Christmas is going to be different this year, but just like the Grinch couldn’t really steal Christmas, the coronavirus won’t cancel my Christmas. Celebrating safely will require changes to our usual traditions, but Christmas is still coming, even though the coronavirus hasn’t (yet) disappeared.
Double the houses, double the fun!
If you lost a family member or friend to covid-19, it may feel like coronavirus has cancelled your Christmas. My heart goes out to you. I hope you are able to find some peace and comfort and know that you are not alone in these difficult times.
The Coronavirus Isn’t Cancelling My Christmas
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the day I spend baking cookies with a group of friends. Instead of a cookie exchange, we do a bake-a-thon, and then divvy up the goodies when we’re done. We weren’t going to let the coronavirus cancel this tradition during it’s 22nd year, so we took our event on-line, and did a bake-a-long via Zoom. We even remembered to mute ourselves when using our mixers! Later in the day we did a socially-distanced cookie swap and prosecco toast in one friend’s backyard. It wasn’t the same as spending all day together, but it nourished our socially-starved souls.
A selection of cookies from last weekend’s bake-a-long.
Speaking of things that make me smile, I got to add a new ornament to my tree this week when my Mara Thonner ornament arrived! This fabulous family heirloom was made possible by Matty Maggiacomo and Phrase Lounge (the people who make the Peloton quote posters), with profits and extra donations going to Athlete Ally, which works for LGBTQI+ inclusivity in athletics.
Looking ahead to Christmas, the biggest difference will be no in-person church service on Christmas Eve. While my own church is having services on Facebook live, I probably will tune in to the National Cathedral services (registration is free, with a donation suggested). That means I’ll have to get my Christmas pies in the oven by 8:00 pm. Yes, that pain-in-ass apple pie is on the menu again. I’m also going to try the pecan-pumpkin pie Michelle‘s family had at Thanksgiving. We may not have as many guests coming for Christmas dinner, but that just means the leftovers will last longer.
Weekly Run Down
My goal for the week was to check out more of the Peloton holiday workouts. Coronavirus sure didn’t cancel Christmas carol playlist classes–they seem to have more this year than ever.
Monday: 10 min Core + 45 min Tread Bootcamp + 20 min Treadmill Run
Blue Christmas wasn’t on the playlist for either of these classes, but Chase did have us lunging through the snow, doing Russian snowball twists, and making prone snow angels.
Tuesday: 30 min Bike Bootcamp + 30 min Ride + 10 min Core
Made it a bike day and earned all the badges for this bike bootcamp!
Bike Bootcamp Badge
Squad Badge (class taken by 5 friends)
December Challenge Badge (workout 15 days in December)
Holiday Challenge Badge (workout 15 days in December)
Wednesday: 3.5 Scooby Miles + 40 min Strength
There aren’t many more houses in my neighborhood that keep their lights on all night, but this house has spotlights on all their wreaths.
Classic, but not quite understated!
Thursday: 45 min Bike Bootcamp + 10 min Peloton Core
Took my fourth (and final?) bike bootcamp to earn that badge. I do like the bootcamps, I’m just not sure I like them better than stacking separate cycling and strength classes.
Friday : 50 min Peloton Tread + 10 min Core
I saved Matty’s holiday run as Mara Thonner for Friday, and it was a great way to end a stressful week. It’s like running with your BFF who makes you laugh even as she pushes you to keep up. It was Mara-velous!
Saturday: 10 min Peloton Core + 6.6 Scooby Miles + 50 min Ride
I chased a gorgeous sunrise through the Seminary, and paused to soak it all in in the Chapel Garden.
Doesn’t it look like stained glass in the windows?
After dashing to the farmer’s market for apples for that pie and to Trader Joe’s for shredded Brussels sprouts for our Christmas salad, I decided to check Christine’s Pentatonix Ride off my holiday workout list. She led the class with minimal coaching so we could enjoy the music.
Sunday: 4.5 Scooby Miles + 10 min Core + 20 min Yoga
I woke up early and took the opportunity to check out the lights neighborhood I ran through on Saturday after the sun was up I saw a few houses with lights on that I thought would look cool in the dark, and I was right.
Love the green lighted wreaths!
Thanks to Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down link up. It’s always great for motivation and encouragement, but now it’s especially important for distance socializing. We may be physically apart, but we are in this together!
Are you adapting to a different holiday season this year?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
We won’t be getting together in person with family this year, but just like Thanksgiving, we’ll do a special dinner and enjoy the leftovers. The only thing is that I’ve cut my Christmas baking to practically nothing. I adore eggnog fudge but I’m the only one in my family who eats it, so I’d end up eating the whole batch. COVID won’t steal my Christmas but I will let it steal my favorite holiday treat so that I can continue to fit into my jeans.
LOL, that’s fair enough. I am making an effort to give away more cookies this year even though it’s harder to do so without being able to take some to the office!
Yep, it’ll be just us four for Christmas this year but I feel stubborn about not cancelling Christmas as well. I love that you’re making your PIA apple pie and also that you’ve had that baking tradition for so long. We leave our lights on all night as do many of our neighbors. So fun!
It really is nice to have the lights on all night! Plus, Santa needs them on to help Rudolph find his way. 😉
It’s great that you’ve figured out some ways to continue your traditions virtually. I am planning to bake some cookies with my son this week. We won’t be seeing anyone for Christmas which will definitely feel weird. But hopefully the world will be in a much better place by this time next year!
With a second vaccine approved, I sure hope so! It will be that much merrier when we all can be together again.
Our Christmas will be different this year as well (join the club, right? LOL). At least we can ZOOM with one another. I’ll probably invite my parents over for dinner, with the caveat that they can only stay for the meal (and we’ll all be eating in separate rooms) and no lingering (#awkward). We’ll see…that plan may change. I still have not done any holiday baking….
No way would my Mom eat in the other room! Good thing she’s in our “bubble”. My sister-in-law is sitting the holiday gathering out (again), and my in-laws are keeping to themselves in Florida ….
Impressive that you remembered to mute yourselves while mixing, although that could have been an orchestral arrangement of its own.
Christmas is weird this year. I did in person shopping. I NEVER do in person shopping because I usually order for delivery to mom’s. Now it’s some delivery to my brother, college roommate and stuff I have to mail. Ick. But carrying red Target reusable bag made me feel a little Claus-ish.
Christmas playlists have been fun, as non-traditional as mie always are. Happy pie-ing.
I love listening to traditional and non-traditional holiday music. It’s good to keep old favorites fresh.
Yep, part of why I take them off my iPod the other ten-eleven months a year. Gives me something to look forward to even in normal years. Occasionally I miss one though and I’ll get a random SIlver Bells in the summer.
wow cannot believe you have been baking those cookies together for 22 years! Way to find a way to still do it this year. You sure have taken advantage of all the fun holiday classes Peloton has to offer. Hope you have a great week and merry Christmas
Our group of bakers has grown. Of the original three, only I had kids back then!
We are still planning our meal but since it’s just the 4 of us, goose is on the menu. I am very excited about that! Can’t serve that with a large gathering. It should be an interesting holiday. I’m slowly baking my cookies.
Your zoom cookie bake sounds like so much fun! I would enjoy that. We’ve been baking a lot here, but by ourselves. My annual cookie bake and exchanges have been cancelled. Hopefully we will be back next year!
The Zoom bake-a-long worked well! Now I have to deliver cookies by porch drop-off.
OK, now I can’t get that Christmas nursery rhyme out of my head!
I love that you were able to do a socially-distanced cookie swap. I think this year has definitely taught us how to get creative! That Mara Thonner ornament is AMAZING! I’m going to check out the PhraseLounge website to see what other goodies they have. I’m hoping to do more of the Peloton holiday themed workouts this week and next week.
I still have a few on my to-do list! I really enjoyed working with Phrase Lounge on my poster. Very responsive and proactive on getting it right.
I have no idea what we’ll be doing for Christmas.
Just have no spirit this year. I haven’t even bought any gifts.
That cookie swap is a great idea.
I love seeing the lights (many of the big decorations are now buried in the snow) but it’s never in the am.
Happy Holidays to you and your family..
Thanks, Darlene. Same to yours, although I know it won’t be as joyous as you were planning. I’m trying hard to keep the Christmas spirit going here.
That’s amazing that you’ve been doing your cookie baking day for 22 years! So great that you all found a way to make it work this year.
I’m looking forward to doing the Mara Thonner run this week – what a fun ornament! I’m definitely going to check out the PhraseLounge.
Happy pie making 😉
You will love running with Mara!
Those cookies! I could eat all of them, followed by your PIA apple pie.
How long will it take you and your family to eat them?
We will meet our family over Zoom. Switzerland is in a mini-lockdown right now and we are abroad, so that made most sense for us.
I love that photo from the Chapel Garden!
My goal is to have them all gone by New Year’s Day — mostly by giving them away. 😉 I’ll also have my Christmas peppermint bark to get through!
I love that you guys still did the bake-along!! What an awesome idea – and after 22 years, it would have been such a shame to cancel it! Well done!
I really like Christine (it’s nice to see an instructor who isn’t a young chick, too!). I need to hunt down that ride. They REALLY need that search function!
That sunrise at the seminary was incredible. And the house — wow, it’s a mansion! Nothing like that in my neighborhood. Way too cold to run in the late afternoon for me, unfortunately, I do like to see the lights.
Glad you are making some fun holiday plans. Have a great Christmas, Coco!
Glad you can continue some traditions virtually! Very much.
That house with the wreaths is gorgeous!
We are celebrating Christmas just the two of us (and the dogs) but we’ll manage. 2021 will be a better year, I’m sure of it!
We have already declined so many parties and events. It’s quite upsetting and I do feel like our family is the odd one out, but we want to be able to see my parents for a socially distanced holiday, so this is what we need to do to make it happen.
I would be so down for some shredded brussels sprouts.
I am impressed that your cookie exchange has been going on for 22 years? Wow! That is a great ornament.
It will be the 5 of us for Christmas. My mother will be making mole because she’s been wanting to make it for a while. Sure, why not? 🙂
Happy Holidays!