With Omicron looming ever garishly on the horizon, many people are petrified that a last minute circuit breaker or lockdown will plough in and ruin Christmas once again, adding to an already prevalent pandemic of loneliness and a huge mental health crisis. Christmas 2020 saw
MoneyMagpie’s Jasmine Birtles say “no more” as she invited people to spend some of Christmas Day with her on zoom. This year, regardless of what the Prime Minister says, Jasmine is doing the same again.
If the last two years have taught us anything, it it is that loneliness is something we can all struggle with. It can mean feeling alone whilst surrounded by people you love; it can be living alone and only having your pet for company; it can be not wanting to trouble friends when you most need them and, for many, it can be being faced with spending Christmas Day alone. Combating loneliness is is a societal need more than ever.
Due to lockdown and the physical longing for human interaction that it created, for the first time ever it has become more widely accepted that people talk about loneliness, there was even the government’s encouragement of Let’s Talk Loneliness but a lot of the advice given during the pandemic assumed that we had people to turn to. The £750 million charity funding appeal to combat loneliness wasn’t necessarily noticeable to so many of us, and lots of businesses, charities and people took matters into their own hands and decided to look at ways to combat this themselves. This is what led to Jasmine opening up her Christmas Day celebrations to people who need some company.
Jasmine said, “Last year everyone was told to stay at home and not visit relatives or friends for Christmas (unless they were a government minister, of course), and it occurred to me that there would be a lot of people who would feel desperately lonely and abandoned. I wanted to give them the opportunity to have their own party and talk and laugh with other normal people at least once during the day. It worked. We had people who were on their own as well as at least one couple who just thought it sounded like a fun thing to do. There was a really nice atmosphere to the event and we had some good giggles!”
Recognising quite how much it was needed, Jasmine has decided to do the same again. “I’m holding this one at the same time again – 4pm – on Christmas Day,” she says. “Last year’s was supposed to be just an hour but it went on for an hour and half, so I expect this year’s will last that long too.” The link to join is on Eventbrite here.
So many people showed up last year and Jasmine managed to create a safe environment in which people could just share the day. Recognising that many people struggle socially and that introversion or many factors can make it hard to speak up. “This party is for people who like to get involved and also for those who would just like to watch and listen incognito. I’ll be doing a fun quiz but it’s only for those who want to take part and I’ll be quite happy if some people simply want to come and be part of the atmosphere but don’t want to talk to strangers. That’s understandable. Let’s face it, ‘in-person’ parties full of people you don’t know can be a daunting prospect, and Zoom parties can be just as worrying to some, so I won’t be forcing anyone to do the quiz or even talk unless they want to.”
So this Christmas, if you are faced with being alone (for whatever reason), be sure to join up and have something fun on your festive horizon. “You are not alone” as Jasmine is keen to help us realise.
