A grandparent’s guide to preparing for Christmas 2020
Christmas in 2020 is shaping up to be a much different affair than usual. With restrictions in place, planning for the holidays this year can feel like a tricky job. In order to help those who are unsure how to of broach the subject, this article contains tips for preparing for Christmas in 2020.
Keep a keen eye on restrictions
First and foremost, with everything that is going on in the world, to try and see that your holiday celebrations go off without a hitch, keep a keen eye on restrictions. Every day the situation changes and what may be true one week might not be the next. By keeping an eye on the news and what’s going on, especially regarding lockdowns and restrictions, if circumstances do change, you’ll be able to reorganise at the earliest possibility.
Buy gifts as early as possible
Trying to be prepared for Christmas is always a wonderful idea, however, this year more than ever it’s going to be important. With restrictions on the number of people who can be together at once, making sure you’re ready for a gift exchange well in advance will not only take a load off of your mind but will make planning easier.
Alternatively, if you want to avoid doing gift exchanges altogether this year, why not look for an alternative gift? There are myriad online gifting options now and you can easily buy your loved ones vouchers to their favourite stores or restaurants, gift delivery services and more. This means you can treat the ones you love without having to leave the sofa.
Keep it simple
There has never been a year where keeping it simple is a better piece of advice. In recent times, Christmas has become a large celebration that can cost people a lot of money when all is said and done but it doesn’t have to be about that.
Teresa from the blog Nanahood suggested this, telling us: “With the pandemic, I think this is the opportunity to scale things down and keep it simple. Instead of looking at the holiday as what ‘we can’t do’, we can look at it as ‘what we can do.’ Simplify and examine the true meaning of blessings and giving. Make and give homemade gifts to those near and dear, especially grandchildren. Christmas was never meant to be about excess, but rather the one true gift given to humanity from God.”
Make back-up plans for the day
Whether your usual routine is visiting family, having family visit you or even deciding to take the pressure off by visiting a local pub or restaurant for your meal, it’s vital to make back-up plans for yourself and those you want to spend the day with. Although preparing for Christmas, we are still far enough out that’s it hard to see what the day will look like and with all of the good-will in the world we can’t ensure our plans go through.
This can be anything from making sure you have some food on hand in case you have to dine at home and didn’t plan to, knowing the cancellation policy for a hotel you might want to stay in to be closer to family or familiarising yourself with a video calling app in case you can’t see the loved ones you wanted to.
Consider frozen food options
Talking of making back-up plans, this year it may be useful to consider frozen food options. With local lockdowns and restrictions coming into play, it’s hard to be able to gauge just how readily available your favourite Christmas foods will be this year and by buying frozen you can buy much further in advance.
Although there is nothing better than fresh vegetables and treating yourself to a centrepiece dish, back-up plans are going to be important this year. Whilst you can still aim to buy in the fresh produce you love, ensuring you’ve got some frozen options at hand just in case you find your local supermarket low on stock could save your big day in a pinch.
Prearrange gift drop-offs
Especially for bigger families, organising gift drop-offs can be a big task. And, as we face limits of group sizes, it’s important to prearrange your drop-offs to make sure you won’t be breaking any regulations by doing so. Why not create a family group chat if you haven’t already and encourage everyone to message the times, they are free and not free for visitors?
If you want to be more cautious, you could even try a contact-free gift drop-off. For older relatives, this could just mean leaving gifts in a safe space whilst you know they are away or for smaller grandchildren why not have a little bit of fun and create a treasure hunt? They’ll have so much fun looking for their gifts that they won’t feel so bad they can’t see you.
Have fun
Whatever is going on in the world, Christmas is a celebration and it’s a wonderful time of year to have fun! Have a laugh with friends and family, tell those we love how much we care and let loose a little bit. Plus, after a turbulent 2020, it’s only fair to try and keep one day stress-free.
This tip is something Joyce, also known as Grandma Williams, suggested, telling us: “Remember one thing, don’t do ‘old folks’ this Christmas as there is no such thing! We have been there, done it, lived it. We are the same person as ever wrapped in a different skin, but maybe more experienced at living. We can see life in perspective, laugh at it, and surprisingly, now really know what makes it enjoyable - and it isn’t bed socks!”
How to prepare for Christmas in 2020:
- Keep a keen eye on restrictions
- Buy gifts as early as possible
- Keep it simple
- Make back-up plans for the day
- Consider frozen food options
- Prearrange gift drop-offs
- Have fun
Christmas is a merry time, and although this year it may look different than others, we can still find ways to enjoy it with our family and loved ones.
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