This year has been more than a challenge for most people; some of us have had to completely change our lives around from how we work to how we spend time with our loved ones; with the holidays coming up I'm sure a lot of people are either on the end where they're feeling a bit of FOMO or they're gonna say screw the pandemic, I'm going to spend the holidays with my family anyway.
Whichever end of this spectrum you fall is not my business, do you booboo.
But as someone who's spent a lot of holidays alone, I'm neither. I grew up with my mom taking every single over time, double pay, holiday pay, whatever she could get. So for most of my childhood she wasn't there for Thanksgiving. My dad felt obligated to spend it with his side of the family and by the time I had hit 16 and my brother was 15 we stopped wanting to go with him and just wanted to stay home. So we would pile up our plates and watch A Christmas Story all day long.
When my ex husband and I moved across the country to Florida in 2013, we spent Thanksgiving either at work (cause Disney does not care what day it is, you come in, period) or just by ourselves. We learned how to mess up a turkey and sides together. And ended up just getting KFC instead lol. And there were years where my ex would go to work and I'd spend the whole day alone.
Which was fine, I honestly prefer to spend the holidays alone. I don't like big crowds or rooms with lots of people having a million different conversations at once. I do miss my family, don't get me wrong, but spending the holidays alone has never been a big deal to me.
I know it's going to be a big deal for others, so hopefully my 7 pieces of advice can help ease the sadness a little bit.
Video Chat
I'm going to put out the obvious -- but if you're like me and not too much of a fan of video chatting (seriously iPhone, why did you get rid of the flat bottom? How am I suppose to keep my phone up now?) but still want to see your family, maybe you could both prep for the day together on video. Kind of make it feel like you're both in the same room prepping together.
Discover a New Dish
The light at the end of the tunnel is this: not every holiday will be like this years. I'm a sucker for traditions and creating new ones; try a Thanksgiving/Fall dish you've always wanted to try. Or find something comforting. It'll be something fun to bring and have your loved ones try after this whole pandemic blows over.
Start a New Tradition
I have a lot of self traditions and weirdly enough... I think it's weird to share with my husband and kid. Cause they're mine. But finding traditions for the kid is something I thought would be easy but is actually turning out... hard. When my mom was home for Thanksgiving it was always like half the day was Thanksgiving then by the time we went to bed, the Christmas tree would be up. It would be bare but it was definitely up lol.
Traditions I believe set a foundation for children, and adults. It's something that you can always count on, look back to and find comfort in.
One of my self traditions is watching A Christmas Story while eating Pumpkin Pie. It's a must every single year for me.
This year maybe I'll create a "Thanksgiving Box" or find something comforting to bake and include her in it. She's only 18mo so you know, there's not really much we can do that she'll remember lol.
Have a Pamper Day
I agree with others who say that this year stopped so we could learn to slow down. Take the day to do whatever you consider "pampering" yourself to be; if it's a bubble bath with wine. Or just wine, whatever. But take the time to take care of yourself, your soul, and reflect on the things you're thankful for this year despite the inconvenience of it all.
Get a Head Start on Christmas Shopping
Long before stores started to open on Thanksgiving I was shopping online for well... me. But it's also a great opportunity to get a head start! Most sites already have their deals and promo codes floating around or you could hold off for Cyber Monday. Though this year I'm seeing places like Target claiming to do "Black Friday" every weekend of November. Crazy, right?
Set Up For Christmas
Cause I mean we're all thinking it, let's be real. Plus I find that setting up for Christmas (even though it's not my fav holiday really) is a bit therapeutic. There's something about the spirit of it all and twinkle lights everywhere. It's one of those sights that just lifts your soul and makes it all warm and fuzzy! Ironically we already decided on a theme and color only to realize... we don't have a tree. We went from 3 tree's in storage to none lol. Super upsetting, but it's fine! We'll find a tree!
Surprisingly my husband (who's I swear married to his family) said they weren't going to his mom's this year. That he was going to stay here with me and have our own Thanksgiving. At least, that's what he says. If he does or doesn't won't bother me any. I'm definitely going to have a pamper, self tradition day. I'm also super determined to bake something this year. I do miss my mom and brother -- I was suppose to throw the kiddo a late First Birthday party with my family in Cali this year but Covid happened. I'm still hoping for next year since my family hasn't met the kiddo yet.
Whatever it is you plan to do or not do this year, I'm wishing you the happiest of holidays either way!
Post a Comment