Every year, the holidays bring gift shopping frenzies, light shows, sleigh rides and Christmas parties. Seeing as how COVID-19 has eliminated those possibilities, we'll sit out on our couches with cocoa this year, some waiting for packages to come to our door and some singing cheesy Christmas carols over Zoom. This season will be different – and we'd give anything to celebrate with some of our old traditions. Here are some of our holiday wishes; maybe we’ll receive the sort of Christmas miracle we hear about in the movies.

Dear Santa,

All I want this year is to design a gingerbread house with my four cousins as I sit on my aunt’s Persian rug, the heat from the fireplace alleviating the stress in my back while cups of hot chai are passed around the room.

Instead, I’ll be celebrating the holiday season with those cousins – one of them a frontline healthcare worker in New York – via Zoom.

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas this year is to watch “Die Hard” on Christmas Eve with my cousins and grandparents, eat my grandma’s homemade ravioli with my family – that she only makes once a year – and go to Mass without the fear of a viral disease.

Instead, my parents and I will watch a live Mass recording from our living room and ponder the end of the ongoing pandemic.

Dear Santa,

This year for Christmas, I want a night at the movie theater to snuggle up in holiday pajamas and see a Christmas Day popcorn flick with my family and cousins; maybe order some popcorn and a movie pour of red wine.

Instead, I’ll watch a movie at home, as I have this whole year. But I can keep the tradition of driving around to look at Christmas lights; it doesn't get more socially distanced than that.

Dear Santa,

All I want this year is to hug both my mom and my dad as hard as I possibly can. 

Instead, I have to pick which one I embrace, because they’re divorced and spending time with both of them could put the other at risk.

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas this year is to stroll into my grandma’s house, greeted with a steaming mug of apple cider and warm hugs from 20 of my favorite family members. I just want to take our annual family photo in the antique, pine-scented living room.

Instead, I’ll probably FaceTime my baby nephew while my parents and I eat my dad’s famous lasagna. 

Dear Santa,

All I want this year is to see the nightly parade that the mall my mom and I work at puts on. Every evening, bubbles and faux snow fall from the tall buildings and onto the street where teenagers wearing colorful North Pole costumes march down the avenue. We’d listen, bundled up in layers, scarves and hats, to the marching band play Christmas classics. 

Instead, I’ll be watching parades – if any are scheduled – on television, curled up with a peppermint mocha.

Dear Santa,

Like most years, I looked forward to waking up lazily at whatever time I wished, heading to the movies to watch the worst film playing (previous picks include “Holmes and Watson”).  Afterwards, I want to go out to a Chinese buffet for dinner – the one with a chocolate fountain perfect for dessert.

Instead, that Chinese buffet is closed, as is the movie theater. My aunt and uncle are confined to their respective homes and we’re only to convene via Zoom.

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas this year is the sensory experience of embracing my friends and family. One of those kinds of hugs where you don’t ever want to let go because you know once you do you’ll be smacked in the face with the biting frost of reality. And that’s kind of how I feel right now – trampled, fragmented and disillusioned by reality.

Instead, I’ll still be at home, and I’ll still have that lingering sensation to hark back to and rekindle my internal hearth, but the seasons are shifting and I’m getting colder.

As our letters are sent to the North Pole, we acknowledge that these Christmas wishes most likely won't come true. We’ll have to find new traditions and create new memories this year. But maybe it won’t be so bad. As long as we have health on our side and the ability to call up a loved one to cherish the holiday spirit, that's the best gift we could receive.

Happy Holidays from The Panther staff