Don’t get me wrong, I love being home for the holidays but sometimes the time off from work, warmer weather and freedom just add up to getting yourself that plane ticket.
You could be jet setting from home or already away from your family roots and getting back for the holidays is just out of the budget with the holiday prices of traveling…or you’re in the middle of the best adventure of your life and just can’t make it back…Whatever the reason for your travels the point is, there is no need to get the blues on your holiday.
You may be living out of a hotel room and a 10-course meal or Christmas tree just aren’t practical. I agree. So I am not going to tell you to decorate your hotel room or how to prepare a thanksgiving meal in your microwave but I will share a couple of tricks I have learned over the years on how to make the holidays feel like home even while half way around the world.
(This may be your first holiday spent away from wherever you call home and whoever makes that place feel like home. Maybe you’re in a situation not by choice – you’re away for business or your flight got delay or worse, canceled. Or maybe you’re away from home by choice, treating yourself to an escape for the holiday. Whatever the case may be, give yourself permission to dream up a holiday you are going to be excited to look back on!
Friendly Reminder: Traveling during the holiday season is allowed for as big as reason of “I want to”. )
1. Celebrate the holiday
This may seem like an obvious one, but it must be said. Yes, you may be away from family and friends. Yes, you may be alone for the holiday, but that doesn’t mean you are left out of the celebration. Make it a point to celebrate in your own way, wherever you may be, which brings me to number 2.
2. Get creative about how you celebrate
Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be on a beach on Christmas? Wearing a bathing suit, toes in the sand, cold drink in your hand… yes the “no-worries” checklist for a good time by x musical artist. Well, isn’t now your chance?
Or have you ever wanted to go skiing on Christmas Day instead of sitting around the table or running after the little rugrats? Those christmas blues can be replaced by fresh powder BLANK.
So buy the lift ticket, bring your swimming trunks (ski resorts have hot tubs), and let yourself dream up ways to celebrate. After all, these holidays come built in with days off from work.
3. Keep at least one tradition alive
What is one tradition you and your family do on this holiday? Take a moment to walk yourself through the day, and see if there is one tradition that you can do location agnostic. Do you and your family always go to the movies together, watch – or better yet – play football? How about a stroll around the park, special cocktail, games or dish? Is it as simple as a specific song you all get up to dance or belt out? Whatever the size of the tradition may be and it may take as little effort as putting on a song, make it your goal to keep one tradition alive.
4. EAT
No holiday is complete without food. So, don’t forget to take the time to eat and eat something delicious. No matter your budget, whether you end up making a thanksgiving meal in your hotel room or going out to the Ritz, take the time to eat a special meal on the holiday.
I was lucky enough to find a vegetarian “beef” wellington in Singapore one year that was out of this world! I remember the food I ate that day still and it was at least 4 years ago! Feel free to drool over it yourself below.
5. Use technology to make your day brighter
We live in a world where we can physically be on the other side of it but facetime our way right into our childhood home. So, do that. Call your family and see their faces, sometimes it may be a tearjerker but all the times it will bring a smile to your face. I recommend calling in the morning before the hustle and bustle is in full swing and then again, if you’re up for it haha, once the party is in full swing! It’s nice to get passed around to all the family members, have the fastest conversation and then poof – back to the beach.
Side note: There is no room for guilt here! You are away yes, and if your family and friends aren’t supportive of that or if you somehow feel yourself getting overwhelmed by guilt or obligiation, skip the family call. You should feel lighter and happier after seeing everyone and if that’s not the case, call someone else or keep it a solo celebration.
Look at you, you are out traveling the world, celebrating a holiday in a different country, you deserve to relish in all of it.
6. Journal
If you’re out and about in a new place and not journaling about your adventures everyday, take the time on the holiday to do so. I even have an adventure log – electronic and physicial form to help guide on creating memory lane.
Journaling about your day and the new things that your learned or experienced on this holiday, yes will help you commemorate it but also take a moment to yourself to appreciate what you are doing. You are traveling on a holiday, keeping your family traditions alive and branching out. This in itself is something to celebrate, so commemorate it!
Your holiday celebration may not look, smell, taste or feel the same, but it can still bring you joy if not more than what you usually get out of a hometown holiday. So, make the effort to make it special for yourself and the take the time to enjoy it!