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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC and all right, how are you navigating your pandemic family Christmas? Cody, in Metuchen you're on WNYC. Hi, Cody.

Cody: Hi, Brian. My husband and I are still fairly new transplants to the Ease Coast from the last three years. We elected to stay put this year as much as we want to go back to the Midwest and see our family, but it's been interesting. I just saw a colleague yesterday who recently transplanted to the South, and seeing and hearing how people are viewing the whole situation differently when it comes to mask-wearing and other things. I don't think that we were comfortable risking the health of any of our family members, and it's still frustrating that we're this far in, and there's people who are still opposed to the masks even while we see this uptick of travel. Glad we're staying put and glad to be in Jersey.

Brian: Did you tell our screener that early on people weren't on the same page and now it's changed in your family?

Cody: Yes. I just learned recently some relatives who actually live-- folks who are familiar with Kansas, there's patchwork when it comes to the mask mandate and they saw that study that showed the ones that wore the masks had a downward trend with infections, those that didn't have an upward trend. I just learned, one of my relatives and his wife have had symptoms for six weeks now, so I'm hoping they're on the mend, but it's still that frustrating situation. I don't know whether or not they were following protocols or not, but it's still like-- I'd rather see you all next Christmas when we can all be healthy.

Brian: I hear you. Cody, thank you very much. Merry Christmas. Brian in Jackson Heights, you're on WNYC. Hi, Brian.

Brian: Hey, Brian so yes, our Christmas plans went back and forth. Every year my aunt is like total Christmas overdrive, we all go to her house. She has all the Christmas decorations up, big tree, lots of presents and this year after--

Brian: Everybody has an aunt like that.

Brian: Yes, all of us who celebrate Christmas should have an aunt like that but then after the Thanksgiving spike, we got a little freaked out. It felt like the virus was closing in, numbers nationally going up, people in our friend group testing positive, and then the restaurants closed so we called her and tried to come up with an accommodation where we would just really drive out. She lives an hour out on Long Island so we would drive out there, do a quick gift exchange, say hellos, and then drive back, and maybe do a Christmas gift opening over Zoom but now that the weather's nice, we're going to try to do something outdoors and hopefully the rain holds off.

Brian: Yes, hopefully. It's not supposed to be that great, but hopefully it does. I think that's a good example of the kinds of compromises that people are making and the kinds of ping-ponging of plans that have been going back and forth certainly since we've seen the spike that seemed to result from Thanksgiving. Faisal in Manhattan you're on WNYC. Hi, Faisal.

Faisal: Hi. How are you doing, Brian?

Brian: Good. How about you? What's your plan?

Faisal: Well, I'm working overnight tonight at the hospital, so I'm hoping to get as much sleep as possible tomorrow morning, and then get to my mother's house as late as possible, so as to not be in too much contact with my family. My mother would be pretty upset if I didn't make it there, but I volunteered to work on Christmas Day so that-- well, a part of at least, Christmas Day just so that I can contact my family members. My mother's a nurse, a bunch of other family members are healthcare workers so she feels a relative risk as well, but still don't feel so comfortable going, but we're grudgingly going, really.

Brian: Is it even harder for you as a healthcare worker than it might be for someone else to be grudgingly go, as you said,

Faisal: I'm not sure, I can't really speak for anybody else. I just know that it feels good to be around family during holiday time. It makes my mother very happy, and as much as I want to make her happy, I don't want to be a risk to anybody, although she doesn't feel there's a risk but it doesn't feel great going honestly.

Brian: Faisal, good luck to you and your mom, Merry Christmas. Nina in Chicago, you're on WNYC. Hi, Nina.

Nina: Hi there, Brian, how are you?

Brian: I'm okay, what's your plan?

Nina: My plan is probably the opposite of what a lot of other folks are doing this year. I actually came home for the holiday. I was one of those people that you said earlier, got on a plane and braved everything and came. I'm actually a healthcare worker, but I'm taking a lot of precautions at home to make sure that minimizing the risk to my family, and doing things separately, and quarantining, but it has been a really long time. It's been almost a year since we came home, that it just felt like it was needed this year to come back.

Brian: You're there with parents, older relatives.

Nina: They're not significantly older, but they're minimizing contact obviously, with anyone elderly or immunocompromised or anyone like that, but doing my best to stay separate, but yet see people that I haven't seen in a long time.

Brian: You're getting together and just trying to wear masks and stay six feet, but still have you reading this.

Nina: Exactly, yes.

Brian: Nina, Merry Christmas. I hope it all works out. Chris in Long beach, you're on WNYC. Hi, Chris.

Chris: Hi, Brian. I'm a flight attendant for one of the large airlines and I've been flying around the country, and to the Caribbean, all this last week, this last month, basically transporting thousands of people going to celebrate or vacation or do whatever holiday they feel is appropriate. It's been interesting. We canceled everything. We canceled-- I go to California for every major holiday. I do have three flights. My family's out there, and we're staying home. We're just going to drive into the city today, and we're going to drive around and look at Christmas lights, and keep that little aspect that we normally do in the suburbs, we're going to do with my son.

Brian: Were you seen as a more risky relative to be around because you're a flight attendant?

Chris: I see myself as a more risky relative. My parents will be celebrating with my sister and her kids, just because they are somewhat in the same bubble, they'll say separate, but for me and my husband who's also a flight attendant, yes, I just don't feel like we can do that. Also coming back, we face every day we get off the airplane, and the National Guard is there collecting quarantine forms, and my son has to go to school, so we can't risk going to California and having to come home and also risk his classmates, that we're exempt from it as essential workers.

Brian: Chris, stay safe up there. Thank you very much for your story. Merry Christmas to you and your family in close proximity or not. Adam in the Village, you're on WNYC. Hi, Adam.

Adam: Hello, Merry Christmas. We are doing online Zoom drinking games with eight families scattered amongst the nation.

Brian: How's it going to work?

Adam: Not really 100% sure. My wife is working on the logistics of it right now. There are several online games that you can have a bunch of people Zoom in on, and we're shooting for, there's a Christmas Jeopardy. We do have backup plans. There's a Christmas Jeopardy. There's one with writing in the picture Mad Libs or something of that nature and we'll see how it goes. We'll see how we wake up tomorrow morning.

Brian: That's great. Adam, thank you very much. All right. Their suggestion, whether or not you're big drinkers, you could look up games to play on Zoom, and if you do drink, drinking games to play on Zoom with your family and make your separated Christmas, your isolated Christmas, your quarantined Christmas, a little more fun that way. Good one, Adam. Thank you. Corey in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, Corey.

Corey: Hi, Brian, can you hear me?

Brian: I can hear you just fine. What's your plan?

Corey: Awesome. Very supportive listener, I love your show. My friends and I, this holiday-- well, my girlfriend's an EMT, we were supposed to drive down to Palm Beach for Christmas. My mom was really looking forward to having us down there, but because they are very lax with their mask mandate, and my girlfriend being an essential worker, and my mom's a 65-year-old smoker, more susceptible to the virus, we last minute decided not to.

We have a really insular pod of friends here that get tested regularly, the same people we had for Thanksgiving. It's five of us and we're all just like putting family traditions together and cooking like Guamanian food, having an Italian feast, and everyone's sleeping over at our apartment. I even brought my cat. Yes, we have cats staying and we're just playing it safe here in Brooklyn and hoping for a white Christmas but I guess we're getting a wet one.

Brian: Did the cat get tested?

Corey: The cats were not tested. We should totally get them checked out.

Brian: Merry Christmas to both of you. Thank you for chiming in and that's going to be the last word. Looks like it's going to be a traditional 60 degrees and pouring rain Christmas so enjoy it everybody, all the best you can, no matter how you're setting it up with whatever degree of isolation or risk, Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate, same for those who celebrate Kwanzaa, starting Saturday, Brian Lehrer on WNYC.

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