In spite of the pandemic’s efforts to cancel Christmas, it came anyway. For many, it was not the usual happy affair with friends and family. Closed borders and travel restrictions prevented many from travelling even a short distance to be with their loved ones. Then there were those who due to illness or fear of catching or spreading the virus had to spend their Christmas day in isolation.
Our family were among the fortunate who were able to be together to celebrate. Only our eldest daughter was unable to join us due to being unwell. We don’t think it’s COVID but she did not feel well enough to travel from Cape Town to Plettenberg Bay and also did not want to risk infecting anybody in case it is.
Our youngest daughter and her nephews travelled up together on Christmas Eve. As is our current custom we are spending the holidays with the Plettenberg Bay branch of the family. The Garden Route is a Covid hotspot. The beaches are closed and we are in any case avoiding crowds and public gatherings. Being 18 km out of town helps us to be as isolated as possible.


Christmas day was delightful. It was sunny and warm and we started with good coffee and a delicious breakfast of fruit salad and yogurt followed by scrambled eggs and bacon.

This year we kept things simple and did Secret Santa. Each of us drew a name and had only to buy for that person. A limit of how much to spend was set. BUT the grandparents are natural rule breakers and in addition to the person we drew we got a gift pack for each grandchild! Yes, I know they’re too old for this now but it’s a hard habit to give up! I promise this is the last year we’ll do it. After all the youngest is already 16!














Lunch was delicious. It was almost 4 o’clock when we sat down to it. Lauren roasted beef and gammon, I did the roast veggies, Laurie made a Greek and Shan did a delicious gravy. There was Christmas Pudding to follow but we were all too full and promised to have it later in the day. But by nine o’clock we were still in no mood for more than a Dom Pedro (made with Amarula and Ice Cream) to end the day. I did not take a photo but the one below from the internet is fairly similar to what we had.

How wonderful that you were able to enjoy a family gathering. I hope your eldest daughter is on the mend and has not been dealt a blow by COVID-19!
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Thank you Anne. My daughter had a test and fortunately is negative. She is with us now but is feeling a lot better.
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What good news!
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