2020 has most certainly been a roller coaster, but it was not filled with fun or games. This year we have traumatically seen an ‘unprecedented’ situation become more and more dangerous, with lives being lost, governments losing trust from the public and an ever so close realisation that Donald Trump could have been in power for another 4 years...but thankfully that’s over!
I thought that I would ‘do my bit’ for society, but more specifically the young people like myself who have struggled, are struggling and probably will struggle over the Christmas holidays to do anything that brings them happiness or delight. Lots of students are debating whether they should come home for Christmas, parents are wondering why they’ve let their ‘little ones’ go off to University and pay stupid amounts of money, when lectures are being done over Zoom (and they could have easily stayed at home); but the most important out of everything, is whether Father Christmas will be able to safely deliver the gifts on thousands of young people’s wish lists! (I’ve been a good boy Santa, don’t forget about me!).
But yes, during this festive time which will hopefully be just as festive as any other year, I have thought about some ways that we can enjoy a safe and sanitised 2020 Christmas and New Year; with nothing but hope for a vaccine in 2021! I’ll just put some of my best ideas into a list. They’re probably not ‘unique’ ideas, and all the social media influencers will have already told their audiences about these, but who cares? Christmas is about sharing, so I’m going to share the ideas as if they were mine!
1- ‘Do Something New’. I’m sure teachers and parents always go on about ‘try a new sport’ or ‘try a new vegetable’, but whilst we are in a lockdown it’s the best thing to do with all your free time! I decided to take a break from Instagram and Twitter for a while and instead began updating my online websites where I’ve been sharing a variety of my own creative work; including photography, videography and memories from University! Or if you’re a little worried to put yourself out there too much, you could always try a new vegetable...I’ve heard that carrots make Santa come to your door a little earlier than the 25th December!
2- ‘Go For A Safe Distanced Walk’. Readers might look at this and think ‘Omg...really, a walk?!? And my reply is YES! Not only is it an excuse to get out of the house and potentially see other humans in the flesh, rather than on a screen, it’s also said that going outside and feeling the world’s elements helps improve your mental health! We’ve seen Joe Wicks, the P.E coach of 2020 who was doing a workout every single day throughout the first lockdown, and even he said that just by going outside or walking around inside, you’re able to dust off that negative energy and let your brain breathe! As long as you’re at least 2 metres away from people not in your household, you could potentially get back to some sort of normality, until the gyms open and people want to continue ‘shredding’ or working towards their summer body for next year!
3- ‘Be Creative; Write a Poem, Book or Song about 2020!’. The year of 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic is most certainly going to be the first thing that History teachers will want to include in the school syllabus to teach the future generations of what we all went through this year! Writing anything from a short poem to a 250 page book about your personal experiences will help to explain the situation from your own perspective, and your content will become a reference in history! Imagine, ‘In this book from 2020, Sarah from Oxford writes about the coronavirus…’. Lucky Sarah, a book that she wrote in difficult times becomes an example of work to research in class! For those of us that didn’t study English that long ago, we had books such as ‘Salome’, ‘Holes’, ‘Of Mice and Men’ and a lot of Shakespeare and that seemed to be written years and years ago...so imagine us in many years to come, reminiscing over the stories we were able to produce!
4- ‘Sleep’. This one is actually quite obvious, but make sure you are getting enough sleep. As we head into December and creep up towards the big day, it’s going to get awfully cold (and maybe quite busy, if you’ve got lots of inside plans); so make sure that you’re getting at least 8-10 hours at a minimum so that you’re full of evening throughout the month!
5- Stay Connected’. Again, this is probably another quite obvious tip, but whether you’re socialising with your family or your neighbours in the flesh, or old school mates and distant family members via Zoom, Microsoft Team or Facetime, make sure that you’re staying in touch with those that you love and treasure the most! Just a short video call or a laugh and giggle with friends will ensure that everyone has the best end to the year, even if you can’t all meet in person!
6- ‘Get Festive and Christmassy’. As the tip says, get festive and get Christmassy! There will surely be lots of new music being released, or board games being sold, but maybe you can spend time with your family creating your own family fun! Whether you’re a costume designer and want to make a D.I.Y Boris Johnson onesie, a wannabe make-up artist who wants to recreate Elsa’s look from ‘Frozen’ or if you see yourself being a television host in the near future, why not think about a Christmas Quiz show? Test your family and friends on the year of 2020 in all aspects; including music, the rise of TikTok and other social media, foods that are included in a traditional roast dinner, or maybe throwback to old Christmas stories/facts that people might not know about! I think Christmas is the time for experimentation, communication and creation, so off you go!
7- ‘Eat Lots and Stay Warm’. Another simple tip here, but you can’t really enjoy Christmas without feeling full up after every meal! So whether you have 5 advent calendars, or 3 roast dinners every Sunday, make the most of all the food that has been stored in the house for this festive period! The more you eat, the more space there is to stock up for next year! And also, stay warm...make sure you’ve got your hats, gloves, jumpers, jackets (and ho ho ho, Father Christmas might bring some of you those gifts for Christmas if you’ve been behaving yourselves!).
Right, I’ve got to prepare what I’m giving Rudolph and Santa this year, and I’m going to leave out two face masks and hand sanitiser so they can clean up after themselves! I don’t want to catch anything anytime soon...I’m sure I’ve already got a cold as it is with the constant sniffing! That’s bad enough! Alright, I hope these 7 tips do help you stay positive at Christmas time (or that they just made you giggle!). My name is Brandon and I’ve been your host today! Goodbye!
Oh, I've also had my little blog featured in the December Edition of a magazine called 'The Bee Box' created by Chelsie and Beckie to celebrate and engage with environmental and social movements!
To check out their Facebook page (as the website is pending)...click the link below
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