This time last year, we were rolling our random acts of kindness at Christchurch. Every day on the lead up to Christmas we would carry out a random act of kindness, I blogged on this and we posted on our social media.

Never did I imagine that this year would look a whole lot different.

We did things such as taking homemade cakes to the ambulance station, we took pictures with the paramedics, this kind of thing is not even plausible this year. We are not even allowed to make each other coffee at work, so how can we take cakes to our front-line workers.

Many people are suffering because of the times that we find ourselves living through, both mentally and financially – and my heart goes out to them.

I think I’m one of the lucky ones, I can still come into work, my social life is now going to work and seeing my work family, be it half their faces, 2m across the room.

We have always worn masks in surgery so the fact we are in them all day long is not a huge blow to me – the ‘Maskne’ spots are not fun though.

I’m using the Friday and Saturday nights that I may have spent out with friends on virtual calls with them instead or working my way through Netflix with my husband – something that pre Covid-19 we paid for but never used!

The weekends are spent de-cluttering, cleaning, baking and playing games with the children rather than rushing from swimming and dance lessons, to nannies house for sleepovers so that we could go out on a date night and the what to wear dilemmas associated with it always stressed me out. Date nights are now spent at home and we take it in turns to cook for each other once the children are in bed.

I am finding the whole thing quite enjoyable and it’s turned me into a hermit. I cannot remember the last time I went to a public place. Even my Tesco’s shops are delivered, and I have done all my Christmas shopping online.

We are all focusing on different things, mine is DIY and decluttering, some of our clients have invested their summer holiday money into smile makeovers.

Then we have the Christmas dilemma, having to make a choice on who we spend the five days over Christmas with. We planned for the worst in a bid to avoid disappointment and are quite looking forward to a family Christmas at home, just the 4 of us – what is one year after all, for the health of those around us. It could turn out to be the best Christmas ever. Our household is still as excited as ever. The elf on the shelf even made an early appearance this year.

I am very much in the mindset that ‘it is what it is’ – we can’t change what’s happening, all we can do is our bit – to take pressure off the NHS. And if you plan for the worst and hope for the best, you will not end up disappointed.

I hope that next year we will be able to spread some festive cheer again with our random acts of kindness. If this year has taught us anything, it is what a difference a year makes.