How to Covid-proof your Christmas
If Omicron threatens to disrupt your plans, don’t panic – here’s a guide to making the best of it
So here we are again. Out are the plans to dust off your dancing shoes at the Christmas party, and in is the stockpiling for the long nights ahead.
With a “staggering” increase in Covid cases accelerated by the spread of the Omicron variant predicted by medical advisers, many people are fearing that they will once again face Christmas in notso- splendid isolation.
So what can you do to prepare for a brilliant Christmas – even if you or a household member tests positive for Covid and has to isolate over the festive period, or Christmas is cancelled once again?
Eat, drink and be merry
You’re going to need food and drink. Lots of it. Buy now or repent at leisure. This is the perfect moment to bake that extravagant cake you’ve dreamed of, or finally make use of the sourdough starter your friend foisted on you after the first lockdown.
‘Tis the season for self-care
Christmas, even in a good year, can be a time of heightened stress, loneliness and struggle for many. Prof Vivian Hill, a chartered psychologist and member of the British Psychological Society, suggests enjoying an isolated Christmas free of the myths of what Christmas “should be”.
“Have a think about what the authentic characteristics of a really good Christmas are to you, and try and plan how you could recreate them if you have to stay at home,” she says. “Doing something special for yourself and for the people you’re closest to is key.” Have a bath, go for a walk, stay in your pyjamas – do whatever you want. “Christmas traditions evolve and develop over time,” says Hill. “Recognise there are other ways to celebrate.”
Schedule your family fallouts
For many people, Christmas is all about eating too much with family and friends. If that is impossible, perhaps open presents together via Zoom in the morning, keep the camera on during lunch and schedule a half-cut argument with your sibling at around 5pm. To temper your sadness, console yourself with the thought that you are doing the Right Thing. “Maybe your gift to your friends and family is recognising you’re a risk and staying away.”
The gifts you could stop giving
Have you bought all your presents yet? If not, don’t panic, says Tim Lane of Ethical Consumer. “There’s loads of online ethical retailers that are great options for last-minute presents,” he says. “Or just buy less. If you want to consume ethically, cut down your consumption.”
It’s not all about you, you know
It really isn’t. Keep others in mind rather than just feeling sorry for yourself. Buy some extra goods when festive stockpiling to donate; call an older person for a chat; buy a toy for a vulnerable child; buy a gift for a woman or child fleeing abuse; write to someone facing injustice. That, friends, is the true spirit of Christmas.