This was a very different Christmas. There were no parities. There were no lights to visit. We went to Mass by watching it on TV. The kids sat on a bench in front of Santa with masks just for the traditional picture.

Two very important traditions were maintained. 

Our Christmas card was a two part card. First there was a very boring post card that said “Sorry, this is the best we could do. 2020 and all, you know?” People thought it was pretty funny and on point. A couple days later the actual card came. It featured us in zoom like boxes on the front. Inside was a picture of nice-ish clothes on top, with pajamas on the bottom. And lots of technology. It was fun and very 2020.

The second important tradition was the Christmas Pageant. I first talked to Aidan and Josh about it in October. We practiced with the kids on zoom and then filmed parts with small groups. Then Josh and Aidan edited together. Brendan still sang. Aidan played the piano for him. It was shown on the parish website and social media. It wasn’t the same but it was pretty great to find a new way to make it happen.