Autumn is cancelled – let’s get excited for Christmas
Having Noddy Holder scream ‘it’s Chrrristmaass’ at you is not how one expects to be woken up in September but, in our house, anything goes right now. Ever since our children got their birthday celebrations out of the way in August, the countdown to December 25 has been a constant feature of our daily lives.
Even though it is still nice and warm enough for us to eat our bangers and mash outside on the patio, I am already sick of the sight of Macaulay Culkin, while the kids seem intent on breaking the world-record for consecutive viewings of Will Ferrell’s Elf.
On Sunday evening I was informed that there were 96 days to go before the ‘big day’ arrives. Oh, how we cheered. While we recognise that all this is far from normal, Mrs Tapp and I are going with the flow, due to the fact that 2020 has already taken enough out of us.
We cannot be bothered to implement our normal moratorium on Santa-chat until after Bonfire Night.
Not that there is likely to be Bonfire Night as we know it, or Halloween for that matter, this year.
If we are being brutally honest with ourselves, autumn – a season of genuine highlights – is in real danger of being cancelled this year.
At this rate, I may put my traditional sequin and fake tan prejudices to one side and throw myself into this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing, given that there is nothing much else to look forward to.
This is the time of year that I look forward to ticking off at least one new football stadium from the list of those I still have to visit but I sadly suspect there won’t be any away days for me this season.
Like most people, our social calendar, although not completely blank, is fluid to say the least with every entry coming with the caveat ‘Covid-19 restrictions permitting’.
It is due to this uncertainty that we are tolerating the extremely premature excitement around Christmas – children, more than their parents, need something to look forward to.
It is also for this reason why weak-willed parents like me have allowed bedtimes to creep backwards and treats to become that little bit more frequent.
While everyone is feeling more than a little anxious at the prospect of rising cases of coronavirus and further restrictions being placed on us, it is children who are arguably the worst off in all of this.
While schools have reopened and some normality has returned, birthday party invitations are few and far between.
If they do happen, obliging parents are organising multiple bashes in order to get around the ‘rule of six’.
Sleepovers are now viewed with deep suspicion and once routine visits to swimming pools have
Children, more than their parents, need something to look forward to
become as complex as a Nasa training exercise.
Our weekends once revolved around trips to soft play centres but this no longer holds the appeal that it did.
Of course, there is still much fun to be had in the great outdoors.
It is my hope that conkers will replace flickering screens as the season’s key source of entertainment, although I am not holding my breath.
What this year has taught us is not to make anything resembling a firm plan because it will more than likely fall victim to the menace that is the ongoing pandemic.
Although hugely frustrating, the
uncertainty provides a valuable lesson that we should make the most of experiences we have had and have previously taken for granted.
With a bit of luck, this crisis could be resolved some time next year.
The hope is that it will be looked upon as an experience that allowed us to press the reset button, allowing us to appreciate life’s simple pleasures.
Even if everybody can’t be there, the chances are that this Christmas will be one we will never forget.
If frustrated youngsters want to start the big countdown now, then what’s the harm in it?