Holidays Dilemma- Family Get Togethers or Not

[librarian]

Just me and the cats. I'll text or call the relatives and former in-laws and wish them a Merry.

I think I'm going to have another calzone holiday. Whoo! :cheers: A Merry Happy Christmas Calzonemas to you all! :cheers:

Edited December 20, 2020 by librarian

[IbanezJem]

Just me and the cats. I'll text or call the relatives and former in-laws and wish them a Merry.

I think I'm going to have another calzone holiday. Whoo! :cheers: A Merry Happy Christmas Calzonemas to you all! :cheers:

There are sooooo many worse ways to spend any day. A perfect day always involves more cats than people :D

[Rhyta]

Just me and the cats. I'll text or call the relatives and former in-laws and wish them a Merry.

I think I'm going to have another calzone holiday. Whoo! :cheers: A Merry Happy Christmas Calzonemas to you all! :cheers:

There are sooooo many worse ways to spend any day. A perfect day always involves more cats than people :D

Yes, my furry friends have been a big help during this crazy year. Nothing more soothing than petting a kitty and the purrs are so soothing! :heart: :wub:

Edited December 22, 2020 by Rhyta

[JohnnyBlaze]

Certainly a dilemma. The Blaze clan is big. 6 bros including myself, wives, mom & dad, 4 nephews & nieces. And then there are close friends and whatnot who'd attend a holiday gathering. The parties are always epic. So generally, our Thanksgiving and Christmas parties are between 25-35 people and are held at the eldest Blaze bro's place from around 2pm-10pm. His place is pretty big but not 25-35 people big. Given mom & dad's ages (84 & 81 respectively) and past health issues, Thanksgiving was cancelled. MikeyBlaze, the eldest, is also wanting to cancel the Christmas party but he's getting some opposition from one of the SILs. Nobody's really nasty but things can be misunderstood or exaggerated as expected. Plus, Mikey's a bit sensitive and tends to get stressed easily. He suggested everyone getting tested IF they truly want to make it safe for mom & dad. Just to be sure. It's not an extreme measure imho especially since one of our college age nieces tested positive last summer (asymptomatic). Plus, she's a social butterfly so who knows who she meets regularly. In fact, that niece just graduated from uni last weekend and had a 20-person party of family and close friends at a restaurant. Mom & dad were planning on going but were talked out of it the day before by a couple of Blaze brothers. Good call imho. Anyhoo, most Blaze were a bit subdued in regards to MikeyBlaze's "everyone get tested" route for the Christmas party so it's still up in the air whether or not it'll happen...but it probably won't.

 

I wouldn't be going either way since I'm all the way over here in Japan and the party would be in Florida. But we've been having regular weekly Blaze Brother Skype meetings since last spring. When MikeyBlaze asked what I thought I told him something very close to this, "I wouldn't have the party or go. I'd rather have healthy family members pissed at me than have loads of guilt due to unhealthy and/or dead family members. At best, the party will go down as a lot of fun as usual. At worst,...yeah. Is it worth the gamble?" :blaze:

 

So the eldest Blaze bro (Mikey) did indeed say that he wouldn’t be holding a Christmas party for obvious reasons, mainly based on the risk involved with mom & dad. But apparently, the aforementioned SIL is worried about our parents’ mental health and not being able to experience a family gathering having already skipped Thanksgiving. Sooooo, she invited mom & dad and every immediate Blaze to her place for a smaller gathering, likely around 10-12 people. Some don’t want to go, others are unsure what to do, and Mikey is upset for various reasons which I touched on before. Mikey’s wife, a frontline nurse, got the vaccine last week and even she doesn’t want to go to the party. She has to work that day anyway so it’s a non-decision...BUT she said if she didn’t have to work, she still wouldn’t go.

[zepphead]

Hospitality has opened for a brief spell here in N. Ireland (closes again Christmas Eve) so I was able to meet my son yesterday for lunch.

It has been something like September since I last seen him face to face so it was lovely to meet just before Christmas, even if it was only for a couple of hours.

I wish this thing was over!!

[driventotheedge]

Wife's nephew and his wife are having a New Year's Eve party. They have done so in years past and always a very good time. We are not attending. My wife does home care for an elderly woman (age 85) and she has some vulnerabilities herself (asthma, age 69). I am having to go across the state to help my parents every other week and they are ages 88 and 87 and obviously quite vulnerable. The light is at the end of the tunnel and we aren't willing to risk it this late in the game, especially when the health of others is involved.

[J2112YYZ]

It looks like mother nature is going to make the decision herself on whether or not people should stay home around here for Christmas. Starting tomorrow night and going into Christmas day our area is going to have a big snowstorm with some places possibly getting up to a foot of snow. Since we live near Lake Erie the wind will be blowing all of that around making visibility very difficult if driving. Hopefully people get the point that it's best to stay in this year if the forecast holds.

[IbanezJem]

My parents and I have agreed not to meet this Christmas (which I feel bad for them about, as their only child) - we are being moved to Tier 3 from Boxing Day, and my Mum said that the cases in her village have risen by 660% over the last week! This is only 38 in actual cases, but a good reason to hunker down for a while. I have no reason to go out until... well, ever again. Unless Amazon closes its warehouses and trucks from Kent are backing up all across "Plague Island", or the UK as some still call it :|

[goose]

If families have been careful about distancing andd limiting contact with others, then gathering shouldn't be a problem. If someone works in a high-contrast profession,or has been active socially,, that person should abstain from any gatherings. But COVID doesn't spring from the ether, so responsible Christmas gathering, done through personal transportation, should be perfectly safe.

 

Good luck to all and happy holidays.

[Krystal]

I have been put in charge of planning something special for NYE. I've also decided on a self-improvement resolution.

I have to be at my best in case I ever run into someone important at a future event.

 

I'm bringing sexy back.

[Daylin]

Yesterday they said on our news that the infection numbers for our county are worse than 75% of the US. I went to a local bookstore about 3 weeks ago to get gifts and stocking stuffers but haven't really been out shopping since. We keep up w the neighbors by hollering across the street at them, lol.

 

Christmas may be alone, like Thanksgiving. Some of my kids have jobs in the DC area where they cant travel out of state. 3 of the 6 kids/ spouses want to come though. If it happens it will just be 1 or 2 hours sitting apart, masks, with all the windows open. I'm with JB, its just one year and the spread of covid lately is scary.

 

I feel for your situation. Maybe you could tell them you are just able to drop in for part of the time? How are your hospitals doing? Maybe the relatives would understand the need to keep hospital staff safe , especially if your hospital ICUs are near capacity. I hope you find a way to be safe.

Thanks for the feedback. I really don't know if that would make things worse, I really want to see them but I think if I just go for the gift exchange that would be difficult. We have been averaging 3,000 new cases for several days and had a record high death count today. Our ICU's are pretty slammed. The thing about my SIL is she is on oxygen and spent 5 months in rehab unit this year with a severe case of pneumonia and she is the one giving me the most grief. I don't get her hostility, it's like it is personal with her and now her daughter is acting the same way. No compromise, we have had such a bad year so we are entitled to a nice Christmas and so on.

 

I am thinking I will have to stay home even if hubby goes. Then I will have to quarantine myself for at least a week and wear a mask around the house. I am hoping he will back me up and stay home but think he will feel guilty if he doesn't go. :|

 

Hello Rhyta, my friend, I hope things worked out for you! :heart: :heart: :heart:

[Rhyta]

If families have been careful about distancing andd limiting contact with others, then gathering shouldn't be a problem. If someone works in a high-contrast profession,or has been active socially,, that person should abstain from any gatherings. But COVID doesn't spring from the ether, so responsible Christmas gathering, done through personal transportation, should be perfectly safe.

 

Good luck to all and happy holidays.

Yet all it takes is someone who is asymptomatic and doesn't know it to cause havoc. http://www.cnn.com/2020/12/29/us/covid-coronavirus-victim-story-haircut-chicago-trnd/index.html

I would rather wait until we all get the vaccine, we can have Christmas next year.