I am going to take some artistic licence and suggest an edit to a well-known Christmas song, changing some words to ‘It’s beginning to look a lot like last year'.

It is a rather gloomy prospect to find ourselves in this déja vu scenario where we are planning the festive period around a series of Covid restrictions. Christmas work parties are being cancelled, the hospitality sector is returning to tables of less than six people, having the extended family and friends over for Christmas dinner is looking like a non-runner. Understandably, the stress of all of this is taking its toll on many of us.

It’s interesting to observe the contrast between those who are valiantly trying to keep the festive spirit alive by having their Christmas tree and decorations up since mid-November and those who seem to lack any motivation or interest in getting into the Christmas spirit. Judging by the sparse number of decorated houses in my neighbourhood compared to other years, it seems many of us are falling into the second category.

I love Christmas and all that comes with it: watching Home Alone and Love Actually on repeat, the hectic shopping for gifts and listening to Xmas FM. After our experience of the Covid Christmas of 2020, we were all looking forward to a return to normal. The prospect of the vaccine roll-out brought some hope last year, and we believed that by December 2021 we would once again be hugging each other, mixing in large groups and celebrating in a familiar festive fashion.

Unfortunately, this has not turned out to be the case. As I write I am quarantining at home with the family. My eldest boy tested positive for Covid last week, he’s asymptomatic and the rest of us have had negative antigen tests and feel well. But, nonetheless, we are cocooning and isolating again, the dreaded schoolbooks have been sent home and Seesaw is fast becoming the most used app on my phone.

I don't subscribe to the 'suck it up’ philosophy, but I do believe in looking for a way to make the best of my current circumstances.

It’s easy to become negative and angry as we find ourselves in a Groundhog Day scenario 22 months on. But when I think about it, I really enjoyed Christmas last year. As a family, we had a lovely time, despite it being just the five of us. There was huge relief and jubilation when we realised that Santa could make his usual trip, and we were happy to be well and spend time together.

What stands out most about Christmas 2020 was our drive-through Santa experience. Organised by volunteers in Ballinabranna GAA Club in Co Carlow, it was one of the strangest Santa experiences I have had. We drove around a football pitch at night, decorated with Christmas trees and flickering lights. 

We were tasked at the beginning to keep an eye out for a number of naughty elves who had gone rogue and there was great excitement as these pesky elves threw water balloons at our car and tried to spray us with water hoses through the open windows. At the end of the circuit,  as Mrs Claus threw selection boxes through the car window from 10 feet away, I remember thinking this is so weird and unfamiliar. But, judging by the three excited faces in the back seat of the car, it was unfamiliar in a good way.

I would confidently say that the drive-through was one of the most memorable Santa visits we will ever have. The oddness and sheer bonkers nature of it led to great discussions among us all as we laughed and chatted about it on the way home, the children trying not to spill their hot chocolates in the back of the car.

We also went to play outdoor laser tag last Christmas, the only activities we could do at the time. I would never have thought of doing something like this but there was no other choice, given that all indoor activities were off-limits. Lazer tag in the forest was a brilliant experience. Especially for my eight-year-old daughter, who won one of the rounds. It is something she still talks about and lords over her brothers.

Last year meant many families had to ‘think outside the box’. The restrictions challenged our creativity and most parents I spoke to seemed pleased with their efforts. Christmas 2020 seemed to be a lot more about experiences than things, probably brought into sharper focus as we were limited in terms of meeting up with loved ones and extended family.

But if last Christmas taught us anything, it was that ‘different doesn’t have to be bad’. We were challenged to ditch some of the well-worn traditions and to devise new ways of connecting and keeping ourselves cheerful. For the most part, we managed this well and no doubt we will be able to dig deep and come up with something similarly creative this year.

When I feel down and fatigued by the relentlessness of the last 22 months, I allow myself a certain amount of time to be annoyed, melancholic and catastrophise. Then I remind myself that I still have some control over some things. I cannot change the Nphet recommendations or the transmission rates of new variants, but I can influence the emotional temperature of my family home. Many times over the last year, when I felt down, I've had to park my emotions and turn up the fun thermostat at home to keep the atmosphere positive.

‘Christmas spirit’ is often commercialised in a glib way by Hollywood movies, telling us that Christmas is not about ‘stuff’ but it’s about ‘people’. But despite this well-worn theme, it pales in comparison to the power of the other marketeers who manage to convince us that it is in fact all about the ‘stuff’.

It's normal to feel annoyed 

I am not a fan of the ‘gratitude’ and ‘wellbeing’ narratives as they can seem patronising and suggest that we should never be annoyed or angry. I think it is utterly normal to be annoyed and angry, and rather than trying to be thankful for everything that we have all the time, I prefer to embrace the imperfection of life. Celebrating the unfamiliar, odd wonderfulness of it all can help to keep negativity at bay.

I have long believed that the more ‘perfect’ you need your Christmas to be, the more likely you are to be disappointed. The mishaps will inevitably happen. Someone will forget to buy the crackers; the cranberry sauce will be left in the cupboard, or you find the marrowfat peas in the microwave on St Stephen’s Day. But this is the ‘stuff’ that creates stories. 

What makes Christmas stories memorable is their uniqueness, not their perfection. These odd, unfamiliar and awkward stories create memories, and isn’t that what it is all about? I would encourage families to embrace the difference this year, expect the imperfections and enjoy them. The more unfamiliar the experience is, the more likely it will be memorable.

Though I write this column from my quarantined household, I look forward to when we are free to roam outdoors again. And I am excited about the prospect of another odd, unfamiliar but memorable drive-through Santa experience.

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