Tips to Enjoy the 2020 Holiday Season
I thought this would be a good topic considering a lot of people are mourning the fact they cannot spend the holidays with their loved ones. Tips to Enjoy the 2020 Holiday Season.
It has been 8 years since we spent the holidays with our families.
When we first moved across the county, we knew there would be changes to our life, but I was not totally ready for the homesickness, especially as an adult! As the years go by it has gotten easier at times to cope, but I still definitely miss my family often. Now with a one-year-old, I feel it more than ever.
As you ramp up for another Holiday (following Thanksgiving) whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or something else these will be good tips on how to get through a season that looks a little (or a lot) different than years past.
Let’s dive into Tips to Enjoy the 2020 Holiday Season.
Traditions
Make the Most of Traditions You can Still embrace
Decorating the house for the holiday, making baked goods to enjoy, sending cards and goodies to friends & family.
One of our favorite traditions is going for a drive to look at holiday lights in different neighborhoods. We get our daughter all situated in her car seat, bringing toys and snacks for her if she needs a distraction. We brew coffee or tea, put it in our travel mugs and set off.
Also, this year, we bought two of the same children’s books, one for our daughter and one for our nieces. This way they can read the same book together (via video chat) or apart. And the girls can interact and have fun sharing something special.
Bake, Cook, Experiment
I do not know about you, but my childhood memories of the holidays always included my mom baking tons of goodies to share. Whether it was for our family, the neighbors or church she did a lot of baking!
Baking and cooking can fill the house with some amazing smells and make it feel a little homier. I like to make a variety of different treats all in small batches. This year I plan to give a few plates of goodies away with contactless exchange so our local friends can enjoy with us.
Giving, Giving, Giving
This year my husband and I are were lucky enough to keep our jobs, and maintain income via this business. We do not take this for granted. So, so many people lost their jobs. In March and April about 22 million jobs were lost and about 12 million were brought back, but that leaves 10 million jobs still gone.
To put that in perspective, according to The New York Times, The Daily we lost about 9 million jobs in the whole Great Recession of 2007-2009.
If you have been blessed this year with maintaining your job and income, maybe consider doing something extra for those in need. The Holiday season is often hard for families who are in financial hardships and this year only magnifies it. We bought toys for kids, then dropped them at our local fire station for donation. We also plan to buy dinner for a family who needs it on Christmas.
Take Advantage of the Virtual Events
We made sure to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year in the comfort of our living room. Also, this year we watched the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting celebration. It was broadcast on ABC Network. We had not watched it in the past, and frankly I do not know if it is even broadcasted during a normal year. Following that a special came on, Featuring the Rockettes. Which was neat. (We have seen the Rockettes in person and they NEVER share virtually, so this was a special treat).
Here are a few fun events you can enjoy from the safety and comfort of your home
- The Rockettes host a Virtual Dance Class on Instagram Every Wednesday at 3:00PM EST (FREE)
- Click here to Check it out
- George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Cost) New York City Ballet’s iconic Nutcracker goes virtual in a special streaming event filmed during the 2019 season at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center.
- Wolf Trap Holiday Sing-Along from Home (Free) December 19, 2020
katymurray@katymurrayphotography.com
