A mother from Surrey is set to celebrate Christmas with her family this week, six months after she had originally planned.
Gemma, 35, of Walton-on-Thames, will be taking part in 'Junemas' on Friday, June 25.
The die-hard Christmas fan whose December celebrations were scuppered by the pandemic, said the celebration will be a "second helping of Christmas" but with a summer twist.
After a quiet affair on December 25 with her husband, Andy, 34, and their two children, Oliver, four, and Elise, one, she is marking Junemas with a full-on family get together with her mum, Berry Jones, 70, who is separated, and other extended family.
Speaking about the event, she said: “We’ve never celebrated Junemas before, but with the impact of Covid and my mum, who lives in Southampton, being careful not to expose herself to the virus, we didn’t get any chance to see her for quite a lot of last year.
“Christmas is normally a big time for us. I have a lot planned with my family and the kids throughout December, which we couldn’t do this time."
She added: “Junemas is about making up for the fact that we haven’t really been able to have the Christmas we usually would.
“It was my mum’s 70th in November last year and we were meant to have a party for it but didn’t because of the restrictions.”
She added: “Christmas is also a big time for us. We normally have a lot planned throughout the month, which obviously couldn’t go ahead.
“I like to book in different things. My mum and I will always go to a wreath making class together and that usually kicks off the start of celebrating.
“I do gingerbread decorating with the kids and we’ll all go on Christmas walks together. We love going to Kew Gardens and letting the kids meet Santa.”
But Junemas will not simply be a carbon copy of December 25.
“We’re treating it like an Aussie Christmas. We’re all going to wear Hawaiian shirts and instead of a turkey, we’re putting a chicken on the barbeque," said Gemma.
"I think I’m even going to try to barbeque some Brussels sprouts.
“Present exchanging was the one thing we were able to do last year, so instead of swapping gifts, we’re just going to make the day about being together.”
She added: “We can’t do a wreath making class at this time of year, so my mum and I have attended a wildflower bouquet class instead.
“My son loves gingerbread, so we’re going to make them lollipop shaped and we’re currently figuring out how to do mulled wine with Pimm’s.”
The idea for a summer Christmas was sparked by a comment from Gemma’s friend.
“She has a son with a Christmas Eve birthday, and she has always joked about moving the festivities to June. to celebrate both,” she said.
“Once Christmas was cancelled last year, I suddenly thought what a great idea that would be.
“Oliver knows what we’re planning and he’s very excited. He really missed seeing family at Christmas, so he’s quite excited to be able to make up for that.
“I just feel like we’ve really missed out on time as a family. It’s so precious when the kids are young and now that my mum is double vaccinated, it feels safe to do so.”
And Gemma is not alone in having a double dollop of Christmas in June.
According to research by supermarket Aldi, almost half of Brits will be joining her, as the trend for celebrating Junemas has rocketed since the pandemic – with huge numbers of people seeing it as a chance to connect with loved ones they could not see in December.
“Rather than seeing it as, ‘We lost Christmas 2020,’ we just had it a bit later on in the summer, hopefully in good weather, " added Gemma.
“We’re all looking forward to it. It’s been a difficult time for everyone and now, hopefully, we can enjoy some much-needed family time together.”
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