The holidays can be a stressful time of year regardless of how you celebrate. To throw a pandemic on top of the already high-tension environment provided by this season can be unbearable. To some, the question of “How do we celebrate?” or “Do we celebrate?” can leave people feeling like the Grinch. There may be difficulties as the absence of family members can leave one’s heart feeling hollow; or on the other hand, getting certain family members to follow social distancing guidelines and refrain from creating large gatherings can be a whole other ordeal. This holiday season is going to be different, but, this doesn’t mean that it can’t be fun or memorable. Here are some ideas to make your Covid holidays interesting in a fun and safe way!

Outdoor/Indoor Activities

• DECORATE!! Go nuts with the lights, maybe put up some of the older decorations that don’t get taken out of the box every year, and cover every inch of your home in decorations to bring some holiday spirit into your household!
• Bake cookies! Stick with your basic chocolate chip or sugar cookies, or maybe even go hard and make some traditional sweets. My family is Italian, so this year we are digging into my grandmother’s recipe archive for some traditional Italian cookies!
• Make a gingerbread house! The kits are literally everywhere, or you could even bake your own.
• If we ever get more snow… Build a snowman or a snow fort, ask some friends to go sledding (while practicing social distancing of course), and have a snowball fight (this is actually perfect for Covid).

Unique Gift Ideas

Since circumstances are different this year, it may be difficult or unfeasible to obtain gifts. In this case, homemade gifts are a great option and can honestly be pretty cool! For example:

• Make homemade lip balm! It’s super fun, and who doesn’t love lip balm? All of the supplies are available on Amazon, are on the cheaper side, and come in large amounts.
• Make felted soaps! All you need is a bar of soap, some pantyhose, and washed/dyed wool which can be found at any craft store!
• Make homemade ornaments! There are SO many ways to do this, and all of the supplies can be found at any craft store at a decent price.

Spend Time With Family Safely

• Cherish the time you have with your immediate family! Watch a holiday movie, plan a game night, and if you can convince everyone… buy matching pajamas.
• Celebrate with your relatives safely! Plan to Facetime or have a Zoom call with all of your family members or for older family members simply arrange a phone call or text them (if they know how to text).

While this holiday season is going to be challenging, the sacrifices we make this year are for the benefit of our families It is much better to avoid celebrating with family this year so that everyone can remain healthy enough to celebrate in the future. On this note, I wish you all Happy Holidays and a healthy 2021!