Eat, Drink and Be Merry

Good afternoon and welcome back to this afternoon's blog. I want to start by saying a massive thank you for al the support you have been showing Nuala by reading her interview. It means a lot to both of us. Now, it may not feel like it, but we are just days away from Christmas. What should be a happy time spent with friends and family will be a day spent with the same few who you are with all year round. While this will not become a political blog where I answer the question "Have the Government done the right thing?", it will be one where I look at what can happen, and also what we have to look forward to this time next year. The line "everything will be better by Easter" is being heavily overused for my liking. This is Christmas, though, but what does that mean?

Christmas is a major event of the Christian religious calendar whereby we remember all the special times we have experienced over the previous year. It is a time for  giving and sharing gifts, having quality family time with those who you do not always see, as well as making it a time centred around young children. Christmas should be celebrated with close friends and family, some of whom you might only see a handful of times a year. Unfortunately, this year that will not be the case. Some of us will have the slight freedom to see other households on Christmas Day only, while others will not even have that. If there is one thing that has come good from this year, it is the determination of people to maintain social contact via Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meets, along with other virtual platforms. Christmas work parties and the ever-enjoyable New Year's Eve parties will have to be held virtually, but anything is better than nothing.

The one thing we can still enjoy despite the restrictions in place is all the deliciously tasty food (time to start salivating people)! The roast turkey that has been cooked in the oven for hours stuffed with onion and wrapped with bacon. The pigs in blanket which, criminally, you can only seem to buy in December. The trimmings and the vegetables that go with it. The rich, thick gravy that drowns everything, making it soft and even more succulent. The chocolates that you munch on throughout the day whilst opening presents. Hungry yet? Well you should be. And how could I forget the drink. Not that people need an excuse to drink this year, but Christmas always provides the perfect reason to do so. Get the champagne in the fridge and keep it chilled until Friday!

One important thing for me, and I'm sure a lot of you who are reading this, is how can we make Christmas this year special and memorable for the right reasons? Well, although there are restrictions, spend it with those people who mean the most to you. Christmas has always been a family holiday season, and whether it be in person or virtually or by phone, choose to be around the people who you care about. Traditions are also important. It can be anything from the times of the day, the place you sit or anything in between, but traditions can make anything feel normal (and let's face it that is one word we have been desperate to hear all year). Make the most of what we have got this year, as for many people up and down the country this will sadly be their final Christmas.

It is for that precise reason that each and every one of us must make the very most out of this Christmas, even if it feels like our plans have been ruined by Boris Johnson and his clad of merry men (yes that pun was intended). They have to do what they believe is the right thing to do, even if it is at the expense of millions of families. It is imperative that we do not spend Christmas Day sitting around the fireplace moaning that we can't do this and that. Instead, we should be grateful for those things that we can do and those people who we can spend time with. It's the old cliché again - have a half-full glass rather than a half-empty one (especially at Christmas). Be happy, be positive and approach the day the same way you would do any other Christmas. It is still Christmas Day after all.

Christmas 2020 will be seen by many as one to forget - as will the year as a whole. However, memories can also be made from times less fortunate. We always have a choice, and we must use that choice to decide what kind of Christmas we want to have. Make it special. Be silly. Laugh at cracker jokes. Wear your best Christmas jumper. Maximise every second of the holiday season - it will soon be back to work in January. Boris says there's only 370 sleeps until Christmas. He is wrong - there are just 4 sleeps until Christmas.

Eat, drink and be merry, however you choose to do that. 

Merry Christmas!

Connor

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