Whilst Christmas in 2020 is far from normal, there’s still joy to be found this festive season.
This Christmas is going to be weird – there’s no two ways about it. But whether you’re getting tested and returning home or braving it out here in Glasgow, there’s plenty of Christmas spirit left to be found. In case you’ve been struggling, The Glasgow Guardian has compiled a (by no means cohesive) list of the joys we should all be focusing on.
- Decorations are up earlier than ever
It seems that shortly after Halloween there was a general consensus that Christmas had started. The usual “it starts earlier each year” grouches have kept quiet, knowing that what 2020 really needs is as much Christmas as we can get. And if that wasn’t enough, those of us going home in time to quarantine before we see wider family on Christmas Day only have about a week left in the city anyway, so we really do have an excuse to go hard on Christmas as soon as we can. Seeing the glow of fairy lights through paper snowflake-covered windows makes walking home from the library in the dark and biting cold a little bit more pleasant.
- Lying to small children
Everyone knows Christmas is better when you spend it with someone who still Believes. And this year, even if you don’t have a small child in your family, you can still tap into the joy of Santa by watching politicians from around the world make formal announcements in parliament about Santa being an essential worker, free from quarantine rules. We saw it at Easter with Jacinda Ardern making sure the Easter Bunny would still make it home, and recently the Irish minister for foreign affairs gave a particularly lovely announcement in the Dáil.
- Small dogs in small outfits
In March, I think a lot of us thought we would save money not being able to leave the house for the foreseeable future. But if you’re anything like me and my flatmates, you’ve just lost the same amount – if not more – buying crap online. My prediction for December is that this addiction to online shopping will continue, and we’ll see an influx of babies and dogs in festive outfits – which is enough to lift anyone’s spirits.
- Putting those lockdown skills to the test
We’ve done banana bread and sourdough, and now it’s time for the final boss: festive baking. As an avid baker, I don’t think there’s anything as challenging as sourdough (my starter and I are mortal enemies), so hopefully, the skills mastered since March will keep all of our kitchens full this Christmas. My suggestion: bake gingerbread, then heat up some mulled wine and try your hand at building a house. Since 2016, my friends from home and I have had a get together to build a gingerbread house, and we have never once succeeded. So if you try your hand at it, make sure you tweet a photo to us at @glasgowguardian so you can either join my team of rejects, or put us all to shame.
- The spirit of christmas is actually finding love in a small midwestern town, or a European principality
When I left the role of Editor-in-Chief at the end of last year, I didn’t think my legacy going forward would be constantly trying to get our readers to watch shit films, but here we are. If you’re in need of a little Christmas spirit, not much will help more than a swift 90-minute fever dream about a lawyer who inherits a place called “Christmas Land”, or a Normal GirlTM who falls for a prince, or – and I still can’t believe this got made – a 14th-century knight from Norwich time travelling to modern-day Ohio to show Vanessa Hudgens the true meaning of Christmas and love. What more could you want?I hope these will be a distraction from some of the more bleak aspects of our lives at the moment. If all else fails, you can’t quibble with the quality of A Muppet’s Christmas Carol, so whack that on and try to be sad while watching Kermit and Miss Piggy. It’s scientifically impossible.
It’s (still) the most wonderful time of the year
Whilst Christmas in 2020 is far from normal, there’s still joy to be found this festive season.
This Christmas is going to be weird – there’s no two ways about it. But whether you’re getting tested and returning home or braving it out here in Glasgow, there’s plenty of Christmas spirit left to be found. In case you’ve been struggling, The Glasgow Guardian has compiled a (by no means cohesive) list of the joys we should all be focusing on.
It seems that shortly after Halloween there was a general consensus that Christmas had started. The usual “it starts earlier each year” grouches have kept quiet, knowing that what 2020 really needs is as much Christmas as we can get. And if that wasn’t enough, those of us going home in time to quarantine before we see wider family on Christmas Day only have about a week left in the city anyway, so we really do have an excuse to go hard on Christmas as soon as we can. Seeing the glow of fairy lights through paper snowflake-covered windows makes walking home from the library in the dark and biting cold a little bit more pleasant.
Everyone knows Christmas is better when you spend it with someone who still Believes. And this year, even if you don’t have a small child in your family, you can still tap into the joy of Santa by watching politicians from around the world make formal announcements in parliament about Santa being an essential worker, free from quarantine rules. We saw it at Easter with Jacinda Ardern making sure the Easter Bunny would still make it home, and recently the Irish minister for foreign affairs gave a particularly lovely announcement in the Dáil.
In March, I think a lot of us thought we would save money not being able to leave the house for the foreseeable future. But if you’re anything like me and my flatmates, you’ve just lost the same amount – if not more – buying crap online. My prediction for December is that this addiction to online shopping will continue, and we’ll see an influx of babies and dogs in festive outfits – which is enough to lift anyone’s spirits.
We’ve done banana bread and sourdough, and now it’s time for the final boss: festive baking. As an avid baker, I don’t think there’s anything as challenging as sourdough (my starter and I are mortal enemies), so hopefully, the skills mastered since March will keep all of our kitchens full this Christmas. My suggestion: bake gingerbread, then heat up some mulled wine and try your hand at building a house. Since 2016, my friends from home and I have had a get together to build a gingerbread house, and we have never once succeeded. So if you try your hand at it, make sure you tweet a photo to us at @glasgowguardian so you can either join my team of rejects, or put us all to shame.
When I left the role of Editor-in-Chief at the end of last year, I didn’t think my legacy going forward would be constantly trying to get our readers to watch shit films, but here we are. If you’re in need of a little Christmas spirit, not much will help more than a swift 90-minute fever dream about a lawyer who inherits a place called “Christmas Land”, or a Normal GirlTM who falls for a prince, or – and I still can’t believe this got made – a 14th-century knight from Norwich time travelling to modern-day Ohio to show Vanessa Hudgens the true meaning of Christmas and love. What more could you want?I hope these will be a distraction from some of the more bleak aspects of our lives at the moment. If all else fails, you can’t quibble with the quality of A Muppet’s Christmas Carol, so whack that on and try to be sad while watching Kermit and Miss Piggy. It’s scientifically impossible.
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