The holiday season, any holiday season, should be a friendly time. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Eid, Hanukkah, Diwali, or any other holiday, or you don’t celebrate festivities at all, it’s nice to be aware that we can all share some fun and friendly time with each other and look at occasions of people around us as opportunities to become closer.
Celebrate life
It can feel like everyone is tired and stressed coming up to different holiday seasons. A few unusual years behind us, where being together has been challenged and redefined, have left us confused about what to do about coming gatherings and celebrations. Many of us feel excited about doing it all again, but then the feeling of being drained and exhausted kicks in. It’s OK, we’re allowed to feel like that. To help you to focus on the positive sides of a new holiday season, and all the ones that are coming, here are eight family-friendly ideas to mark your own, or other people’s festivities with.
- Have a film day. Snuggle up on the sofa with hot chocolate and popcorn and enjoy a festive film. This is a lovely way for the family to relax.
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Go for a walk. Explore your nearest town or village and look if there are some events organised. For Christmas, it can be as simple as looking at the decorations, and lights and being grateful for that. For Eid, it can be visiting family and friends and sharing some delicious, sweet delights with them. We are lucky to live in diverse communities, so even if you do not have a friend who celebrates a certain interesting festivity, you could be inspired to visit local groups and communities that organise celebrations. You could join them in the celebrations and make new friends and learn new things. This is such a pleasure for all ages, and it doesn’t cost a thing.
- Explore the music! Take part in carols singing. Ask about music events, and concerts organised by different cultures in your surroundings. You can also explore music on your own at home. Put on your favourite Christmas song, find your new favourites by diving into the international pool of music heritage and sing, dance, and expand your world.
- Make Cards. Get some cheap cards and pens and make your own cards, let your imagination run riot and create your own characters. These aren’t just fun to make they are also lovely to receive.
- Do a scavenger hunt. This can be such a simple thing to do; give each person a list of five items to find around the house. The first person to find all five and brings them to the organiser is the winner.
- Print pictures. On your walk collect fallen leaves, you can dip them in poster paint or food colouring and make pictures with them. Put a date on it and write down what you are grateful for this season on them.
- Make bird feeders. In the cold weather, it’s important to think of our feathered friends. There’s a lovely blog post of ideas here: https://blog.countrylife.ie/pets-wildlife/homemade-bird-food-with-eanna-ni-lamhan/
- Be festive with food, do it your way. Create your own foodie traditions. It can be simple, but loving. Make easy pizzas. If you have younger folk in the house, they’ll love to make their own dinner and there’s a very easy way to make pizza. Just get a packet of wraps and add your favourite toppings, tomato puree and cheese make a great base and you can add your choice of vegetables, meats, etc. They only take around ten minutes to cook in the oven too.
Celebrating life several times during the year might just be a key to looking back on years with no regrets! Let’s hope you enjoy at least one of these moments.
About the Author
Val Robus, is a photographer, social media manager, a writer, and an expat. She made a decision to move away from her home 28 years ago. So, she made a new home, a new story.
Her blog Magnum Lady proudly gave voice to one of west Ireland’s most beautiful towns – Sligo. Her web site Sligo Hub became a go to online place for all thing related to Sligo. She also started a Havin’aLaugh Coffee Morning, which is a way to support the mental health in the local community.
Val’s words on multiculturalism: “Multiculturalism is the essence of our society. We have so much to learn from each other and so much we can teach others”.
