covid related themes thankfully) appeared... we made plans for getting together at Christmas, something we had missed terribly the year before, and for one weekend in November all felt right with the world, Friday night we watched the late late toy show in our house fully decorated for Christmas, then on the Saturday went Christmas shopping & had dinner out, Sunday Christmas FM launched in full, and that evening we dressed up in Christmas jumpers / hats/scarves and went to the wild lights in Dublin zoo... it was magical!!

After that, like for most other years work took over and the 3 weeks after went by in a blur of long days & late nights working to clear the decks in time for the Christmas holidays. Finally we got to the last day & I could enjoy the Christmas holidays we had been so looking forward to... thankfully our family made it over from the UK and we had a big Christmas day get together of all 4 families & it was great, we’d improved our cooking & hosting skills and felt under very little pressure & enjoyed the day immensely.. St. Stephens day we had dinner out with some of the family & having a few pints & dinner handed to us after the hard work of the days before was very very welcome.

Then it all went wrong, I felt a cold coming on, my wife had a sore throat, my son had a headache and a runny nose & before we knew it covid had pulled the rug out from under our Christmas and have been stuck in the house ever since. So whilst we unlucky in that regard we were luckier than many to be able to have Christmas with family as planned so can’t feel too bitter about it really.

Looking back I have to admit (similar to Loughc, but for very different reasons) despite the fact we had a great 2 days it wasn’t a great Christmas. I’m not sure if it was because it was the first year the twins no longer believed in santa, covid cutting it short or something else, but it just didn’t shine for me this time, even Christmas FM lost some of its lustre this year and I got the least amount of enjoyment out of it i’ve had in a long time. For me Christmas is a season, not just the 2 or 3 days around the day itself, and for a myriad of reasons it didn’t hit the spot this year. I suspect had we not had to cancel plans & stay locked up for 2 weeks straight after I may have felt differently, but it is what it is I suppose. The one thing I can say is that due to it not being one of the more memorable ones its allowed me not get too melancholy about its passing and I’ve been looking forward to 2022 with increased vigour & excitement for what it may bring.

I’ll always love Christmas, that’s a given, but I suspect 2021 was the year we moved into a new era for how we celebrate Christmas and whilst I know I’ll look back & reminisce over all the ‘santa’ years, life stands still for no one. I always thought that when that time came it would be a terribly sad time for me, but for whatever reason it hasn’t, I can look back & laugh at all the good times, but I can look forward & smile at all the fun to come as well.

Here’s to 2022, and lots more discussion on all things Christmas. My input may not be as plentiful this year (fingers crossed covid does one & we can all spend more time out with family & friends) but I look forward to sharing the joy of all things Christmas with you fine folk in here.

CheerLouth

Thanks so much @Loughc and @Posy for all your efforts in moderating...I would be lost without this forum...honestly...when I log into work every morning & make my cuppa, it's my first stop & sets me up for the day. As the day goes on & I need a reset, I hop back in for a quick check in :)

Likewise on Christmas 2021, I felt very fatigued by everything in the run up and that disappointed me more than anything else. As @DvB says, Christmas is a season & I felt like I was just totally bummed out by Covid etc this year, I couldn't get into the Christmas season like I normally would. I didn't make a Christmas pudding, didn't make my mincemeat...normally they would be real events on my Christmas season calendar that I really look forward to...but this year, I just felt like I couldn't be a*sed 😥 And I think most people felt like that at some point in the run up too...I think for Christmas 2020, everyone put so much effort into trying to make it a good one...the school/creche doing the Christmas concert "live" via Zoom etc...for 2021, I feel like that was all gone, everyone was just too worn out to put the effort in 😭

So roll on Christmas 2022...the only way is up 🤩🤗

Loughc

Bressie summed up Christmas 2021 well on a TodayFM podcast.

Christmas 2020 there was acceptance that vaccines were coming and 2021 would be better.

2021 omicron outbreak was a last minute kick in the gut.

He also said he’d recommend everyone to take at least Three days over Christmas to do absolutely nothing. The year is full on and Christmas should be used to recharge and rest for the upcoming year. I’m not the biggest bressie fan but all this makes so much sense.

TRS30

Have taken a few days before posting in here as wanted to get my thoughts together and let the dust settle on Christmas 2021.

I will be echoing the posts above, re @Loughc & @Posy, while the forum is made up of the people who post it in, the platform to allow us to do that is done by the mods creating an environment that people want to be involved in. Con'grats again @Loughc on becoming a father for the first time, it's one of the great joys in life and am I'm sure you are learning is very tiring however so rewarding.

Looking back on 2021 as a whole, I don't have a lot to complain about (till the very end!) and we as a family had as good a year as was possible with everything that was going on. The first few months being in lockdown meant more time at home with the kids, spending time going for walks and generally not feeling under so much pressure to be doing things.

We booked a week away in July with my folks and had a great time, the Air BnB turned out to be brilliant, part of a big country house, beside a lake, with a trampoline, tennis count and a working farm, so lots of animals which the kids loved.

Got away a couple of other times during the summer to my sisters place in Wicklow, which is great as lots of walks, fresh air and just generally a quieter few days.

As we moved in to autumn, Elf2 started school so that was the focus for a few weeks getting them prepared and settled in. It's always a busy time for us with birthdays and anniversaries. We started to think towards Christmas so decided to get a new kitchen before the festive season. It, like 2021, started so well and ended in frustration and anger! We got there in the end however not without delays and a lot of stress.

With November we got into full planning mode, who was coming for Christmas day, what we needed to buy, sorting early Santa presents and generally just getting in a good position to enjoy the festive period. We went to zoo lights early Dec and had a few family birthdays and an early Christmas with my OH family on the 18th.

Then it all started to go wrong.......OH started to cough on the 21st/22nd and was feeling a bit run down. It was our last day of work and we were both trying to get things finished up. I said, sure do an antigen test, whats the harm!! It came back positive :( queue scramble to get a PCR, which was for that night. The 23rd we were in limbo as didn't know what the result would be. I took the kids to town to see Santa and the Disney store, tried my best to make it a good day for the kids however in my mind I knew what was coming.

OH didn't get her result till 4pm Christmas Eve, I had already rang my folks and sister to give them the heads up and then had to ring again to confirm that we couldn't host. It didn't hit me till later that night that the kids wouldn't get to see their grandparents on Christmas Day and it would be the first time I haven't seen my parents on Christmas Day for 21 year and I'm afraid to admit I welled up a bit.

We put on a brave face and made the day as good as we could for the kids. My OH wasn't feeling great however got up and spend the whole day with us. We had a really nice day just the 5 of us and while it wasn't the day we had planned we made the best of it. She didn't hug the kids or me and stayed away from us as best as possible. Having to watch the kids open their present and not being able to near them was one of the hardest things she has ever had to do.

From Stephen's day till the 30th my wife was in isolation in the attic, i had the kids all day, as we were in isolation we couldn't leave the house, so lots of Christmas movies and treats!

Then on the 30th we all decided to do antigens so could see people for New Years- nope! OH, Elf1 and I came back negative however Elves 2 & 3 came back positive, isolation 2! Another few days at home, not seeing anyone, not going out, just to test center for PCRs. Elf1 and I did antigens again on the 3rd , i was negative, she was positive- isolation 3. Only been out to test center, again, last Sat. Hopefully she'll be clear by Wed and can go back to school.

So 2021, started off in lockdown and ended in isolation. A strange year with a few highs and lows however a Christmas I will never forget. Roll on 2022 and lets see what you have to offer........

Cork Lass

I went into 2021 full of optimism as I'd had a really good 2020 in spite of lockdowns etc. I had taken up walking again having stopped because of a serious knee issue and I managed to walk off a lot of excess weight. Working from home suited me down to the ground and instead of spending time in the car driving to the office I was out walking each morning gradually upping to approx 10k each morning and sometimes another walk or 2 later in the day. I never felt better or looked better and was so happy with life in general until lo and behold my knee flared up and with it my hips and low back. I couldn't manage the pain and ended up in hospital in February as things got so bad. After a series of tests etc it was decided that I could no longer walk without either crutches or a walking stick. To say I was devastated would be a complete understatement - i went into a complete downward spiral that it took me a many many months to get out of. Acceptance was a long time coming but it did come and as the year went on I started to change my outlook. A pain specialist helped me to get the pain under control so that it wasn't controlling me and multiple injections/procedures helped with my spine and hips. We booked a month in Spain for November and off I went with a backpack and my crutches. I managed it beautifully, trains, busses and walking long distances were much more manageable than I had thought. I took up cold water swimming in 2021 too and this has really helped me. I was looking forward to Christmas as I always do, it being my favourite time of the year and then on 22nd Dec we got the dreaded news, my daughter was a close contact and need to isolate, then she got a positive test so Christmas was spent with her in isolation in her room and the rest of us confined to the house. Of course we then got sick and tested positive just after Christmas so the whole season was a wipe out with New Year's eve etc spent in our room. I will say that this is probably the only time is it acceptable to store Gin and Tonics under your bed 😂. Finally left isolation on Friday afternoon just gone and we had our full Christmas dinner again yesterday which was fantastic. I won't let the bad experience of 2021 taint any future Christmas - I will always make the effort to have the best possible Christmas. Give me lemons and I'll make a gin and tonic (who needs lemonade). I have started walking again, albeit at a much reduced level and I'm enjoying it. I won't miss 2021 and look forward to what 2022 will bring.

I'd like to thank everyone on this forum for the laughs and the chats we have had through the year and especially @Posy and @Loughc for the effort they put in to keep the forum on the straight and narrow. Even on the bad days it's nice to log on here for a friendly exchange.