Tag: virtual Christmas

Christmas in the new normal

Five ways to celebrate remotely with loved ones this year

  • Amid the current health crisis, Furniture And Choice shares five tips to keep up with your Christmas traditions remotely 
  • Cooking together, craft competitions and online games among the best ways to stay connected to loved ones 

    While Christmas rules may allow some family members to get together, this won’t be the case for everyone and certainly not for those with large families or friendship groups.  

    However, there are many ways to have an amazing Christmas with friends and family even while social distancing or living on Zoom, without letting those all-important traditions fall by the wayside. Interior Style Advisor at Furniture And Choice, Rebecca Snowden, offers her top tips on how to celebrate the festive season with loved ones even if you can’t be physically together:  
  1. Take time to cook (and eat) together 

The highlight of many people’s Christmas is the big festive lunch and you don’t have to miss out just because you can’t leave your home. Share recipes for what you’re planning to cook with your friends and family beforehand, to make sure you all have the same ingredients on the day. You could even assign courses to different family members if you wanted to – although you won’t be able to eat everyone’s offering! 

On the day, arrange a time to video call so you can virtually make the dishes together. This is a great way to chat and feel connected to loved ones as if you’re all cooking and making something special together. There are many apps you can use to do this, including Zoom, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and FaceTime (if you all have Apple devices).  

Don’t forget to arrange a time for a video call at the dinner table too, so you can sit down, have a chat and eat your meal together as a family.  

  1. Take part in a Christmas craft competition 

To really get into the festivities, you could arrange a table centrepiece competition with your friends and family. There are plenty of tutorials for centrepieces online that use things you’ll have lying around the house, and it’s a welcome bit of fun for everyone to enjoy.  

One person should act as the judge and taskmaster, sharing the table centrepiece tutorial beforehand and judging everybody’s attempts via a video call or picture submissions to determine who is the most successful. You could even present the winner with a virtual prize, such as a gift card.  

This is a great way to have some fun with your loved ones and make something perfect for your Christmas dining table.  

  1. Create a playlist to listen to music together 

To really feel like you’re sitting down to have lunch with your loved ones, why not create a playlist for everyone to listen to at the same time? You can easily create a playlist on Spotify or Apple Music, and then share this with your family and friends so you can all listen together while you’re cooking or having lunch.  

To make things a little more interesting, you could create a public playlist and assign each person certain letters of the alphabet to add artists beginning with that letter. Alternatively, create a playlist theme, such as Christmas number ones, and see who can add the most songs to the playlist that fit the theme you chose.  

  1. Play online games 

After you’ve eaten your lunch, what could be better than playing a game? Although you won’t be able to sit down and play a board game together as you would usually, there are lots of virtual game apps that allow you to still enjoy fun and games with your loved ones. 

Try Kahoot! for a virtual quiz suitable for all the family. Each person can select a quiz category that they want everyone to play, or you can make it extra personal by creating a round specifically about your friends and family.  

For something with more of a competitive edge, download Mario Kart Tour on iOs or Android to race as your favourite Mario characters with your friends and family. Fancy something more grown-up? The online version of Cards against Humanity is now available to download – just make sure there are no children present!  

  1. Watch a movie together 

If you fancy something more chilled during your Christmas break, why not cosy up and watch a festive favourite with your loved ones? Thanks to apps such as Netflix Party, you can now sit and watch Netflix films together virtually – just download the extension on Google Chrome, invite your loved ones to watch a film and you’re good to go.

You can even talk via a chat box while watching the film so you can discuss and share your thoughts as you watch, so it’s a great way to stay connected to your friends and family. 

Rebecca continues: “Christmas may be a huge struggle for some this year, as for many it’s a time to be around loved ones to eat, drink and be merry. While rules are allowing some people to get together, there will be many who won’t be able to see everyone they usually would, like extended family or groups of friends.

“But we shouldn’t let this spoil the Christmas spirit, we should try to adapt our plans to make sure we still feel connected with our loved ones.  

“Setting up collaborative challenges, sharing recipes and engaging in a family quiz are great ways to keep spirits high and create memories you won’t forget. Why not use this time to start new traditions from the comfort of your own homes and celebrate the Christmas season in style?”  

For more ideas and inspiration, including Christmas crafts to try, visit Furniture And Choice’s inspiration page here: https://www.furniturechoice.co.uk/inspiration/ 

Six ways to have a virtual Xmas

Almost half of older people say they’ll spend the season alone

Many older people are set to ignore the Government’s easing of coronavirus restrictions over the festive season and spend this Christmas alone, according to a new survey.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon have announced that lockdown restrictions will be eased between December 23rd and 27th to allow up to three households to mix over the Christmas period.

However, in a survey of 1,000 people by retailer Chums, 46% of Brits aged 55+ said they will ignore this lift in the coronavirus restrictions and spend Christmas with only their household.

This news comes after SAGE warned that the UK could see a massive spike in COVID-19 cases in January if Christmas festivities carried on as normal this year.

A further 24% of older Brits surveyed said they are “less likely” to spend Christmas with another household due to the coronavirus pandemic. Only one-fifth of people (21%) said that they would carry on as usual this year.

Coronavirus is known to disproportionately affect older people and for many older Brits this is precisely the reason why they are choosing not to mix this Christmas.

One third of the older people surveyed by Chums (33%) said they were worried about theirs and members of their household’s health over the festive season.

Josh Rubin, managing director at Chums, said: “After such a challenging year, we are pleased to see that restrictions will be eased for Christmas to allow many older people to celebrate with their loved ones.

“However, coronavirus won’t be taking a Christmas holiday. It is still a very real and present threat to older people in the United Kingdom.”

“Our study has found that a lot of older Brits are not prepared to take this risk, especially since social distancing guidelines are still in effect which may be difficult for many households to accommodate.”

Have yourself a virtual Christmas

Chums has also created a list of six festive activities you can do over Zoom if your family cannot be together this season:

  1. Christmas jumper contest

Who will turn up wearing the wackiest Christmas jumper? In the weeks leading up to Christmas Day, each family member could be tasked to hunt down the loudest, funniest and downright tackiest jumper they can find. Every participant could also contribute a small amount of money to purchase a fun gift for whomever is voted the winner.

  1. Create and exchange your own ecards

A fun, environmentally friendly way to exchange Christmas cards this year could begin with designing your own online. These can be exchanged via email to see who has the funniest or most creative Christmas card. The more technologically advanced may want to make something on Photoshop, but there are also plenty of websites where the average Joe can easily design their own Ecard free online.

  1. Virtual Secret Santa

Secret Santa is a fun tradition for many families in the United Kingdom and there’s no reason this has to change because of coronavirus. Draw Names has created an online Secret Santa tool, for instance, where families can take part. Set a monetary value, find a great gift online and mail it to your loved one before doing a virtual unwrapping via Zoom.

  1. The ultimate Christmas playlist

No Christmas party is complete without the perfect playlist to match, and families who are unable to spend the season together can collaborate on one from home. Spotify allows multiple users to add songs to a playlist, which can then be streamed on your video call to liven up the party.

  1. Christmas scavenger hunt

Teams can scour their respective households for seasonal clues in a virtual Christmas scavenger hunt. Furthermore, there are many options for unique hints that can extend the game online. Who can find the funniest dressed-up pet via Google search? Or who can find the worst Santa impersonator?

6. Gingerbread house project

Whether they decide to hold a decorating competition via video or just enjoy the festive treats while watching a Christmas movie over Zoom, making gingerbread houses online is a fun way to champion togetherness and combat loneliness this yuletide.

Chums has even launched a competition where bakers who do this can share snaps of their gingerbread houses on Chums’s Facebook post and the most creative entrant will win a festive hamper worth £100.