Not a single year goes by without us celebrating our beloved holidays. If you could think of your favorite holiday, what would it be? What kind of memorable moments come to mind when you think about that perfect day? What could possibly stop you from reliving those great moments every time your favorite holiday comes around once again?
Winter season is knocking on our doors, and you know what that means? People around the world are getting ready to celebrate Christmas, one of the most beloved holidays of the year. Santa is preparing his sled pulled by highly-trained reindeer for yet another world-tour this Christmas Eve, and with the same mission, to share gifts. While that is excellent news for our kids, there is so much more to this holiday than just presents. People love the spirit of Christmas. Nothing in the world could replace the special moments spent with your family and friends, decorating the Christmas tree and your home.
I can already smell the fresh-baked gingerbread and the pumpkin pie coming from the kitchen, reminding me of the sumptuous Christmas feast. The snow only adds to this magical moment of the year, and I hope you are just as eager as I am to unpack the beautifully wrapped Christmas presents under the tree. Despite your expectations for this Christmas season, many people were disappointed to find out that by the end of 2020 we are still going to be dealing with the coronavirus.
Some people are genuinely more concerned about Keeping Covid-19 out of their homes than the upcoming holiday season, and it is a sad reality. However, the pandemic should not be allowed to spoil some of our favorite moments of the year. On the other hand, we should not let ourselves be carried away by celebration and ignore safety measures that are in place to help control the spread of the virus in our community and homes.
The pandemic doesn’t have to prevent us from having a blast this Christmas season. By putting together this article, we want to lend a helping hand to all of you who want to have a Christmas that is better than the last one. Here are a few great ideas on how you can safely celebrate this unusual Christmas.
Safely Embrace Christmas This Winter Season
With the increase in Covid-19 cases, many people worry that Christmas this year will not be your typical family celebration. Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. Some group activities or traditions that involve interacting with other people might not be recommended during these times, but you can still have a blast this Christmas.
Most of you can’t imagine a Christmas without parties, friends, or restrictions, and we totally understand, but this kind of situation challenges us to think out of the box and be creative. However, not all people are open to discovering new things, and some Christmas traditions for many of us are so unique and essential that without them, it wouldn’t feel like Christmas anymore.
I can’t imagine a Christmas without the typical holiday home decor for fall and winter. Our house always had a decorated Christmas tree for winter, and the holiday dinner for the season is such a staple. We can’t just give up on these special moments! You certainly don’t have to, and with a bit of awareness, you can have a blast this holiday season and stay safe from the virus. Here is how!
Christmas Traditions That Are Safe to Practice This Holiday Season
The good news is that most of our Christmas traditions involve spending time with family. After all, holidays are the time of year when the family gathers together and engages in fun activities. Of course, that is by assuming that you live in the same household, which is quite unlikely for many people.
A safe way to go about it is to have a self-isolation period of about 14 days right before reuniting with family for the Christmas holidays. You want to make sure that everyone stays safe, and don’t forget that Covid-19 testing is free in the US, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a test before the holidays.
Since you are interested in having a safe Christmas this year, the following traditions are not only fun, but they are also safe to practice.
Decorating the Christmas tree
If you live in a state that has warm weather year-round, you might not have the opportunity to enjoy this suggestion. Snow not only adds to the magic of the season, but it also allows you to create snow angels, snowmen, and have a snow fight. Doing these activities with friends and neighbors might have been something your kids were looking forward to. However, for safety purposes, it is better to keep it between people from your household.
Put on your cozy clothes and head out in the snow with your family for a great time. Build a snowman and have your kids place the carrot nose and wrap the scarf around its snow-head. Watch your back! A snow fight can erupt out of the blue, so be prepared to dodge a snowball coming at you.
Building a Snowman, Snow Angels, or Having Snow Fights
If you live in a state that has warm weather year-round, you might not have the opportunity to enjoy this suggestion. Snow not only adds to the magic of the season, but it also allows you to create snow angels, snowmen, and have a snow fight. Doing these activities with friends and neighbors might have been something your kids were looking forward to. However, for safety purposes, it is better to keep it between people from your household.
Put on your cozy clothes and head out in the snow with your family for a great time. Build a snowman and have your kids place the carrot nose and wrap the scarf around its snow-head. Watch your back! A snow fight can erupt out of the blue, so be prepared to dodge a snowball coming at you.
Get Into Baking This Christmas Season
A perfectly safe activity for this Christmas season would be to bake your cookies and cakes. It is common for households where the parents are very busy during the year to have store-bought goods, since they can’t find the time to do it themselves. Not anymore! Consider including having a baking session this Christmas. It is an enjoyable activity where you can involve everyone in the household, even the little ones.
You don’t need vast cooking or baking knowledge to make your home baked goods. With the internet nowadays, you can quickly get a hold of quick Christmas recipes that you can do together. This is the ideal opportunity to spend some quality time with your family and prep for the upcoming holiday.
Create a Beautiful Gingerbread House
Now that your baking session is over, I hope you haven’t forgotten about the gingerbread for the gingerbread house. Building gingerbread houses is a widespread Christmas tradition and it is a very fun activity where you can get your family involved. You can create and decorate the gingerbread house however you like and the more creative you are the better. You can even start a competition where you split the household members into groups and have them build their own gingerbread home. Rate the best looking one and have a prize ready for the winner. Most importantly make sure everyone has a lot of fun.
For decoration you can get as creative as possible. Consider creating an entire barn were you can have a gingerbread fence surrounding the home, or even gingerbread shaped animals. You can lay your homes roof with shaved almonds or use different colored candies to create a pastel candy roof. Let you imagination loose and create a fine piece of edible art.
Set up Santa’s Plate
Preparing Santa’s plate of cookies along with his glass of milk can be a really fun and entertaining activity to do with your kids. We all know that Santa loves cookies and milk, and he would be very disappointed to find out that there is nothing on the table for him to enjoy. The good news is that Santa isn’t picky with his cookies, so if you are undecided whether to make chocolate chips or shortbread cookies, don’t worry! Santa will enjoy them both just as much.
He is very open to trying newer cookie styles such as sandwich cookies or mini tarts. Also, if you are going to create a cookie plate, make it look pretty and Christmas-y. Add some colors such as red and green, or add some sprinkles. You can have your cookies shaped like a Christmas tree, and remember that the more cookies you have on the plate the better. This is another fun and safe activity that you can do with your kids as you spend some quality time together.
Decorating Your Home
You know the Christmas season is coming when all the streets are illuminated with bright lights and decorations galore. Not only the streets and downtown, but homes throughout the neighborhood join the trend, and homeowners showcase their home decorating skills. This is the perfect time to bring together people from your household and decorate your home for the upcoming Christmas season.
This is a safe activity where all the household members can get involved and be creative with your decorations. A friendly competition with other neighbors never hurt anybody, to see which one can produce the best Christmas decor this year. Another perfectly safe activity for the winter season is to go for a stroll around the neighborhood and admire the work that went into creating some of the best house decorations for Christmas.
This might also be an excellent opportunity to review some of the home improvement projects for the Winter and maybe start getting everyone involved in some of these projects.
Create and Send Christmas Cards
Christmas offers you the unique opportunity to reunite with loved ones that you care about. However, the ongoing pandemic makes it challenging to do so. A great way to comfort yourself and the people closest to you is by sending Christmas cards. As much as you want to see them, it is safer to keep your distance and show your appreciation and care for others through a handmade Christmas card.
That way, you can communicate with friends and send them the best wishes for the upcoming Christmas season. Doing a Christmas card exchange with the people you would usually have around your dinner table for Christmas is a great way to show your support and appreciation for them. Also, it is a Christmas tradition that you can safely practice and be creative with.
Watch a Christmas Movie.
It is widespread for households to gather around for a movie or special programs around the Christmas holiday time. This is another excellent way to have fun during the holiday season, as you join together to watch some of your favorite Christmas movies. Maybe you want to see some of the new Hollywood productions for Christmas, or you want to stick to the classics, whichever you choose, this is always a great option to feel the holiday.
It’s also a great way to set the holiday mood in your home during what might be for many a stressful time of year. Some of the favorites include: “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, “The Christmas Story”, “Home Alone”, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Frosty the Snowman”, “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” and many others. Grab a bag of popcorn and gather your family in the ultimate home theater room for a great movie.
This Unusual Christmas Season
The truth is, most of us hoped that by the end of the year, we wouldn’t have to deal with the COVID-19 Pandemic anymore. But here we are, still wearing masks, gloves and using disinfectants.
Christmas parties are a big thing for many people, and this year, that might not be possible with the social distancing. Some of you were probably eagerly waiting to throw the best holiday party, and then the pandemic ruined it for everyone. Not to mention some of the other Christmas traditions that we haven’t mentioned yet, such as caroling, exchanging gifts, Christmas shopping, or visiting Santa.
Regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas or not, you can still have a lot of fun and make this winter season better than the previous one. Some of you are wondering, how is it possible to celebrate with everything that is going on lately? As long as you keep it safe for everyone, you shouldn’t back down from having a wonderful Christmas this year.
Caroling
Some of you are wondering if caroling is still going to be a thing this year? Well, have you ever heard an online carol? With the technology we have nowadays, caroling can be possible in a virtual world where no physical human interaction occurs, and it is just as good as the real one. If you still feel like you can’t have a real Christmas without a real carol, do it with people from your household. Caroling from an outdoor area while maintaining safe distance seems a fairly reasonable way to go about it. Keeping everyone safe should be your highest priority, therefore use common sense and comply with local restrictions that are meant to prevent the spread of the virus.
Having a Christmas Party
Throwing a massive party like your celebrating Christmas at the White House is probably not ideal this year. However, you can still have a home party with household members, which is a great way to spend some quality time with your loved ones. Not to mention that online parties can still be a thing if you can be creative and come up with challenges or exciting games. Also, consider open space or well-ventilated areas if you are going to organize or attend a party, and don’t forget about your mask. It might not be as great as it could be if no restrictions were in place, but you can still make it work.
Social Distancing from Santa
With the ongoing pandemic and in an attempt to keep everyone safe, staying off Santa’s naughty list this year is going to be more of a challenge for the parents this year than for their children. It might not be recommended to sit on Santa’s lap this year and receive presents, but you can still make it fun for your kids. They might not be able to accept gifts from Santa’s hands, but they will still receive presents this Christmas season.
This year’s Christmas can be better than it ever was. Our kids waited so long for this day, and it would be a shame to not cherish these precious moments. Their year is going to be so much better with all the presents awaiting for them under the Christmas tree when they wake up in the morning.
Also, you can get creative and organize a present scavenger hunt. Place clues, come up with a plot and have them search the home for gifts and presents. Solving the mystery is going to be so rewarding and spending your Christmas time with your family priceless, so don’t waste these moments.
Shop online this Christmas
Prepping for Christmas is probably one of the most stressful moments for parents, and the virus only adds to it. You probably don’t want to be stuck in shops and stores doing your shopping for the upcoming holidays. With virtual tech nowadays, you can even close real estate transactions from a distance, so why would you use the internet to your advantage this time of year and shop online. It saves you time, and it keeps you safer by not having to expose yourself. Technology can save this year’s Christmas so use it to your advantage.
Gift exchange
Exchanging gifts are also a big part of the Christmas tradition that might not be recommended this time with all the social distancing. However, you can make a gift exchange safely by keeping the interactions brief, wearing masks, and making sure that the gifts are safely wrapped and disinfected. You can make it happen if you are aware of all the safety precautions or you could choose a delivery service that will send the gifts for you.
We don’t always receive the gift we want or we get something we already have. In that case you can consider regifting, which is a great alternative to make someone else happy, and give you a sense of fulfilment because you have done a good deed this Christmas.
Conclusion
The pandemic has brought about many changes in our way of life and how we spend our holidays. That doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy some of our favorite holidays and have fun this year. By keeping everyone safe, we can have a blast this Christmas, rejoicing in all our favorite Christmas traditions and spending quality time with our loved ones. That is why we highlight some of the best ways to celebrate a safe but unusual Christmas in 2020.
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