While we await full details of our festive fate, one thing's for sure: this year will be a Christmas like no other.

Whether we're required to stick to our 'households' or are permitted to mix in small numbers, the etiquette questions are numerous. How much Zoom is too much Zoom? If you can invite guests, should you feel obliged to do so? And if you can't, is it OK to stay in your pyjamas all day?

Here are our five tips for surviving Christmas 2020:

1.) Prepare for all eventualities

This year has been nothing if not unpredictable, so stay calm and adaptable in the face of last-minute changes of plan. Have back-up supplies in the freezer and Deliveroo on speed-dial in case you're suddenly allowed extra guests, but don't feel you have to invite your full complement just because you can - it's fine to keep it low-key if that's what you'd prefer.

If guests have to cancel at the eleventh hour, whether because they've been asked to self-isolate or have got cold feet about a social gathering, be magnanimous despite the inevitable disappointment. You might have bought in shed-loads of smoked salmon, but it's better that everyone feels safe. Express your regret and send your best wishes - then loosen your belt and prepare to eat two portions of turkey instead of one.

2.) Remember those on their own

A household-only Christmas for you might mean two adults, three children and a cat, but for others it could mean staying at home alone. Before getting down to the absorbing business of lunch and presents, consider neighbours and friends who live alone and give them a call or a socially-distanced door knock - it could make all the difference to their Christmas.

Similarly, if you are able to enjoy a family gathering, be sensitive about sharing endless joyful pictures on social media when others might be shielding or unable to celebrate as they’d wish.

3.) Switch off

Designate some screen-free time on Christmas Day so that you can focus on the day itself. Keep phones out of sight during the main meal - no WhatsApping over Christmas dinner - and as lovely as a big family meal can be, piling into turkey and all the trimmings over Google Meet is perhaps a step too far – there’s no need to watch each other chewing parsnips.

4.) Take it outside

If restrictions allow, take the celebrations outdoors: pack a Christmas picnic hamper for al fresco festivities with friends or family. Remember extra layers, a plastic-backed rug, wellies and a flask of mulled wine or hot chocolate. Even if guidelines change, fresh air is always a great cure for the ‘Twixtmas’ slump between Christmas and New Year.

5.) Don't neglect Christmas traditions

At a time when nothing is certain, there is comfort in ritual and traditions, so consider your favourite parts of Christmases past and adapt accordingly. Whether that means an all-family game of charades over Zoom or getting dressed up in some sequinned finery despite the fact that you're staying at home, it will help to make the day as memorable and special as normal. And while digital communication has been a lifeline this year, make time for handwritten Christmas cards and thank you letters, too.

Alongside darker evenings and the promise of the festive season, there's another late-autumn landmark: Movember, when men get experimental with their grooming routines and grow whiskers and a beard (or shaggier forms of facial hair!) to support charities focusing on men’s health.

Letting one’s facial hair grow is an undeniable commitment and not an easy affair – it requires patience and dedication. But hirsute faces do not have to mean unkempt ones. If you're growing out your facial hair this month, remember that it needs just as much upkeep and attention as a clean-shaven jaw line.

‘It is a different look, but not an easier one’, points out Michael Symeon, one of Truefitt & Hill’s Master Barbers, when asked about experimenting with this trend. Even if you have sported a beard for a while, there are certain tricks of the trade which should be adhered to and with which you might not be familiar. Here, Michael lends his advice on how to ensure that your facial hair is on point as your follicles sprout new growth.

1.) Don’t go rogue

‘Men can sometimes assume that because they are growing out a beard, they don’t have to visit a barbershop, but this misconception could not be further from the truth – you still need professional maintenance and advice every once in a while’, says Michael. The chance to work from home this year has meant that many men have devoted more of their time to experimenting with growing out their moustaches and beards. Unfortunately they have not always achieved the desired, well-polished result.

A regular check-in at a barbershop is crucially important in keeping a flawless, polished look. Michael recommends having your beard professionally looked after at least every 4-5 weeks, and maintaining the growth in between appointments at home. Paying the barber a visit is especially important when you are growing your stubble for the first time as you may be unaccustomed to your freshly grown beard's texture and consistency – be it wiry or fine – and an experienced barber can not only refine, define and style your bristles but also recommend appropriate products that help you to continue his good work at home.

2.) Get familiar with your tools

Even if your razor is temporarily redundant, your bathroom cabinet should be equipped with a variety of other tools. Consider investing in a beard or moustache comb, as well as a small beard brush and beard trimmers. Use them to keep your stubble precise and uniform, and remember to direct the comb and brush in a downwards motion. Truefitt’s Ox Horn Beard Brush and Moustache Comb are the perfect tools to aid you in that, and their pocket size will allow you to keep both on your person when you are out and about. Ensure you start brushing your beard early, before it reaches the ‘wild and bushy’ stage, Michael advises: ‘It will be much easier to manage as it grows.'

The next pivotal step in your grooming regime is deciding whether to use a beard balm or a beard oil.

Truefitt’s Gentleman’s Beard Balm, which is made from 100% natural ingredients, is easily absorbed and creates a natural, matte look. Its unique formula will nourish and soften even the toughest bristles, and because it holds more weight, it is perfectly suited for shorter, more fulsome beards.

Their Gentleman’s Beard Oil, on the other hand, leaves a shinier coating and is an excellent product for longer beards. Expertly blended with the finest natural oils, such as coconut, avocado, jojoba, and argan, it serves to reduce irritation as well as condition and nourish hair and skin alike. It is especially renowned for its ability to prevent bristles from becoming wiry and for keeping the beard neatly tamed and perfectly styled.

3.) The areas to watch

There are certain problem areas to keep in mind to ensure that your beard looks refined rather than uneven and unkempt, says Michael. ‘Length doesn’t matter so much in terms of tidiness, but if your neck area is not meticulously looked after, the beard can look dishevelled and very scruffy. Whatever the length of your beard, it should be uniform from the Adam’s apple to the jawline, and a trimmer should be used to keep it so.'

Keep your cheeks clean-shaven and bear in mind that clean, defined edges really matter, so use a razor, such as Truefitt's Wellington Double Edge Razor, to keep uneven stubble on your cheeks in line. ‘One wise rule of thumb is to carve a straight line from your moustache upwards on each side, keeping it as close as possible to the natural hairline,’ says Michael.

4.) Don’t neglect your moustache

Even the simplest moustache needs attention, as it requires regular trimming to keep it off the lips. ‘Whatever your tools – whether you opt for scissors or razor – use great care here’, warns Michael. In order to keep your whiskers handsomely groomed, part the moustache in the middle and comb in each direction to keep it tidy, rather than brushing it directly down. This rule applies to most styles, but be mindful of more theatrical variations. ‘If you are going for a shape such as handlebar or horseshoe, wax is needed to give it shape otherwise your moustache will definitely go awry,’ he says. Keep your 'tash in place with Truefitt's Gentleman’s Moustache Wax, which combines beeswax and shea butter to condition and soften the bristles and offers an excellent mouldable hold that for a controlled and well-groomed look.

Suitably informed and suitably armed with the right products and the right tools, your facial hair will have a statesmanlike quality and you will be able to avoid that all-too common downfall – an unkempt, slovenly look never sported by a true gentleman.

Stir-up Sunday is a date in late November when the Christmas pudding mixture would traditionally be combined and stirred to give it time to mellow and mature before Christmas. The phrase originates from the collect in the Book of Common prayer that was read on the last Sunday before Advent. it is said that church-goers heard the words ‘Stir up, we beseech thee’ and were inspired to start on their Christmas puddings.

Everyone in the family would take a turn to stir the Christmas pudding mixture, with the youngest child going first, always stirring from east to west in honour of the magi. Charms were also included in the mixture, the most popular being a silver coin that would signify a year of wealth for the lucky recipient.

Remember August? We could socialise indoors! Stay out past 10pm! Hug our parents! Implausible as it may seem now, many of us were also resuming our daily commutes and seeing our colleagues in person again. 

Now it’s back to home-working for many of the UK’s office-based employees. With days also becoming shorter, and as we approach the time of year formerly known as ‘Christmas party season’, many of us may be feeling even more frustrated or isolated than during the nationwide lockdown in spring. 

It can be hard to remain positive in the face of ever-shifting circumstances and daily news reports of mass redundancies and firm closures, with a recent survey revealing that 76% of HR professionals found that maintaining employee morale has been either “somewhat” or “very” challenging. If you’re struggling to keep spirits up at work, we’ve shared 4 tips for keeping your staff (and yourself) motivated during the winter months:

1. Schedule regular check-ins

When your inbox is heaving and you’re working in isolation, it’s tempting to remain focused on your tasks and forget to check in with colleagues. According to Shalini Khemka, CEO of the small business forum E2E, however, it’s important to keep in regular contact, “not only to catch up as you would usually in the office, but also to make sure you are supporting your staff and listening so that they are able to work to the best of their ability.” 

To ensure you’re giving staff opportunities to communicate and share any challenges, schedule regular check-ins in advance (one-to-one chats as well as group calls). These don’t have to disrupt your day: a 10-minute phone call is often as productive as an hour-long Zoom meeting, and leaves you free to get on with your respective to-do lists.

Consider new ways to communicate, too: group WhatsApp chats and platforms like Slack offer quick, informal ways of asking for help and keeping in touch. Finally, remember to provide frequent, encouraging feedback. You might assume it goes unsaid, but that quick “This is great – thank you!” email could make all the difference to a colleague's day.

2. Show your support

It’s not enough to put a weekly catch-up in the diary – it’s important to demonstrate your support, too. According to Sajda Mughal, the founder and CEO of charity Jan Trust, good leadership means “extending further empathy to colleagues and understanding extra difficulties they may be facing during this time.”

Offering support may be as simple as providing a sympathetic listening ear, or it may mean taking practical measures such as ordering special equipment to make home working easier. Knowing we have an advocate who will take action on our behalf is often as important for employee morale as the action itself.

3. Stay social

You might want to leave Zoom quizzes firmly in April, but the opportunity to take part in social events (albeit virtual ones) may be a lifeline for others on your team. Planning a few fun activities – Halloween-themed drinks or a Thanksgiving supper club – outside of office hours also reminds you of each other’s human sides, easing communication when you’re back on task. 

As Shalini Khemka puts it, “Team socials have helped staff stay motivated – on a Friday evening we’ll have a drink together. We’ve done more social activity on a regular basis than we would have done historically, albeit digitally, because it has had to be built into the diary rather than done in an impromptu way.”

Do, however, make it clear that any socialising is strictly optional – some people might find screentime in the evening as well as during the day a further source of stress.

4. Be transparent

Your instinct might be to protect staff from bad news or potential disruption, but they will inevitably have a sense of any major changes taking place behind the scenes. Trying to hide issues until strictly necessary can often prove counterproductive. According to Brigit Bloch, the founder of Brigit’s Bakery, a Covent Garden-based café which had to close completely during the spring, “We’ve been as transparent as possible with our teams to keep them abreast of all changes as soon as we know.” 

Keeping staff broadly informed about the company’s financial position or performance puts any repercussions in context and lets them know that consequent measures should not be taken personally. Offering fair warning is also a way of minimising shock in the event of redundancy or pay cuts, and allows individuals to make contingency plans if necessary.

Coming in top of sentences we never thought we’d type, it’s now illegal to socialise with more than five other people. But how can you stick to the new ‘Rule of 6’ without offending your friends? As meeting up becomes more complicated than ever, here are some simple steps to keeping your social life intact:

1.)   Be honest
You’d planned a birthday party in the park, but the new rule has scuppered it. Secretly trying to rearrange it with only your favourite five guests could cause offence if you’re inadvertently outed to those who didn’t make the cut. Instead, contact all those invited to let them know the new plan: whether you have to cancel, postpone until the rule is eased, or arrange several smaller gatherings over the course of a few weekends instead.

2.)   Go it alone
While there’s a limit on individuals, there’s no such restriction on the number of ‘households’ allowed to meet up. If you’ve got a partner or family, we’re guessing you’ve seen enough of them over the last few months, so the new rule could be an opportunity to leave them behind for a day or evening and reconnect with friends.

3.)   Don’t expect others to bend the rules
Packing a rugby ball doesn’t turn a picnic into organised sport; nor do we recommend buying a whiteboard to pretend that your living room is an educational setting. However creative it might be, suggesting a workaround to allow more people to attend your gathering could make others feel uncomfortable. Even if you’re prepared to bend the rules, don’t expect others to do so.

4.)   Make the most of it

There’s a lot to be said for small gatherings: they’re easier to manage, more intimate, and give you a chance to speak to everyone properly. So while there’s a genuine, enforceable-by-law reason to keep it selective, make the most of it. For that sprawling family Christmas, there’s always 2021…

With a new school year beginning in a couple of weeks, some businesses (Debrett's included) are also looking to start bringing staff back to the workplace.

But how can we adapt to the new office etiquette, at a time when social norms are ever-changing? As with all significant lifestyle changes, tact and a soft touch are crucial as we readapt to our pre-Covid habits of daily commutes, face-to-face meetings and workplace admin. With this in mind, here are some etiquette pointers to consider as we are reintroduced to office life:

Be sensitive:

While there will be many who can’t wait to leave their kitchen table and get their feet back under their old desks, there will also be some who haven’t left their children for 5 months, and others feeling more generally apprehensive. If you are a manager, try to be understanding and flexible; perhaps offer staggered work hours so that people can avoid busy transport times, or the option to work from home if necessary. Keep a keen eye out for social cues and silent signals, and set aside time to speak with team members individually to ensure that they are as comfortable as possible.

Keep your distance:

Although you're back at work, it’s far from business as usual. Social distancing guidelines remain in place, and not everyone will be ready to shake hands or share your pen. If you’re greeting someone, stick with an elbow tap or fist pump, and allow others plenty of space – don't loom over a colleague at their computer, or reach across your neighbour for a stapler. And if you’re in a scenario that makes you feel uncomfortable (someone rushing in to share your lift, for example), it's perfectly acceptable to say so.

Keep the Corona chat in check:

Pandemic-based humour, anecdotes and stories tend only to bring the topic to the forefront of everyone’s minds, and may cause additional anxiety. A quick debrief of the past couple of months (think post-Christmas) is fine, but there’s no need for it to form the basis of every conversation. Similarly, pointedly turning at the sound of a cough or sneeze, or shouting ‘corona!’ when someone clears their throat, isn’t funny or helpful.

Focus on the task in hand

For the first time since March you will be able to work with zero (non-work) distractions, so use this time to get ahead and stuck into tasks or projects that had perhaps been neglected. It won’t go unnoticed, and feeling productive will boost your morale and help to reduce any nervousness around returning to an office environment.

Maintain your work-life balance:

A recent survey conducted by Bloomberg Business found that the pandemic workday is on average 48 minutes longer than the regular workday. Whether individuals have been logging on earlier as they’re saving commuting time, or replying to emails while waiting for their toddler to go down, it is clear than in the absence of an office, official working start and finish times have been blurred. Now you’re back, use your office hours to work, and then (assuming your industry and workload allows), clock off properly when you leave and make the most of your free time.

Are you returning to your workplace next month? How are you feeling about it? Let us know in the comments below.

For those who appreciate the complex nature and subtle nuances of whisky-making, there can be few more enticing professions than working in a luxury whisky company.

Fuelled more by a desire to make sense of things than the need to follow a well-trodden path, the Lakes Distillery’s whiskymaker Dhavall Gandhi began his career as far away from casks, flavour and creation as you can imagine.

After graduating with a degree in corporate finance and economics, Dhavall joined the world of management consulting with Ernst & Young, where he could be working anywhere across the USA from Monday to Friday, travelling home on the weekend.

It was not until a client engagement in Kentucky, where he and a colleague decided to visit several whisky distilleries, that Dhavall had his epiphany moment to become a whiskymaker.

Sitting on the steps of Maker’s Mark, Dhavall realised the direction he wanted his life to take. Although financial models and whisky-making don’t have many parallels, he did possess the rare gift of being able to identify different aromas and more importantly, was comfortable with abstract concepts.

A move to Scotland followed, and the dream to become a whiskymaker began.

After graduating from Heriot-Watt University with a post-graduate degree in brewing and distilling, Dhavall worked as a brewmaster for Heineken and shortly thereafter received his Chartered Scientist status.

Soon an opportunity presented itself to join The Macallan as a whiskymaker. This was the place where he developed a firm grip on the fundamental concepts and techniques in the art of blending and gained an in-depth understanding of the Sherry casks he now uses to make The Lakes Whisky.

It wasn’t until 2016 when Dhavall was approached by The Lakes Distillery, at the time an unknown English whisky company, who were in search of a whiskymaker to define the house-style and develop a strategy which would help them to achieve their vision to create one of the world’s finest single malt whiskies.

No stranger to risk, Dhavall made the move and today has carte blanche to run the distillery’s whisky operations, practising holistic whisky-making and drawing upon influence not just from within the world of whisky, but out with it as well. No other whiskymaker does this.

Discover more about The Lakes Distillery at www.LakesDistillery.com and enter our competition for a chance to win a bottle of HOPE single malt here.

Going to the pub is a time-honoured British tradition, and of all the recent restriction easing announcements, pubs reopening has most prominently heralded a slow return to pre-Covid normality.

But new restrictions and safety measures have meant changes to the natural pub order. It was our pleasure to visit our local establishment earlier this week (purely for research purposes, naturally), in order to share our observations on the new pub etiquette.

Be polite to staff

You don't need us to tell you this, but it's more important than ever to consider those who are making your treasured pint (or glass of red) possible. In order to open, pubs have implemented a whole host of new measures so that you can enjoy a drink in safety. So if your waiter or waitress is still getting to grips with the new iPad ordering system, or just getting the hang of table service after years behind the taps, be kind (and maybe don’t order 12 different drinks at once.)

Patience is a virtue

The ease of sauntering up to the bar and watching your drink being poured has made the idea of waiting for a drink completely alien. But with table service now in effect we need to change our mindset and understand that things might not be as instantaneous as they once were. Much like if you were in a restaurant, aim to catch a member of staff's eye to place your order. Avoid waving at staff - and definitely no clicking your fingers.

Play by the rules

If there is a one-way system in place, follow it. If there maximum capacity in the loos, stick to it. Your frequency in the pub prior to lockdown doesn’t make you exempt from the rules, and we should never forget that they are there for our own safety. As we adapt, it’s totally normal for some of these rules to momentarily slip our minds as we try and enter through the Exit door and vice versa, but if you find yourself having to reminded more than once, it might be time to leave.

Read the room

Whilst the reopening of pubs might invoke hopes of the well-lubricated lock-ins and communal singalongs of the past, understand that other visitors might prefer to keep things low key with a casual glass of red and quiet conversation, not a high spirited box social. Read the room and act accordingly.

Know when it’s time to go

If it's nearing closing time or you're approaching the end of your reservation window, finish up your drinks, settle the tab, thank staff and make a move. No badgering for one more drink, or having to be asked multiple times to leave. And while it’s understandable that alcoholic tolerance may have dipped slightly during lockdown, if you find yourself a little ahead of your group in terms of inebriation, there’s no shame in taking a break or calling it a night.

Dan Scothern, Senior Business Development Manager