Tips for a Festive & Safe Holiday Season

The holidays can always be a stressful time of year – and now that we must coordinate and celebrate around COVID-19 guidelines, it might seem even more difficult to share the season with the ones we love.

While this may not be the traditional holiday season our families are used to, there are some adjustments we can make to still feel close.

One tip that is sure to help us get into the holiday spirit is decorating early. In the beginning stages of the pandemic, people were seen across the U.S. putting up their Christmas lights as a sign of hope and to bring joy to their families and neighbors). For your family, this could mean hanging up lights outside your home, decorating your tree, or displaying the menorah. This time with family also poses a great opportunity to create your own decorations, which can even be done with household objects such as colorful paper and string, or getting crafty with supplies like glitter glue, zig-zag scissors, and more.

A holiday tradition that will look different this year for most, is gift giving. Without being able to see your extended family on the holidays this year, there are other ways to show that you are thinking of them. One idea is hosting a virtual Secret Santa event. Have a family member coordinate a participant list with addresses and their holiday wish list, set a budget and pick a date to make sure all recipients receive their gifts in time. Then have a video gift reveal where everyone opens their gifts together. Some other virtual activities could include cooking your holiday dinners simultaneously to recreate the fun of cooking together, holding a festive centerpiece creation contest, or dressing up and taking family photos!

With this year being as stressful and difficult as it was, we also recommend taking some time to help your communities. One especially prevalent problem that everyone is facing is the isolation caused by COVID-19. A great way to help combat this can be as simple as receiving a thoughtful card or letter. One organization called Letters Against Isolation built a system to send letters to seniors across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia and you can sign up to help write these letters. This would be a fun and rewarding activity to do with kids this holiday season!

While our holiday celebrations will undoubtedly look different this year, it is important that we take this time to stay in touch with our loved ones while staying safe. The holidays are a time to appreciate who and what we have close to us, and this 2020 pandemic has made that even more important.