Nice nibbles and virtual squabbles: how to Covid-proof your Christmas

So here we are again. Out are the plans to dust off your dancing shoes at the Christmas party, and in is the stockpiling of toilet rolls and boxes of chocolates for the long nights ahead.

With a “staggering” increase in Covid cases accelerated by the spread of the Omicron variant predicted by medical advisers this week, many people are fearing that they will once again face Christmas in not-so-splendid isolation.

So what can you do to prepare for a brilliant Christmas – even if you or a household member tests positive for Covid and has to isolate over the festive period, or Christmas is cancelled once again?

Eat, drink and be merry

You’re going to need food and drink. Lots of it. Buy now or repent at leisure. This is the perfect moment to bake that extravagant cake you’ve dreamed of, or finally make use of the sourdough starter your annoying friend foisted on you after the first lockdown.

Jo Elgarf, an urban prepper who could frankly be forgiven for being a bit smug right now, suggests putting a pack of chicken or veggie alternative in the freezer with some frozen brussels sprouts and roasties, just in case. And buying chocolate: “If the worst comes to the worst, and you just sit there for the whole day eating a tin of Roses, is that really such a bad thing?”

The food writer Jay Rayner has one main tip: order in a crate of Baileys. He adds: “Plan your Christmas Day meal around the idea of filling the fridge with nice things for days to come. And stock up on nibbles. If your house does not contain cheese-flavoured pastry Christmas trees and Twiglets, it’s not even Christmas.”

Other stellar suggestions from Guardian readers on Twitter include eating a Christmas dinner of pigs in blankets dipped in camembert because you can, make hot chocolate bombs or, failing that, make sure you have a list of takeaways that deliver on Christmas Day.

‘Tis the season for self-care

Christmas, even in a good year, can be a time of heightened stress, loneliness and struggle for many people. Prof Vivian Hill, a chartered psychologist and member of the British Psychological Society, suggests enjoying an isolated Christmas free of the myths of what Christmas “should be”.

“Have a think about what the authentic characteristics of a really good Christmas are to you, and try and plan how you could recreate them if you have to stay at home,” she says. “Doing something special for yourself and for the people you’re closest to is really key.”

Have a bath, go for a long walk, stay in your pyjamas, make sushi – do whatever you want, basically. “Christmas traditions evolve and develop over time,” says Hill. “Recognise there are other ways to celebrate.”

Schedule your family fallouts

For many people, Christmas is all about eating too much with family and friends. If that is impossible, perhaps open presents together via Zoom in the morning, keep the camera on during lunch and schedule a half-cut argument with your sibling at around 5pm. You could always spend your extra time inventing a machine you can pull a cracker with. An industrial bull clip will do the job for those lacking in imagination.

To temper your sadness, console yourself with the thought that you are doing the Right Thing, says Hill. “Maybe your gift to your friends and family is recognising you’re a risk and staying away.”

The gifts you could stop giving

Have you bought all your presents yet? If not, don’t panic, and don’t immediately turn to Amazon, says Tim Lane of Ethical Consumer. “There’s loads of online ethical retailers that are great options for last-minute presents,” he says. “Or just buy less. If you want to consume ethically, cut down your consumption and maybe organise a secret Santa with your family as an alternative.”

For top organisational points you could wrap and exchange gifts on your doorstep with family members who live close enough now, just in case. If they live in different parts of the country/world, it’s probably too late. Don’t sweat it, at least you have the perfect excuse.

On the 10th day of isolation, my true love gave to me – a sought-after games console and a long, pitiless book

One bonus of an isolated Christmas is all the extra time to sit around mainlining chocolate orange and watching festive films. Excellent Guardian reader suggestions for passing the time include making as many anagrams as possible from the different Covid variants, reading War and Peace, chortling along with virtual gigs with Always Be Comedy, creating a Christmas-themed mystery game to free Santa and the presents, knitting, crafting and doing a thousand-piece personalised jigsaw of your family while listening to Toto’s Africa. Or you might have kids. In which case secure a lock on the bathroom door.

It’s not all about you, you know

It really isn’t. Many Guardian readers, altruistic souls that they are, suggest keeping others in mind rather than just feeling sorry for yourself. Buy some extra goods when festive stockpiling to drop off at the food bank like those run by the Trussell Trust or just donate; call an older person for a chat via Age UK, Independent Age, Re-engage or Opening Doors; buy a toy for a vulnerable child via The Toy Appeal or Family Action; buy a gift for a woman or child fleeing abuse with Refuge; write to someone facing injustice in the world via Amnesty International’s Write for Rights campaign. That, friends, is the true spirit of Christmas.