What could Christmas look like this year?

As December nears, the festive season will soon be upon us. But seeing as the UK is currently in the midst of a second national lockdown, many people are rightly asking “what will Christmas look like this year?”

The honest answer is – we don’t know… yet.

As of the 20th November 2020, the government has not formally laid out its plans for the holiday season, however, it is understood that the PM will make a statement regarding the end of lockdown next week (week beginning 23rd November), which The Telegraph writes will also include ‘a vaccination schedule and the potential extension of mass testing.’ While the PM may touch on the Christmas break in next week’s speech, it is likely that a formal announcement pertaining to festive rules/ restrictions or lack thereof, will come towards the middle of December.

The BBC reports that governmental medical adviser Dr. Susan Hopkins has commented that the government is working to enable Christmas to be “as close to normal as possible.” However, there has been much speculation that such normalcy will come at a price, i.e. tighter restrictions either side of the Christmas break. BBC health correspondent Nick Triggle has written ‘The expectation is that there will be some limited relaxation – in the hope that the psychological boost it will give the public and the longer-term goodwill it will engender will outweigh any cost in terms of virus spread.’ While we are yet to learn what government policy will be on inter-household mixing and social distancing measures, there is no doubt that the holiday season will look and feel different this year and we should prepare for such an inevitability.

If the UK’s second national lockdown terminates on the 2nd December as originally scheduled, the country will return to a three tier system – and could potentially face heightened restrictions for parts of December, if the government chooses to relax rules over the five days of Christmas. This could mean bars, pubs and restaurants may face continued closure for much of the festive season.

Irrespective of the exact measures, it is not unreasonable to suggest that Christmas 2020 will be a much scaled down affair, with the large Christmas gatherings of years past unlikely to be allowed. Adaptability and acceptance will therefore be key this Christmas, as navigating the supposed ‘most wonderful time of the year’ in the middle of a global pandemic will undoubtedly present challenges. While we may be unable to spend Christmas exactly as we desire this year, this is not to say that the festive season cannot be enjoyable.

Utilising modern technology to connect with loved ones from across the country or around the world is a fantastic way of ensuring joyous memories can continue to be made and shared. Spending quality time with those within your household or support bubble doing activities such as craft making, baking, walking and listening to music can be a wonderful way of getting into the Christmas spirit. Additionally taking time for yourself this Christmas season to pause, relax and reflect can be beneficial for your mental and physical wellbeing – this year’s been a tough one and everyone deserves some “me time.”

In the coming weeks, we will be launching our saliva PCR test, which will be a great way to make sure that you are safe over the holidays, and that any festivities will be Covid-free.