Excellent Work!
We know, we know. We thought it was the most depressing phrase we’d heard this year. A digital Christmas.
But then we thought some more and decided that while we can’t control the situation, we can control the way we choose to view it.
As put by this article from The Week, “People assume they choose things that they like. But research suggests that's sometimes backwards: We like things because we choose them. And, we dislike things that we don't choose”.
We hope that we’ll have a magical Christmas surrounded by our nearest and dearest. That we wake up bleary-eyed from one too many at our childhood local, or where ever we choose to be on Christmas Eve. We hope we can safely hug each other and exchange gifts and eat too much and carry on our family traditions. We hope we’re free to be and to eat and do exactly as we would have done without this pandemic.
But we know we will have a magical Christmas one way or another.
2020 has been many things. While it’d be very easy to wallow in the negative, we’re making the choice to look at all the incredible pivots we’ve seen. The imagination people have demonstrated! The joy on kids faces while people trebuchet a chocolate treat at them on Halloween. The weird and the wonderful people have come up with celebrating birthdays and anniversaries and important life events. The way our incredible partners have swivelled to survive in a world so different to one we could have even imagined when we rang in the new year.
As comments swirl across social media of the possibility of this ‘Digital Christmas’ and whispers of speculation pass through WhatsApp groups. We’re hearing people wonder whether to bother buying that train ticket back to Mum and Dads or simply upgrade their Zoom accounts instead.
The new lockdown regulations, currently due to end on the 2nd of December, have put Christmas into question. Where will we spend it? With who? Can Dave and his two flatmates actually eat an entire Turkey?
We spoke to one customer, Anne, who’s clinically vulnerable and spent the first lockdown shielding. She’s decided already that she’s not going to head to her sister’s this Christmas and instead is preparing for something totally different, that still fills her with joy.
“I know the lockdown is supposed to be over at the beginning of December, but I feel it would be naive to assume we’re going to be able to do Christmas like usual. We usually do a big Christmas with all my siblings and their kids, plus our parents. Even if we go back to the rule of six, or an extended bubble, it’s not going to be the same and I’d really struggle to be around the kids who don’t really understand why I won’t give them a hug. I was sad thinking about it, to begin with, but now I’ve decided I’m going to stay home with my partner I’m actually quite excited. I’ve been putting extra thought into all my gifts - I’m posting everything early to my brother and sister and we’re doing presents like a treasure hunt for the kids. We’re getting sorted to have our usual post-lunch (very competitive!) game of Yahtzee over Zoom and although we probably won’t cook a traditional meal, we’re putting a lot of thought into what we will be eating. Making the decision now gives us time to make it special a different way”.
We understand that that’s not how you might feel about the situation. Where you are, who you’re with, your health, your financial situation and so much more will come into how you feel about the upcoming festive season and the potential restrictions we’ll see.
We’re committed to making it as happy for everyone and helping people prepare for the possibility of a digital Christmas early if that’s what they choose to do.
After all, most, if not all preparations can be popped in a holdall and head down the motorway if it turns out we’re able to head to our nearest and dearest at the last minute!
As a company founded on the belief that spending time together is more important than having things, we, like so many others have had a tough year. But together with our partners, we’re proud to be able to bring you lots of new experiences based on the same premise from the safety of your own home.
We've put together 19 things you can do together, apart, to make this Christmas memorable for the right reasons!
Send Christmas Eve packages in the post
Send a package in the post to whoever you’d usually spend the evening with. Fresh new PJs, fluffy socks, hot chocolate kits and maybe a wee dram of something stronger for the adults 😉
Go to the Soho Theatre (at home)
You might have seen our support for The Fleabag Support Fund, Soho Theatre and the Theatre Support fund during the last few months. We chose keen to support this particular charity as the arts are SO important to us and they're doing such great things.
We also LOVE what they produce. Check out their website for curated comedy and theatre streamed directly to your sofa
Have pancakes for breakfast
Growing up in my house we had pancakes and bucks fizz for Christmas breakfast every year. Do it the easy way and tick a present off the list with our Pancakes and Poetry kit 🥞❤️️
Write real letters
A digital Christmas might be less accessible for some people. Make you Grandparent's day and send a handwritten letter and some up to date photographs!
Fridge too full of kids drawings? Pop some in the post with an extra letters to someone at your local care home - you never know how much you might brighten someone’s day!
Order the same kit to multiple household and jump on Zoom together to get making
Image credit - Becca Collier
Creativity is catching, pass it on! Here's our friend Becca making her own Terrazzo Kit!
Create an online holiday bingo card
Family phrase that has everyone's eyes rolling? Create a bingo card with them on and pad out with some Christmas classics. Every time someone says a popular family phrase tick off a box (makes a pretty good drinking game too, just saying!).
Order in
Create a family playlist on Spotify
Quite enjoying not hearing the Christmas classics every five minutes? Make it sentimental to you. Remember when your sister played the Cranberries ‘Zombie’ back to back for a month when she was a teen? So does the whole family, put it on the playlist, it’ll make everyone laugh!
Organise a Treasure Hunt
Prep your presents early and get in cahoots with another household to organise a treasure hunt. Bonus - it’ll make the presents go on longer!
Send a pre-wrapped Christmas pressie directly to a Friend
Can see your friends or family? We've got a new section on our website where you can get their present pre-wrapped and delivered directly to their door!
Go for a walk with a bag of flour and a sieve
Bare with us on this one. If you're comfortable heading out for a walk on Christmas day, take some flour, or icing sugar, a sieve and wear some shows you don't mind getting dirty.
Leave a few flour footprints here and there along your walk, you might fill some little ones hearts with magic when they spot Santa's footprints on their walk!
Order plenty of snack foods to enjoy throughout the day
And, obviously drinks too
Do a family recipe swap before the big day
How does Dad make those potatoes so crispy? How do you do the fire thing to the pudding without setting fire to the ceiling? Who’s got Nana’s recipe for the BEST mince pies? Share the love.
Get a cheese board delivered
Get a panto live streamed to your living room. He’s be-ee-hind yoooou!
Watch your fave Christmas film with your family remotely using Netflix party
Organise your fave games to play over Zoom after Christmas dinner
Sadly (or maybe happily?) Monopoly isn’t going to work through a screen. But lots of other games do! Make sure each house has a set of dice and play Yahtzee together, get stuck into a game of charades. Download Heads up for lots of giggles (especially after a bucks fizz!) or play Pictionary
