Another COVID-hit Christmas has come and gone, but Canberrans have shown that they can work through the difficulty of the health crisis without letting it dampen their spirits.
Summer seafood was, as usual, in high demand while runners also donned red and green outfits to take on popular routes in the nation's capital, including Lyneham women Izzy Hamilton and GG Ogborne at Lake Burley Griffin.
Other families were isolated because of the rampant Omicron variant, with more 1000 people spending Christmas Day locked up at home in quarantine according to Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith.
Canberrans were struck with significant wait times at several COVID-19 testing centres, with multiple sites reported as being at capacity across Christmas and Boxing Day.
Many Canberrans took to social media to express their frustration with extensive waits on test results, leading some to be stuck in Christmas isolation having not been cleared by a negative COVID-19 test result.
New exposure sites for the territory were listed late on Christmas Day, including five contacts from Sydney-Canberra trips, and a further 16 other casual contact sites. See the latest exposure sites here.
All was not quiet at The Lodge during the evening hours of Christmas Day, with emergency services using lights and sirens to respond to the Prime Minister's residence.
It was an automatic fire alarm that triggered the emergency response, though the PM is believed to have been in Sydney for Christmas.
As a new day dawned for Boxing Day, Canberrans gathered up their Christmas money and headed to the shops looking to bag a bargain.
The peak retailing body is expecting billions of dollars will be spent over the Boxing Sales period, despite rising virus numbers.
Those tuning into the cricket saw gloomy conditions greeting the third Ashes Test, as Australia won the toss and chose to bowl first.
There's a whole story behind the Tinetti name, synonymous with Cricket Willow - watch how Australia's famous cricket bats are made here.
For others, it's the region's shops, cafes, restaurants and wineries calling.
Wondering what's open when in Canberra this Christmas/New Year period?
Here's what is (and isn't) open up until early January in Canberra's restaurant/cafe/winery world.
And here's our list of shops, chemists and other services open over the holiday season.
