Tis the season to be jolly, tra la la la la la or so the carol goes. I think most would agree that trying to feel jolly about anything 2020 related is a big ask and that a Christmas coming at the back end of a pretty awful year will be challenging to enjoy. Let’s face it, the year has tested most, be it in different ways or through a different set of circumstances and as such when it comes to erecting the tree or hanging up the mistletoe, we will all need to summon up our best inner elf in order to put a Christmas smile on our faces.

Santa Baby, when he hurries down the chimney will this year have an odd list of requests compared to years past. No longer will mobile phones, loaded with surfing, texting, streaming and calling functionality be the in-demand item. Instead top of the list for most will be a SMS or text from the health service inviting them in to be vaccinated against a virus. Who knew! Other significant items filling Santa’s sack this year will be odd items, previously never considered appropriate Christmas gift material like branded face masks. I don’t believe any of us thought we could fill the Christmas stocking adorning our mantelpieces with scented hand sanitizer.

Silent night in years gone by has meant rowdy noisy family gatherings filled with grandchildren, grandparents Aunts and uncles drinking eating and celebrating family togetherness. Christmas eve 2020 may more closely align with the tune as lockdown, tiers and restrictions on social gatherings although eased over the festive season are still inhibiting our being together and the sound of SMS, Zoom and Facetime will be what punctuates a truly silent night.

12 Days of Christmas has become 5 days of Christmas in England and Wales as the government has recognized our need for social interaction over the festive period and our strong dependency on the family as the most horrendous of years draws to a close. As smaller gatherings are now permitted, families the country over are now mulling over their mulled wine as they decide who will celebrate Christmas at the table and who will simply get a branded Family’s across the country are deciding who has been naughty or nice, they are making lists and checking them twice.

In years gone by we have all been guilty of dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the one we used to know………, in 2020 we are just dreaming of a Christmas that mildly resembles something the ghost of Christmas past may have brought to our attention, something ostentatious something indulgent something coupled with an over-dependence on retail therapy alcohol and mince pies. Why can’t we celebrate like we did last Christmas?

Oh, come all ye faithful, let’s try and be positive, Christmas this year has come with a degree of optimism and good cheer. Santa’s biggest gift to us this year will be the promise of a normal Christmas next year. The year 2020 has shone a spotlight on humankind and its ability to pull together in times of adversity. Scientists, economists, teachers, doctors, cleaners, bin men have all risen to unprecedented challenges to restore normality and to bring some kind of joy to the world in time for Christmas. The question all are asking is whether we will know it’s Christmas time at all. The good news is yes, we know it’s Christmas! Jumpers are being worn, trees are adorning front rooms and lights shine brightly from homes and streetlamps. Carols fill the airwaves and TV advertising is flooded with shopping opportunity. Children across the world will still wake up on Christmas morning with that magical sense of anticipation, that same excitement will fill homes as gifts are unwrapped and Christmas Rom coms will be the TV of choice in the majority of homes bringing in their own way joy to the world. There is lots to be Merry about this Christmas, we will be celebrating with a difference, but we will be celebrating. Christmas will always be a wonderful time of year even if Christmas 2020 is not a fairy tale in New York.