A new Christmas

As friends and family prepare to celebrate being together again, Jennifer Morgan asks which new traditions will be part of our ‘Christmas future’ – and which ones we’re leaving in the past…

- Jennifer Morgan

Christmas 2020 was, well… different. From working out how/when/if we could all be together and sending secret Santa gifts around the country to last-minute travel changes and an urgent need to ‘buy your own’ turkey, we certainly had to adapt. But as we made the best of it, will some of those novel experiences become the new festive norm?

Of course, the great unknown is what this Christmas might look like. ‘We are all at the mercy of COVID-19 and need to see how that unfolds over the autumn and into winter and if there will be any consequences of that,’ says Joanna Feeley, founder and CEO of leading trend forecasting agency TrendBible (trendbible.com). ‘But the lack of close contact last year has really made people appreciate spending time with loved ones.’

With last year’s dialled-down Christmas, Joanna believes there will be quite a contrast between us this year. ‘It will be like what we’ve seen in recent months, with those who want to keep gatherings small and intimate and are still quite fearful of large groups, and those who are desperate to be together again. I’d say the first group are removing that pressure for themselves by keeping things low-key, while the latter group are going all-out with celebrations.