As Kiwis flock to buy presents for loved ones in busy shopping malls, wander around Christmas light-laden streets, and take their children to meet Santa, others around the world won't be enjoying the same freedoms we have.
New Zealand has yet again found itself in a relatively good position this Christmas. Now that Auckland's border has lifted, there aren't any domestic travel restrictions in the country that are hampering plans for December 25.
In places like Europe and the United States, the virus is entering a fourth wave and case numbers are rising again.
The rapid spread of Omicron since its discovery in November has been the culprit for tighter restrictions in parts of the world. Here's a look at how some spots are doing Christmas in the middle of year two of the pandemic.
United Kingdom
The threat of Omicron has resulted in tougher restrictions, particularly for England, including working from home, wearing masks in public places, and using vaccine passes.
But a wave of new, even tighter restrictions won't be introduced until the new year, says British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Earlier in December, the chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland recommended an increase in the United Kingdom's five-tier system to alert level 4 from level 3. This means they judge transmission of the virus to be high.
But any move in its alert level system is separate and independent from any government decisions on easing or tightening restrictions.
Johnson has declined ruling out imposing further restrictions to help stop the spread of Omicron.
"Throughout the pandemic, I've been at great pains to stress to the public that we have to watch where the pandemic is going, and we take whatever steps are necessary to protect public health," he said earlier in December.
Johnson, who lifted most COVID restrictions in England in July, had vowed to navigate the winter without resorting to a fourth lockdown but had kept a so-called Plan B in reserve.
The United Kingdom is currently rolling out booster vaccines to every adult before the end of December.
Austria
Austria was the first country in the European Union to take drastic action against Omicron and impose a lockdown to help stop its spread.
Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg says there will be a legal requirement to get vaccinated from February 1, 2022.
While this lockdown lifted for vaccinated people on December 13, Vienna initially only let cafes and restaurants fully reopen a week after the national lockdown lifted, while non-essential shops and Christmas markets have already reopened.
The national lockdown has meant the country is moving from a single set of rules governing the nation to a patchwork that varies between the nine provinces. Those opening up the fastest include the western provinces of Vorarlberg and Tyrol, which have the highest and fourth-highest infection rates in the country.
These are both Alpine provinces that rely on winter tourism. While hotels across Austria have shut during lockdown, ski lifts did still operate.
United States
The state system in the US means there is no concrete one-size-fits-all set of rules for the entire nation. So far, President Joe Biden and state governors haven't laid out specific guidelines for Christmas, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) has advice for how to safely gather over the holidays.
They urge people to get vaccinated to help protect young children and other ineligible people, and those who aren't vaccinated have been told to wear masks if their celebration is taking place in an indoor setting. Even those who are vaccinated should wear a mask in public indoor spaces, they say.
People who are sick or have symptoms are told not to host or attend gatherings. Attendees can also consider getting tested if they're going to a gathering with people from outside of their household.
Australia
Our friends across the ditch are also subject to different restrictions depending on the state they live in. But given their high vaccination rates, many measures have been removed.
New South Wales and Victoria both experienced a spike in cases earlier this year, and NSW is yet again seeing an uptick in its daily numbers, prompting the reintroduction of mask mandates.
For a while, it was thought Christmas plans wouldn't be affected. But in NSW, density limits that had been removed in December were reintoduced alongside QR code scanning and mask use indoors.
However Victoria's mask mandate has now eased.
There are still few restrictions on travel to and from other states. Some states have rules where people must enter quarantine if they've been in a high-risk location, whereas others let in all travellers so long as they're fully vaccinated.
New Zealand
Here in Aotearoa, we're now in a new normal and are getting to grips with the traffic light system.
Fully vaccinated Aucklanders - or those who can provide evidence of a negative test - have been allowed to leave the city since December 15, but there are restrictions depending on if your area is in red or orange.
In red, gatherings at home can have up to 100 people if all have a My Vaccine Pass, or up to 25 without this. And at orange, there are no limits if vaccine passes are used, but if they aren't, a maximum of 50 people can be at a gathering. Limits in both of these settings apply to both indoor and outdoor gatherings.
Come New Year's Eve, those in Northland will still face red settings on December 30 when all other regions will turn orange.
