Practically everything this year was different from previous Christmases.
There were no family gatherings, no huge feast, no visits from friends sharing Christmas cheer.
But weird or not, we still managed to keep Christmas.
On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, we set up a Google Meet to open presents with Audrey's sister Betty and the family. It was great seeing their faces and having a visit with them, but the inability to break into smaller groups for a chat or a game of cribbage or whatever made the latter half of the affair feel a bit stilted. I mean, I still wouldn't trade it, but the limitations fo the video chat were pretty apparent.
That evening we had charcuterie for supper and watched a YouTube of the Christmas Eve service from St. Albert United Church. We have gotten used to singing hymns in our basement, but taking communion at home with torn bread and shot glasses of wine felt a bit surreal, as did lighting our own candles instead of "passing the light" as we normally do.
Christmas Day was pretty laid back but spirited after a fashion - from spiked coffee and a breakfast beer in the morning through fortified egg nogs and such throughout the day. As strange as it was to have only the four of us present for opening gifts for the first time in, well. a lot of years, we were grateful that both girls were able to be at home, especially after a busy semester for Fenya and Glory being in Churchill from July to November.
In the afternoon, we got Tara and Jerry in Houston up on the Portal they got us for Christmas and opened gifts with them. It was wonderful to see them and share a laugh, even though Tara was extremely tired - she had contracted COVID through work and couldn't have joined us even if they had a teleporter. Again though, there was cause to be grateful - her symptoms were more cold-like than flu-like and her pulse oximeter reassured us that her lungs were still working efficiently. It was hard to see her so listless on one of her favourite holidays though, especially with both our girls sugared up as much as they were.
After that we got Auntie Vera on the phone in Ontario. She is preparing to move back to Alberta in the New Year, but was currently at an acreage by herself following an extended bout of caregiving for a friend who is dying of cancer. While we wanted the contact and familiarity, it felt more like a need in her case, and I was happy we were able to set up a game of Drawful with her by setting up another video chat and pointing my phone at the television. By following the prompts on her laptop and doodling on her cell phone's screen, she joined us in a hilarious game that felt like she was in the room with us from two time zones away.
After that, our Christmas Dinner arrived - Chinese take out from Happy Palace. We had joked about doing it for years, absolutely no one felt like cooking, and hey, it was a wonderful homage to a classic movie.
We cooked a ham (with a brown sugar, bourbon and black pepper glaze!) the next night, but that Christmas dinner a la Chinoise was one of the best I can recall - even if we did forget the Christmas crackers, something I am realizing only today as I write this blog.
It is important to note that as weird as this Christmas was, it wasn't all bad - no terrifying mid-winter road trips or fretting about visitors delayed by weather, no one getting uptight from cabin fever or overcrowding - but on the whole, I will be more than ready for a less distanced, more sociable Christmas next year.
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