Hello All.

I hope you are keeping safe. Well. We are almost there aren’t we? We are in the last month of what has been one of the most horrendous years most of us will have ever known. I never usually stay up on New Year’s Eve but this year I will – just to check it definitely gone!
Anyway I digress – usually at this time of year I am giddy with the excitement of Christmas, it’s usually a whirlwind of theatre trips, meals out, toasts in the local, catching up with friends, Christingle and carol in the parks. I’ll be making my lists (and checking them twice…) shopping for gifts, watching Christmas films and writing Christmas cards. Then there is the big day amongst family, followed by visits and a big family party heading towards new years’, lots of whizzing up and down motorways and by the 1st of January we are happy and exhausted.
This year will be different for all of us, I’m in Tier 3 and many traditional events cancelled and there’ll be no whizzing up the motorway for family get together for us. It’ll just be my family of three, with a helping of family facetime and a splash of Tia Maria in my morning coffee. It’s all rather strange, stilted, quiet and subdued, I’m not excited like I usually am but it is what it is and there will be more Christmases to celebrate in the future.

There will be a few traditions that we are able to continue, such as going through the radio times with a yellow highlighter, Christmas telly with carols from kings, The Queens Speech and Doctor Who, gift giving and receiving and of course a sumptuous turkey dinner. I’m also going to continue sending Christmas cards this year.

In the year of social distancing and life being topsy-turvy I think we are all feeling distanced and separate from our friends and family and seeking ways to connect more than ever. I’m definitely feeling it so this year I’ll be making a special effort with my Christmas cards and will include a note or two rather than the usual scribble of “Merry Christmas!”
I’m pleased to share with you all that I have been featured in the Christmas edition of Prima magazine talking about connecting through Christmas cards. I talk about how when writing your cards, to do it mindfully and enjoy being in the moment, slow down. “Writing by hand slows everything down, encouraging us to really think” I talk about personalising the cards – I think there is something very powerful in receiving a letter or personalised card, to me it shows that someone has had you in their thoughts and it means so much.
“This year when many people have not seen friends or relatives I think it’s more important than ever to connect with others. Hearing from a friend after so much distance cannot be under estimated”
It’s just a small thing that I can do to keep busy and let my friends and family know that I am thinking about them albeit at a distance. I hope you enjoy writing your cards and however you are celebrating – Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year.