This is Jane, a wife and mum of three.
Christmas is both an enjoyable and stressful time for her, as she typically hosts Christmas dinner for extended family, as well as other parties with friends over the festive period.
Jane does a mixture of online and in-store shopping for Christmas food and gifts, and is always on the lookout for offers and deals.
This year, Jane started her Christmas shopping even earlier than usual, so she managed to get a few presents bought in store before lockdown was announced.
Now, she’s planning on doing the rest of her Christmas shopping online.
Although she loves saving money, she’s worried about waiting until Black Friday for fear of items being out of stock or not arriving in time.
Because it’s unlikely that she will be hosting the typical large family Christmas and smaller parties, Jane probably won’t purchase as many gifts this year.
Instead, she might spend a little bit more on her husband and children, and then put the rest away for a rainy day.
This is Jane’s husband John.
John starts his Christmas shopping a lot later than his wife, so he hadn’t bought any gifts when the second lockdown was announced.
He will now probably do the entirety of his Christmas shopping online.
John is usually in charge of the Christmas food shop, which he likes to do in-store a few days before Christmas.
This year, he is considering doing the Christmas food shop online. He is also planning on doing the Christmas food shop earlier this year because he knows certain items will sell out even quicker than normal.
Because the budget doesn’t need to stretch to 10+ people this year, he will probably splurge on a few more luxury food items.
This is Jane and John’s eldest daughter, Claire. Claire is 18 years old.
Claire was supposed to be starting university this September, but she has deferred for a year due to COVID-19.
Claire has a part-time job in a clothing shop, which had to close during the first lockdown. She was put on furlough, but still saw a noticeable decrease in her wages – especially because she usually works a lot of overtime.
When the second lockdown was announced, Claire was put back on furlough.
Claire does most of her Christmas shopping online, but she will have to be very careful with her money this year.
She usually uses Black Friday as an opportunity to buy a few things for herself, but she doesn’t think she will be able to this year due to her reduced wages.
All in all, Claire will spend considerably less money this year, and will be less likely to go out to places like pubs, bars and restaurants with her friends.
This is Connor and Charlie, Jane and John’s two youngest children. Connor is 15 years old and Charlie is 10.
Connor and Charlie don’t usually buy all their own gifts for family and friends, but are involved in the selection process. When they go shopping in-store, they sometimes use their pocket money to purchase extra gifts for family and friends, which they will probably not be able to do this year.
Both boys look forward to seeing their extended family on Christmas Day, and are disappointed that they will be unable to do so.
This is Audrey and Alan, Jane’s mother and father.
They usually do most of their Christmas shopping in-store, but they are concerned about going out in public this year.
They have been shielding for most of the year due to their age, which they have found bearable but a little lonely.
Audrey and Alan typically look forward to seeing the family all together for Christmas, but they are considering staying at home this year, just to be safe.
Jane set them up on Zoom earlier in the year, and a virtual Christmas is looking increasingly likely for them this year.
Because they won’t be seeing family in person, they will either delay buying gifts or give their family members money instead.
Jane and John’s youngest child, Charlie, wakes his parents up at 8:00AM to open presents.
The children find they have slightly more presents this year (although they are lower ticket-value items). One of the presents John bought Jane online didn’t arrive in time, so he had to give her an IOU.
The family has breakfast together, which includes a few more luxury items than usual, and then they video chat with Audrey and Alan.
Everyone helps to prepare the Christmas dinner, which also includes a few more special food items, although there is less food overall because there are no guests.
To get out of the house, the family goes on an afternoon walk after eating. They usually wouldn’t have time to do this if they were hosting family members for Christmas, and they agree that it’s an enjoyable addition to their day.
Jane has organised a video call with other members of the extended family for the evening, during which they chat and play games as if it were a normal Christmas.
Later on in the evening, the family watches television together. They enjoy a few mince pies before going to bed for the night.
