Silent Night

Christmas this year will be a quieter affair for many, as some must endure separation from loved ones, but remember to celebrate all we are grateful for and to connect with those in need of some Christmas love and good cheer.

“THERE IS NOTHING LIKE GIVING THOSE YOU LOVE THE MOST A HUG.”

Christmas Day will be very different for us this year, as I am sure it will be for many of you. No grandparents or cousins, uncles or aunts around the lunch table, and missing our daughters, who we now are realising will not be with us, will make the day a very different experience indeed. I swing from being sad to disappointed, to angry and back to sad about the year we have all had.

I know we will make the most of our Christmas Day festivities, with lots of Zoom calls and hilarity, but there is nothing like giving those you love the most a hug, then pulling the same lame Christmas cracker, reading the enclosed bad joke aloud, wearing the brightly coloured paper crown and seeing what plastic gift you got. It’s all part of the day, as is eating too much and retelling family stories from Christmases past.

We have a homesickness feature on page 30. I think many of you may relate to it – missing those we love the most at this time of year. It gives a few tips on how to get over that sometimes empty feeling when you miss home and your loved ones. Wherever you are this year, stay safe and celebrate all the small things in your life that make you happy and grateful.

More than anything, we have really enjoyed creating this wonderful festive issue and bringing it to life. We have brainstormed lots of lovely ideas to decorate your home and enough Christmas recipes this year for any palate, including those who have decided to become a vegetarian during COVID. Wherever you are and whoever you’re with over the festive period, have a great time and from everyone here at MiNDFOOD, Merry Christmas.

Michael McHugh

Editor-in-chief michael@mindfood.com Instagram@mindfoodmike