My sister lives bang in the middle of Alaska. Normally, we both fly back to the UK for Christmas with mum. But in 2020, The Year Corona Ruined, nobody’s going anywhere. Which means we’re trying to put together our first digital Xmas lunch across three different time zones!
Literally on opposite sides of the planet, my sister and I are separated by an 11-hour time difference. Even on a good day, one of us is always yawning during our phone conversations – either because it’s hellishly early or just about midnight! So our digital Christmas lunch (that’s supper in Cyprus, tea in the UK, and breakfast in Alaska) is going to get tricky. It’s a far cry from pre-corona, when we could all (jet lag permitting) sit down for Christmas dinner. But it’s worth it to be virtually together. As long as the ether doesn’t let us down (we’ve plumped for Viber, as it’s reliable across all three countries), we’ve got this. Probably.
2020 is the year of Digital Christmas. From the shopping to the togetherness, almost every family will be online-ing it this year. Sometimes, even when members are in the same country!
A friend’s mother is in a clinic in Nicosia, and is considered highly vulnerable. He’s having a hard time explaining to her that she won’t be able to see her grandchildren in person on Christmas. And an even harder time trying to explain how WhatsApp works, because that’s what they’ll be relying on to make granny feel included come December 25.
Another Paphos-based acquaintance was intending to join a friend’s family Christmas party over in Paralimni. But with measures now prohibiting more than 10 in a house, she’s unsure whether the invite still stands. “At least I can get there now,” she laughs, referring to the recent restriction of movement out of Limassol and Paphos. “But it looks like I might not make the guest list; my friends are already hosting their close family, and with kids, that makes nine. Perhaps I’ll get lucky and come in at number 10. If not, I guess it’s lunch-via-Skype!”
Even the preparations are causing difficulty. No longer is it a doddle to pop down the shops, snap up your gifts, and bring them home for a jolly good wrapping. Instead, most of us are choosing to send presents directly to our loved ones via Amazon or Alibaba or Joom. And those of us who still prefer to buy local are doing so more and more online (do ask your usual retail haunts if you can order and send direct; helping small businesses is more crucial than ever this year!), because it’s just safer to pick something out online than traipse round the town.
And then we get the actual present opening: you can forget the entire family gathered round the tree of a Christmas morning clad in matching pyjamas and gleefully tearing off wrapping paper. Especially if you were hoping to travel abroad.
“My family live in Melbourne, and we’d been planning a big family get-together this Christmas for over three years,” says Larnaca-based George. “Obviously, that’s not going to happen. Nor is a digital dinner: we have lunch at 1pm – Melbourne is nine hours ahead, so my parents would be eating at 10pm – and with three kids under the age of 10 who NEED to be fed at set times, a virtual meal is just not feasible!”
Instead, George’s family are planning a digital present opening. “We’ve already received some of my parents’ gifts from Australia; we’ve sneakily hidden them in the laundry cupboard so the kids won’t find them! On the morning of the 25th, we’ll do a grand opening over Zoom: 8am for us, and 5pm for my parents. It’s certainly not going to be the same as being there in person,” he laments, “but it’s the best we can do!”
Even those who live in compatible time zones are having trouble. “My daughter is at school in Surrey,” says a former colleague who lives in Limassol. “My husband and I discussed – at great length – what we should do about Christmas, and though it’s breaking our hearts, we decided it was better for our daughter to stay in the UK this year. It’s just safer,” she says. “Flying her to Cyprus and back for a couple of weeks isn’t a great idea; we’d have to contend with all those confusing quarantine periods, and so who knows if she’d even be able to return to school on time?”
Instead, the family have decided that Emma will stay with her aunt over Christmas. “My sister lives close by, and will take Emma over the hols. It’s horrid that we can’t be together, but we think we’ve worked out how to link up Skype to both our tellies so we can feel connected all day long. It’s the only way we can all feel we’re sharing our festivities.”
With so many countries under corona measures, digital celebrations will be the order of the day across much of the world. The Church of England will continue to stream services, hosting cyber carol services and a remote Midnight Mass. Christmas pantomimes across the UK are converting to drive-in performances, with audiences picking up the sound on their car radios. And, with an increased number of packages flying from country to country, many are beating the postal delays by sending online gift cards; KPMG UK reports that digital and eVoucher sales have grown by 49.7 per cent over the last year!
In a year when many confidently expected the worst of Covid-19 to be over by December, it’s going to be hard transitioning to an online Christmas. Although there is one seasonal advantage to the pandemic: this year, you won’t have to attend the annual office party! While several entertainment planning companies abroad are offering special ‘digital office party’ packages (which include food delivered to several addresses at exactly the same time, and shared online experiences such as Murder Mystery parties and Festive Bingo), none of that is happening here in Cyprus. A silver lining, perhaps, to 2020: the year in which Corona Broke Christmas.
