Christmas in the Time of Covid

Every Christmas gathering I had with friends was done via online video conferencing platforms such as Zoom or Google Meet. I will say though that my FOMO keeps getting triggered because more and more of my friends are meeting up physically. I see so many people posting their face-to-face get-togethers on social media that it makes me want to do that to. But in the end, my fear of contracting Covid and possibly spreading it to my family still weighs more heavily in my mind so I haven't met up with anyone outside my immediately family since March. Even our Christmas celebrations at work were via Zoom. I attended two of them: the company-wide one and the one for my department. Both parties had raffles and I was pretty lucky to have won something in both. In the company-wide event, I won a headset while in our department party, I won a 2-in-1 Electric Griller. I still haven't received the headset but the griller was already delivered to me. Cool!

My raffle prize: an Electric Griller!

Speaking of deliveries, this is the first Christmas where I had gifts delivered to friends. My high school friends and I agreed early on to just do a Secret Santa instead of having each person getting gifts for everyone else. We all shared our wishlists and my "baby" was based in the US so I ordered her gifts from Amazon. I, on the other hand, got a new board game - Notre Dame - from GeekBox PH. It has some good reviews so it's too bad that it will be a while before I can play it.

Notre Dame board game

While I did drop off some gifts to a few friends (it was great seeing them, even briefly and even if no hugs or handshakes were shared), most of my gifts were purchased via Lazada. I was able to get several free shipping vouchers so I saved a lot on logistics. I also skipped the surprise part: for many of my friends, I took screenshots of gift ideas and I had them pick which one they wanted the most from that shortlist. Most of what I ordered have already been delivered but there are a couple that are still on their way, including the JBL earphones for my "baby" in our department Kris Kringle event. In that event, I myself got a portable Bluetooth speaker.

The gift I got from our office Kris Kringle: a Bluetooth Speaker

There was a bit of a disaster during Christmas eve, however: the place from which I ordered our food had major kitchen issues that resulted in massive delays. Not much more detail was provided but my order was supposed to be picked up at 3:30pm and it was 6:45pm when I got it. Crazy! While I was tremendously frustrated, I didn't complain anymore because the people who got there before I did were complaining angrily.

I would normally be livid myself but my greater concern at the time was the size of the crowd and my prolonged exposure to other people amidst the pandemic. I was expecting a more or less in-and-out food pick-up situation so getting stuck in a large crowd of people was extremely stressful. I could've waited in my car but I was worried that if my order came out and I wasn't there when my name was called, someone else might claim it. The sad thing is that by the time I got home, my family had all eaten dinner already. I did get to have Noche Buena with my nephews for the first time in years; normally, they celebrate Christmas with their relatives on their mom's side but because of the Covid situation, they stayed home with us. I also cracked open a bottle of really good wine that we all enjoyed that evening (don't worry, my nephews are of legal drinking age).

My crazy experience waiting for our Christmas food and stressing out over the lack of social distancing emphasized how fortunate and privileged I am compared to most other people. I get to work from home and have stuff delivered, thus minimizing the amount of times I go out and get exposed to others. The same can't be said for most other Filipinos, who need to brave the thread of Covid infection in order to make a living and survive. I don't know how much longer this pandemic will rage on but my Christmas wish is that working vaccines can be made accessible to people all over the world and that everyone can live and thrive in a much safer world.