Boris Johnson has urged Brits to keep their Christmas celebrations small, short and local.
The Prime Minister asked people to "think hard and in detail" about the days ahead, despite legal restrictions being loosened as planned.
Speaking at 10 Downing Street, Mr Johnson said: "A small Christmas is a safer Christmas and a shorter Christmas is a safer Christmas."
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The regulations allow for a five-day "Christmas window" from December 23 to 27 when people can form exclusive bubbles of up to three households across the UK.
Mr Johnson told the Commons that there was "unanimous agreement" across the four nations "that we should proceed in principle with the existing regulations".
However, at today's Downing Street conference, Mr Johnson set out a number of guidelines to keep people safe.
Regarding the rule of three households across the UK mixing, the Prime Minister said this is a 'maximum' and not a 'target' to aim for.
He also highlighted that Brits should not be travelling from areas with a high prevalence of coronavirus to a low prevalence and asked people to avoid staying overnight.
Mr Johnson added that it was wise to start reducing your number of contacts prior to Christmas.
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He said: "Of course, it’s always going to be safest to minimise the number of people you meet and that means that, if you’re visiting others over Christmas, we’re asking you in the five days beforehand, as early as this Friday, to reduce the number of people you’re in contact with to the lowest possible, because obviously this virus spreads through human contact.."
Similarly, the Prime Minister said people may want to avoid seeing elderly relatives until they have been vaccinated.
He also urged people to avoid crowds at the Boxing Day sales and on New Year's Eve.
