St Stephen's Christmas lunch in Wodonga will go ahead almost 'as normal'

Throughout 2020, organisers have been creating plans and back up plans as they grappled with how to hold a COVID-safe gathering.

Member of the organising committee Ian Bedford said cancelling the event was never an option, but figuring out how they could host it amid constantly changing gathering restrictions was challenging.

Earlier in the year, organisers feared they would have to host a take-away only service or spend thousands of dollars renting all-weather marquees to allow them to host the event mostly outdoors.

But the most recent changes to Victoria's COVID restrictions allow an unlimited number of residents to gather at a community facility, as long as a density of one person per two square metres is observed and QR check ins are mandatory.

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As a result, the annual St Stephen's Christmas lunch will be able to proceed almost as normal.

Mr Bedford said food would be provided to residents in a take-away container and tables would seat six instead of eight people.

"At the moment we have 150 guests registered... and about 30 volunteers," he said.

"We're certainly pleased changes in regulations from the Victorian government have permitted us to get closer to a normal Christmas dinner arrangement."

Mr Bedford said changes to the border crossing between NSW and Victoria had caused a lot of anxiety among those from Albury wanting to cross in Wodonga to attend the event.

He said many residents were afraid if they crossed the border they might become stuck and be unable to return home.

"If people have a fear they're not going to be able to come across they tend to just pull back ... rather than take the risk of getting caught," he said.

Mr Bedford after already experiencing the challenges of the NSW border closure the community didn't need "Vic permits repeating the same dysfunctional process".

Given the challenges an isolation of 2020 the annual event, designed to bring together residents who would otherwise be alone or struggling on Christmas, is more important than ever.

Mr Bedford said they were expecting up to 200 people to attend the event with tables to sprawl across the lawn and inside the hall.

"We're really appreciative of the support from the community, we've had financial support from a number of sources," he said.

"We're glad to be part of being able to enable Christmas to be a meaningful time of social interaction and recognition of the story behind the Christmas story."

Wangaratta's annual Christmas day luncheon was called off earlier this year.