Dear Readers,

I’ve been thinking about how extraordinary 2020 has been for all of us. I’m sure a lot of us had big plans for the start of the new decade — but due to Covid19 all our plans had to take a backseat for the sake of public health.

This 2020 holiday season isn’t any different. Many of us may have family traditions that involve travelling, visiting family members living abroad, or perhaps just escaping the winter cold in a tropical paradise. However, with a lot of country restrictions and re-implementation of lockdowns in place, we all most likely will be spending the holidays at home.

You may feel sad about this, but rest assured: we are here to cheer you up! As they say in the movie ELF: “The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is to sing out loud for all to hear!” and so we decided to share with you our latest creation!

Here is our very own text to the “Staying Home For Christmas – covid19 edition” of “Driving Home For Christmas” We hope you and your loved ones will have a lot of fun singing along to this old-time-favourite Christmas tune by Chris Rea! For the music (and the origitnal text) see here: https://youtu.be/FXKfMCvaquY

Staying home for Christmas 

I‘m staying home for Christmas
Oh, I just will not see those faces
I’m staying home for Christmas, yeah
With a face mask all the time.
And it’s been so long
But Covid’s still here
I sing this song
To pass the time away
Emailing from afar
Staying home for Christmas
It’s gonna be tough times
But I’ll get beer!

Always wearing face masks
Oh, this really is no fun!
And soon there’ll be a lockdown, yeah
For how long this time around?
So I sing for you
So you can hear me
When I get through
On Zoom you’ll see me
Lying on my couch
Staying home for Christmas

Staying home for Christmas
With a thousand memories
I take look at the Neighbour next to me
He’s just the same…

Such a shame…

How I hate these face masks
But Corona is still around
And now there is a lockdown, yeah
For how long this time around?
So I sing for you
So you can hear me
When I get through
On Zoom you’ll see me
Lying on my couch
Staying home for Christmas

Staying home for Christmas
With a thousand memories
I take look at the Neighbours next to me
Their just the same
They’re staying home, staying home
Staying home for Christmas 

So having no plans at all is a good plan indeed this holiday season. Let’s embrace the circumstances and simply enjoy the intimate company and warmth of our immediate family and loved ones. In these socially-distanced times, it’s good to be reminded of how lucky we are to be healthy and safe in the comfort of our homes. This holiday season, the best gift we can give one another is the gift of health, and that means continuing to socially distance ourselves, no matter how painful it is to be away from the hugs and company of family and good friends.

And as parents, it’s wonderful to take time to read a story to our little ones. We have just posted two new Marty’s World Stories on our blog, and if you haven’t read them yet, the holidays are a good time to talk about cute animals and protecting nature. Or enjoy our daily rhymes and lovely winter illustrations on Instagram: you can have the kids print out the images, colour them in, cut them out and stick them on your very own Christmas cards for family and friends. Lots of black and white sketches for the children to enjoy and play with. And even if we can’t hand out our cards to all our loved ones in person, we can share them digitally for young and old to enjoy! Do share any of your wonderful creations with us, using the hashtag #smartwaytostart

So for this holiday season, let’s show our kids a holiday celebration that is an appreciation of the little things in life. My holiday wish for all of you is that you all stay healthy and happy. My wish for all the children in the world is that they grow up caring for the planet and for one another.

May you all have the happiest of holidays!

Merry Christmas!