2020 might have been a crazy year but that’s not going to stop the BOOQED team from decking the halls and being jolly! After all, just because we’re going through a global pandemic doesn’t mean we cancel Christmas right?
And yes, it might not be exactly what everyone hoped for, but with a few tweaks to our Christmas traditions and a bit of social distancing, we’re here to make the most of this magical time of year.
If you need a little inspiration on how to have a socially distanced Christmas this year, or just want to find out how people from Hong Kong, Singapore, The Philippines and Ukraine spend the holiday season, read on!
“When I used to live in Brazil, we’d usually celebrate with a roast turkey, some fancy foods, and exchange gifts. But in Ukraine, people barely celebrate Christmas at all because they follow the old ‘Julian calendar. We don’t bother with presents or stories about Santa Claus or anything like that. Everyone celebrates the New Year though!”
“Every Christmas, I stay in, eat A LOT of Filipino-style Christmas ham and watch The Umbrellas of Cherbourg! If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a great movie about a couple in a small town who fall in love but end up with other people.”
“I usually end up watching Elf and Die Hard as my de factor Christmas movies. I’ll also most likely do a staycation somewhere…”
“Since we can’t go away this year, I’m hoping to do a staycation and spend the holidays relaxing with multiple massages. This is the perfect time to switch off for a few days and practise some self-care, I’m excited to make the most of it!”
“For me, Christmas is all about spending time with family! I count myself lucky that most of my family are in Hong Kong so we will be doing a family brunch at the Langham and then a Boxing Day picnic on the beach (all abiding by social distancing rules of course)!”
“On Christmas Day, I plan on trying out some recipes from a new Indian cookbook I bought a few weeks ago. Wish me luck. I’ll also be going on a hike to work up an appetite.
On Boxing Day, I’ll have quarantine camp duty at Penny Bay where I’ll spend the day volunteering and helping out.”
“It’s been a crazy busy year so I’m really looking forward to taking time off work and doing absolutely nothing for a few days! I always spend Christmas with my family so this year, we’ll probably do a hotel staycation, and spend time together cooking, playing on the Nintendo Switch (it gets competitive!) and watching horror movies. Watching horror movies sounds a bit weird but we love it.
On Boxing Day, I plan on being a little bit productive so have organized to spend half the day completing an online course I’m doing.”
“In my family, it’s tradition to do a blow-out Christmas meal every year – usually in another country... We'll try to recreate that in Hong Kong this year, then maybe do a hike if the weather’s good. On my list of things I'd like to do this festive season is also to volunteer time at a soup kitchen (if that's even possible with the COVID restrictions).”
“My family own a bakery, and most Hong Kong businesses tend to stay open for Christmas, so I’ll be spending Boxing Day helping out for a few hours before we go home and enjoy a traditional roast turkey dinner together. We’ll also most likely binge-watch the Christmas classics – Elf, Home Alone, The Nightmare Before Christmas, etc. I can’t wait!”
