No Halloween, Pass on Thanksgiving, and Please Stay Home for Christmas
As we experience a very different holiday season here are 6 tips that will keep it feeling normal
I love the holidays starting with Halloween, followed by Thanksgiving, then culminating with multiple days of Christmas. Every year during this time I celebrate with those nearest as well as those I don’t see as frequently amidst the bustle of gatherings large and small. I love being surrounded by family and friends I have known for a lifetime but only see once or twice a year, as well as celebrating with those I may have known for a short while but feel like kindred spirits. I enjoy the time spent getting ready, putting on heels, a new dress, doing my hair, and coming together in the annual tradition of singing Christmas carols.
But this year everything has felt quite barren. A vision of fizzled neon holiday signs spread throughout a scorched, dusty, deserted wasteland swirled through my head as we approached Thanksgiving.
There was no trick-or-treating, no school celebrations or friendly gatherings, no candy to buy. The past few weeks leading up to Thanksgiving felt monotonous and wanton for something more as I didn’t walk down bustling streets of shoppers accompanied by their laughter or by newly decorated windows for the season to come .
This year the holidays seemed so very not holiday like.
“Oh, Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a frame of mind.” ~Kris Kringle (Miracle on 34th Street)
Then my daughter came to me last week and asked to have her two best friends, that are in our social bubble, over to start the Christmas festivities. It didn’t feel like the holidays to her either and she wanted to start really early by dressing up the house in holiday cheer and inviting two friends for a festive Christmas evening.
She decorated her little tree after assembling it and setting it up in her room while I pulled out our Santa and put him next to the fireplace, decorated the mantle, bought a miniature rosemary “Christmas tree” for the kitchen windowsill and decorated that too, pulled out the Mr. Christmas Bandstand Bears that play Christmas carols and breathed in the beginning of the holidays.
Her two friends came over, decorated Christmas cookies and had an indoor snowball fight as holiday music played in the background. The evening culminated with a Christmas movie watching marathon and sipping in the warmth of rich hot cocoa full of peppermint candy cane bits while inhaling that merriest of merriment. Holiday spirit.
This was it. The beginning of the holiday season. Not because the bustle of the people, or the dressing on the windows but because we brought the spirit of the holiday into our home. So if you too are struggling to feel the spirit and cheer here are 6 tips to keep things in perspective and bring out the holiday for you this season.
“To many people, holidays are not voyages of discovery, but a ritual of reassurance.” ~Philip Andrew Adams
Tip 1
Keep up your traditions Just because the world around us isn’t feeling as festive don’t let that dictate your own celebration. Your traditions are still there for you to relish in and enjoy. Maybe start them earlier than usual to get into the feeling of the holiday. Put up our decorations and get that tree earlier this year. Send out holiday cards earlier this year. Keep up with your traditions and it will feel like the holidays are here.
“I planned out our whole day. First, we’ll make snow angels for two hours, then we’ll go ice skating, then we’ll eat a whole roll of Toll House cookie dough as fast as we can, and then we’ll snuggle.” ~ELF
Tip 2
Make new traditions to treasure You can also start new tradition to really get into the season, things that make you smile and bring you happiness but you have never ventured to try before. Maybe you’ve never decorated cookies or made a gingerbread house. Maybe it’s the perfect year for your kids to meet Elf on the Shelf. Maybe you want to get your friends or family together for a virtual holiday movie night. Whatever it may be this is the perfect time to start a new tradition for a year or for a lifetime. And while you are at it ask your children or other household members about traditions they may want to incorporate and honor their views to bring more joy to the occasion.
“Christmas must be coming. I can already feel the merry” ~Winnie the Pooh
Tip 3
Kids love it because we love it Kids don’t just wake up one morning loving the holidays. They learn to love them through us. They see how joyful and happy we become and then they start to equate that with the holiday traditions that make them joyful and happy so find as much joy and happiness this year as every other year and bring the holidays upon you. Enjoy the holidays with your kids and for your kids and they will enjoy them too.
“Just remember. The true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart” -Polar Express
Tip 4
Family gatherings in a Covid way You may not get to see the whole extended family this year but you can still make it feel like you are by planning a meal together, decorating the tree together while listening to festive music or lighting the Menorah and participating in lifelong loved traditions by spending the time together virtually. You can also sit down and write special home made cards that can be sent to loved ones far and near. Make it an afternoon bonding time, light some holiday scented candles, turn on holiday music and enjoy the merriment of the season that comes from the joy you find in your heart.
“Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.” ~William Shakespeare
Tip 5
N o holiday get togethers…you can still have that ugly sweater party Just because you aren’t gathering in large groups with those you hold dear doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy celebrating big with those who share your home. Still throw that ugly sweater party for two or three or four. Play a game of holiday charades or holiday pictionary for two and you can’t help but find the laughter. It’s not the outside world that brings out the cheer… you bring it home with you in your perception and you can enjoy it grandly with a very few.
“It’s not where you go, it’s who you travel with.” ~Charles Schulz
Tip 6
Usually you travel but this year is a dud The joy of traveling is about the people you travel with so if you are stuck at home this year why not use some of that trip money to make your at home experience an adventure. Get a fire pit for the backyard and sit outside with the family making s’mores, get an outdoor screen and projector and have an outdoor holiday movie screening. If you are indoors have an indoor snowball fight. If you were planning a trip abroad purchase souvenir style accessories to enjoy the feeling of the adventure or something symbolic that you can do like a puzzle and talk about the experiences to learn more about the places you will now be going to next year instead. It will make next year’s trip all the more exciting.
So breathe, relax, and let it come to you.
And at the end of it all no matter what just enjoy this time… take joy in the little things and make time to take a breath, watch the moment unfold, and give the world a smile. The year is coming to an end. A new year will soon be upon us and the joy of the holiday spirit truly is summed up through the brazen belief of Elf and the staunch faith of Kris Kringle or the words of merriment from Shakespeare and Winnie the Pooh. The holiday cheer and the real beauty of the spirit is within us so let’s make Christmas joyful from the inside out instead of the outside in because…
“Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand” Dr. Seuss
