How Christmas will be celebrated this year

Residents of Bridgend County Borough will be able to celebrate Christmas safely as part of newly announced arrangements for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England.

The ‘four-nation plan’ will enable up to three different households to form a bubble over the festive season.

Each of these Christmas bubbles will be able to meet at home, at a place of worship or at an outdoor public place, but they must not be extended to include further households at any stage.

To support this and enable families and friends to form Christmas bubbles, travel restrictions between the four nations will be eased between the 23 and 27 of December.

Restrictions around pubs, shops, cafes, restaurants and other hospitality businesses will need to remain in place to ensure that people can celebrate safely.

This has been an incredibly difficult year, and I am sure that we are all looking forward to Christmas. With the ongoing global pandemic and more than 55,000 coronavirus deaths in the UK so far, the greatest gift we can give someone this year is to help keep them safe. The newly announced Christmas arrangements will give us an opportunity to spend time with family, friends and loved ones, but we must make sure that we do so in a safe, responsible manner.

If you plan on forming a three-household bubble, please be mindful of the risks to yourselves and others, especially anyone who may be vulnerable. Everybody must think carefully about their actions, and ensure that they balance contact with family and friends against the risk of exposure to the coronavirus.

For some, it may be safer to celebrate in a different way – for example, by getting together online, or meeting outdoors where you can maintain social distancing. However you plan to celebrate Christmas this year, please do all that you can to keep your family, your friends and yourselves safe.

Welcoming the arrangements, Councillor Huw David, Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council