Before the meeting I had a wander around a few Hethersett roads I don't normally visit and I had the same thought - how festive our village looks and how much effort people have made. Last year was good but this year's was even better. I wonder if this has been the same in other villages in the country.
I'm not sure what we can attribute this to but I really think its because people want a bit of light and joy in their lives. I hate to say it but talking to people and attending events over the past few days there seems to be a feeling that we will be in some form of lockdown in the next month or so.
A number of organisations/groups are already cancelling meetings and the parish council is asking to be allowed to hold zoom video meetings again. After all when people are asked to work from home, it is difficult to justify face to face council meetings when an alternative is possible and proved so successful during lockdown.
In many ways I enjoyed zoom virtual meetings. They meant not having to travel (particularly when its cold outside) and you could grab a beer or cup of tea and even have a sandwich!!!
I remember last Christmas sitting around a firepit to keep warm, not being allowed to go into houses. Hopefully this year things will be a little better but it does appear that we are going backwards at the moment.
Each Christmas we play a fun game (when allowed to do so by restrictions). I thought I would share it with you. The more people playing the better. Each person buys a present. The only rule is it mustn't cost more than £1. Wrap the present up and on Christmas Day all these presents are put into a bag. Hopefully there will be presents of various shapes and sizes. All the names of those taking part are put into a hat (or if you are into technology you can pick people through an online random picker programme). The first person takes a present from the sack, unpacks it and puts the item in front of them. The second person then does the same. The only difference is this person can keep the present they have chosen or swap it for the present in front of the other person.
This continues as each new person can keep the present they have unpacked or swap it for anybody else's present. If you have 14 people for example, the last person has no choice about the present they take from the bag but they do have the option of keeping it or swapping it for any of the other 13 presents.
Just one piece of advice. Make sure everyone understands the rules before you start otherwise it can end in chaos. One year we had someone playing who refused to swap!!!
You can also play a second game with a slight twist. In this one you take a parcel but you don't unwrap it. You can swap as usual but you have no idea what's in your parcel or the one you are swapping for. When everyone has a parcel in front of them the parcels are unwrapped and you find out what you have. Happy gaming.