It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas... unfortunately Christmas 2020.
Boris Johnson has been saying for weeks that he's "absolutely confident" this festive season will be better than last year's.
Just days ago, the Prime Minister even told us the Government wasn't cancelling our Christmas get-togethers.
But apocalyptic warnings of what could happen to our hospitals if even a small proportion of people with Omicron end up there is forcing a rethink.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid admits there are "no guarantees" that there won't be any more restrictions before Christmas.
While all eyes are on next week's hospitalisation figures, he admits: "If you wait until data is absolutely perfect it may well be too late."
But if that data suggests that Christmas plans need to be curtailed again, many will be justifiably angry that the PM ever let us believe they could go ahead as normal.
While Omicron only arrived in the UK at the end of last month, if last Christmas taught us anything it was not to over-promise when new variants could emerge at any point.
The PM is now risks losing any public goodwill he may have left - and is between a rock and a hard place of his own making.
Either he listens to the scientists and brings in last-minute restrictions now, potentially 'saving' the NHS but infuriating already febrile Tory MPs.
Or he 'saves' Christmas, only to toughen up the rules days later when it may already be too late to prevent hospitals collapsing under the strain.
Ever the populist, Johnson's political instinct will be to put off the hard decision for as long as possible.
He could, quite feasibly, duck leadership altogether and tell people to make up their own minds over their Christmas plans.
But with public trust in the PM already rock bottom after revelations of rule-breaking last year, he's taking a big gamble on the public being willing to listen.
