You all seem to have a great idea of what you're doing! Lots of baking too - it's inspiring. Definitely something I'd like to incorporate into my Christmas this year. I love the cozy vibe as well; that's something I can definitely endorse with good coffee, tea, comfort food. I have my own manifesto for Christmas this year, and it's "Less, but better". I want to focus on a handful of things, but do them exceptionally. The food and drinks reminded me of this. DH and I are big coffee drinkers, so I'm going to learn how to make some brilliant coffee at home. Now is the perfect time to nail it! Also with food: we've always bought a TONNE of food at Christmas and either pigged out on it (and stopped enjoying it but ate because it's there) or it's been wasted. Lockdown, and not being able to get things I always took for granted, has taught me that my family really doesn't need that much - and instead of overcompensating by buying lots, buy less, buy better, and do a good job of it!
The only Christmassy thing we discussed prior to the Covid outbreak is DMIL potentially coming over to ours on Christmas day. We haven't discussed it with her, and we have no idea if she'd want to or not as she has five kids to choose from (and we're not having the traditional Christmas dinner this year: we're having curry!)
Both of my kids are Scouts, and Christmas is HECTIC in Scouting! It isn't uncommon to be out six nights a week doing SOMETHING, so I have no idea if that is going to happen this year. I have no relatives on my side, and DH's siblings/parents are typically busy people, so we usually manage to spend the day with them at various weekends on the run up to Christmas. We usually end up ordering tonnes of pizzas and just chatting and laughing at the kids' shenanigans. Last year my kiddos and my niece made a monstrosity of a gingerbread house whilst Dsil and family were at ours. We'd all love to do that again, but again - who knows!
It's my DD1s' birthday the week prior to Christmas. We usually go out and do something, but this year... Outdoor activities in December in the UK aren't...Fun lol, and the thought of trying to "social distance" in somewhere like a cinema etc in PPE doesn't sound appealing either.
As far as at home activities etc, I am going to be investing a lot of time/creativity/effort in trying to do SOMETHING. Not sure what, but this is going to be something I'll start looking into soon. I'm just going to get into the mindset of everything is going to be in lockdown, so plan to stay in, and then if everything is open/back to 'normal' - great!
Shopping is probably going to be online. I still haven't ventured into a real shop other than a supermarket, despite most retailers being open. I just can't get excited about the queuing to get in, the not being allowed to browse, etc.
I pick & mixed my own cleaning plan by taking bits from HGP, H&H etc. As sad as it sounds, I always look forward to starting it in September! That really kicks off the Christmas excitement for me. Regardless of what KonMari says, our house is definitely too small for us (add in that the kiddos are Home Ed and that requires equipment/resources/MESS!) and keeping things organised/spaces clear is a challenge. Covid has made me realise how messy our home can get - not being able to take things to charity shops etc and have stuff piling up... This year I am definitely delegating jobs instead of trying to do it by myself.
I think, like a lot of people, the plan for this year is expecting to be at home, expecting the meals and gift shopping to be 'quirky'. Anything going back to normal is a bonus!