Read on Twitter
This is going to be a different Christmas for us all. It’s unfair we can’t all get together after what has been a crappy year. But this damn virus is unfair. We’re having a virtual Christmas. And as chief organiser, I thought I'd share some stuff I'm planning, if you want ideas
So firstly, we’re looking on the bright side. My brother and his family are in America, my sister and hers are in England. This is the first time we will all be celebrating Christmas together for a few years, albeit virtually. Everyone's having Xmas dinner together
We’ll use Skype - https://www.skype.com/en/ - or Zoom - https://zoom.us . Really easy to use. Laptops/Phones on the Christmas dinner table and we are all eating together, across the globe. My brother is seven hours behind us so will be having Brussel Sprouts for breakfast!
We have a Christmas jumper competition. Not your shop bought ones now – rather festive fashion constructed with what you have at home. We’re talking lights sewn on to tops, jumpers made entirely from tinsel. Sprouts glued to fabric. Points are awarded for ingenuity and madness
There shall also be extra points for festive headgear. Think Easter Bonnets gone mad. If nothing else, the construction of this craziness using items from tree/around house will take our focus from grimness of the news and surreal times we find ourselves in. Always hilarious
There will be virtual tours around each other’s houses, showing the tree, kitchen with dishes no doubt piled high, kids playing with their toys, what everyone is eating, what the street outside looks like. We’ll be transported half way around the world without leaving our sofas
There will be songs. There’s always someone with a guitar handy and even if there’s not, one person attempting the first strains of Jingle Bells will always get accompaniment. Even if none of us are Mariah actual Carey. Or there’s online Karaoke https://www.karafun.co.uk
We will have a family-themed quiz. Questions will include how many times my brother broke his leg playing football – three – what my sister’s teddy bear was called – Eustice – and what my Mum and Dad swapped a weekend in Paris they won for – a dishwasher - and other nostalgia
The quiz will also include music, general knowledge etc rounds and keep the blood pumping by getting participants to race round the house to get requested household items – toilet brush, boot – first back to the camera wins points. Points mean no prizes, just eternal glory
Or if bingo is your thing. There are a few sites which allow you to create your own bingo game. Here’s one https://www.bingomaker.com . First game is free. Or this one https://myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generator
This Christmas is going to be different. It is what it is. Try to dwell on good stuff. We’ll all be back together soon. Focus on what we can do as opposed to what we can’t. And what we can do is show how much we love one another by keeping one another safe. Virtual hugs to all 
