A plan to allow some household mixing "for a small number of days" over Christmas is being considered by the Scottish government.
It is understood that the four UK nations have agreed in principle to ease restrictions over the festive period.
However, the Scottish government said no final agreement has been reached and discussions are ongoing.
Health experts have warned the move to relax the rules is not without risks.
The Cabinet Office said ministers from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had endorsed a "shared objective of facilitating some limited additional household bubbling for a small number of days".
The BBC understands that one option under consideration is that three households could be allowed to meet up for five days over the festive period.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson had been hoping to announce arrangements for the Christmas period on Monday, but this has been delayed until at least Tuesday to allow the Scottish and Welsh cabinets to agree the plans.
Any announcement is also expected to include rules on travelling between nations.
Linda Bauld, professor of public health at Edinburgh University, told BBC radio's Good Morning Scotland that people should make their own decisions about what they feel comfortable doing.
She said: "At the moment we still have levels of infection in the community across the UK that are higher than we would wish.
"If we come together with people from different households at the time of year when the windows are closed, physical distancing is difficult, it is an opportunity for the virus to spread, so this is really really tough."
Professor Bauld added: "It is up to us to decide, even if government says 'OK, you can get together indoors with other people', let's all make our own risk assessment about the people we care about and ourselves and say how are we going to apply that to our own personal circumstances."
'Trade-off'
Jillian Evans, head of health intelligence at NHS Grampian, told Good Morning Scotland she was against restrictions being eased "simply because it's Christmas".
She added: "It certainly sounds as if that it's a trade-off - that you behave now, keep transmission low, then we might be able to do something over Christmas that resembles something familiar to us.
"The best Christmas present we can give to people is to keep them safe - it really is the bottom line.
"The best way to keep safe is to try and avoid the risk as much as possible and if you must meet family, which most of us are longing to do, try to do it outdoors if you possibly can - and fingers crossed we get a dry and less windy and wet Christmas time."
Last month John Keenan, the bishop of Paisley, called for a Christmas "truce" - a 24-hour lifting of restrictions - to give people a "moment of joy in the midst of so much despair".
Reacting to news of the four-nations discussions, he told BBC Scotland he was glad politicians were considering some way of accommodating Christmas during the pandemic.
But he admitted he was "conflicted".
"The thought of my mum - who's a widow - being on her own all through Christmas day is an awful thought for me," he said.
"On the other hand the thought that I might go there and pass on a virus to her is equally awful so I think we're all conflicted about it. "
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2020-11-23 10:44:00Z
CBMiLWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1zY290bGFuZC01NTA0MDU3NtIBMWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy9hbXAvdWstc2NvdGxhbmQtNTUwNDA1NzY
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