A woman who recently moved to Malta has made a public appeal on social media platform TikTok for a local family to share their Christmas Day with her.

Lehyla Howard, from Arizona in the US, said it would be “really fun” to join a Maltese family for the occasion, adding that she can sing songs and bring cookies.

“I’m not sure if this would be too crazy in 2020…. but if anyone might want a silly foreigner at their Christmas, I will be that foreigner.

“I would love to join,” she says in the message on the video app.

Aware that people might not want to welcome in someone they never met during a global pandemic, the 32-year-old says: “I am serious but I will be using discretion. Safety. Also, I’m very willing to wear a mask!”

The lecturer in Chinese studies at the University of Malta moved to the island in September after living in Taiwan and New Zealand.

When she first arrived in Malta, three months ago, the only person she knew on the island was a friend who recommended the job to her and who has since left.

Over the past few months, she has been making friends and even learning some Maltese but she has no plans for Christmas Day.

“I bounced the idea of posting this appeal on TikTok with a friend who encouraged me to go for it. So, I thought: why not,” she said.

So, on Monday, she shared the post privately. When she heard nothing by the evening, she made the post public and the invitations started coming in.

“I’ve received a couple of invites and now I’m going through them. I’d like to set up a call before planning,” she said. 

“Maybe it will be a good Christmas after all.”