Parents whose children are isolated due to COVID must compete in their imaginations to give them a Merry Christmas anyway.
• Read also: A “serious threat” hangs over Quebec hospitals
• Read also: The Legault government goes hunting for rapid tests
• Read also: 5,000 healthcare workers absent due to COVID
“Each family will have to reinvent their Christmas in isolation,” says Philippa Favreau.
His 11-year-old daughter Léana tested positive for COVID-19 after an outbreak in her classroom. However, the other members of his family received negative results.
For the little one, Christmas will therefore take place in solitude and isolation, in her bedroom.
Solutions
But Philippa Favreau did not see herself postponing the opening of the presents after December 25, because her children are looking forward to this moment. “We got N95 masks, we’re going to ventilate, we’re going to keep our two meters, and [Léana] will be with us, ”she says.
The mother from Montreal has also planned activities that can be played from a tablet, so that the whole family can participate.
“We’re going to postpone the more festive Christmas dinner a day or two later, when [Léana] will be able to leave ”, continues Mme Favreau.
Léana’s grandparents, who live outside Canada, have decided to cancel their visit due to the current situation.
The little one feels guilty and cried a lot when she received her result. “We try a lot to work on this and tell him: ‘It’s not your fault, you have nothing to do” “, maintains Mme Favreau.
Special delivery
Stéphanie Packwood’s two children will receive their gifts this evening directly from the North Pole, since Santa Claus will take his turn on their balcony.
The youngest, who is one year old, was in contact with an educator at the daycare who tested positive. As she cannot be isolated from her parents, the whole family is confined.
Mme Packwood was especially worried about her five-year-old daughter, who hasn’t been able to celebrate adequately for two years.
“Last year Christmas was canceled. In kindergarten, her Christmas party was canceled because [l’école a fermé]. I tell myself this is the last year she believed in Santa Claus, so I was gonna do it all [pour elle] », She explains.
So she started looking for someone willing to personify Santa Claus outside her house in Lac-Saint-Charles, Quebec.
In ten minutes, more than twenty one-nighters have volunteered.
It will ultimately be Stéphanie Packwood’s neighbor, whom she did not know before, who will deliver the gifts to the two girls.
“The children are going to fail! […] Finally, we found some things and we are going to make it magical, ”she said, happy with this outcome.