2020 has been crazy for a multitude of reasons and as we enter the final month of this year, nobody needs to be reminded of that again. The insanity that this year has brought on has made a major impact on how people are treating the holiday season. These impacts are not only drastic, but they are polarizing from person to person. I took the subject into my own hands and made a casual Instagram poll asking about how people are handling the holidays amidst the pandemic and madness. 

The first question I asked my followers was: “On a scale of 1-10, how festive are you feeling this year?” I received answers from 34 people, and of these people, their responses varied greatly across the board with several people voting for 1 and also many others voting with 10s. The majority stated that they felt like their holiday spirit could be best represented by a 5. The average score reported was 5.5 out of 10. 

Next, I asked: “Would you say the pandemic/ stressful year has impacted your holiday spirit?” 83% of the people who answered responded yes, and 17% responded no.

These  responses then inspired me to ask: “Are you going to be more or less festive this year due to Covid?” To this question, I received 42 responses. 17 people voted more, and 25 voted less. This roughly translates to a 40/60% split, respectively.

The final question I asked in my poll was: “What are you doing (or not doing) to get festive this year?” Several people mentioned that they will increase the number of decorations they put in their houses due to the fact that people are spending so much more time at home this year. A handful of responders said that they would be purchasing live Christmas trees for the first time along with increased gift-giving and viewing Christmas lights. Others mentioned watching Christmas movies and listening to Christmas music. Several people commented on increased baking and building gingerbread houses. Some people said that they want to spend time with friends and family, while others explicitly stated that they will not be seeing relatives this year. Numerous people stated that they won’t be doing anything at all this holiday season. One person suggested staying safe and keeping in touch with loved ones remotely. 

This year has forced people to get creative to solve a lot of problems, and Christmas is no exception. The decrease in festivity many displayed will be made up for in new ways that are unique from typical Christmas seasons.