The Christmas Day is often associated to the day of spending your best time with your family, relatives and friends. In fact, for most cultures that have Christian backgrounds, Christmas is best spent when they’re united with their families and loved ones. There will be times, however when it’s really impossible to be with loved ones during the celebration of important holidays like Christmas.
For different reasons, there are people who will be celebrating the holidays alone. Do you believe that you CAN still have the best Christmas ever, even away from home? Well, this article aims to prepare you what to do to best enjoy the Christmas Day even when you’re alone.
There may be many reasons such as work, study, company projects or events why you need to go in a distant place far from home during Christmas (or just in any other occasions); but being away from your family is not a reason to frown and live an unhappy disposition during Christmas. Don’t dwell too much on the fact that you’re away from the people very dear to you on this important occasion. Instead, take it as a challenge to work hard and move forward. As the famous cliché once tell us: “THINK POSITIVE!”
Situations like this (when you really can’t go home for Christmas) may even result to be a blessing in disguise because sometimes, being away may strengthen your relationships with your families back home. In my case, ever since I graduated college, I have to spend my Christmas away from my family because I work many miles away from our province. Yep, I haven’t celebrated Christmas with my family for three years now. And yes, being away from home even during Christmas somehow help to build a strong relationship with our family.
It’s during my rest days from work when I had the opportunity to talk to my family back home through the use of today’s modern technology—the mobile phone. To be honest, I’m not the type of person who talks about how valuable my family is, but with our constant conversations on the phone, I’ve conveyed how they mean to my life especially during Christmas. Yes, we may have been separated many miles apart, but our strong family ties are even made stronger; and that’s why I consider being away from them as a blessing in disguise.
So, based on experience and others’ common experiences, here’s how you can best enjoy Christmas although away from home:
1. Make sure to communicate with your loved ones.Communication is really important as it connects you to your loved ones back home. However, constant communication is a different story. Bear in mind that Christmas only takes place once a year. It is important to spend even a short span of time conversing with your families.If you’re away, make use of today’s technology—you can call them via phone, or even exchange messages through text, or e-mail if possible. Video calling is another notable option; Skype may be best if your families back home have computer and internet access. (Tip: Even tablets and android phones have mobile applications for Skype which you can use!)
2. Buy yourself some gifts. Why not? We buy gifts for others at one point, so you should also treat yourself at Christmas. The great thing about buying gifts for yourself is that you get exactly what you want in the color, shape and size you want. Wrap them up on great Christmas paper and put them under the tree to open on Christmas morning.Even though you know what they are, it’s exciting to have new special things on Christmas.
3. Plan a great Christmas meal. Yes,Christmas may be incomplete if meals aren’t served. Having sumptuous meals on your table during Christmas? That’s just so awesome. If you happen to visit fellow Filipinos on Christmas, rest assured you will be delighted to see the variety of meals prepared on their table such as spaghetti, cakes, salads and others.On the other hand, when you’re in a Japanese household, one thing that will catch your attention is the presence of the Japanese Christmas cake. In Japan, it is tradition to eat cake on Christmas. So, don’t be surprised whenever you are offered the cake on Christmas! (Tip: DO you have the passion in cooking? Baking a cake for Christmas might be a good idea to consider.)
4. Take decorations! It'll make your time merry to decorate on Christmas. Try it, the feeling is awesome! (For real!)
5. Go to church, this will mean you can spend Christmas with others. I believe going to church is a means that you will think more about the real meaning of Christmas and discover it is just as special whether you have hundreds of people to celebrate with or no one at all.
6. Reach Out to Others. Yes,try to focus on others. Christmas is the best time for volunteering and being with others at church, or any civic activities, or even charity works. The act of giving also helps in reminding you of all of the blessings that you have in your life. Giving your time and effort to people in need feels much more rewarding than receiving a gift. After all, this is the season of giving.
7. Think positive. Be positive. Drive change. The fact that they’re away from home, most people forget that they are to enjoy their own company around Christmas. Why? Because they are too busy feeling sorry for themselves. This can spoil their entire time. Think positive thoughts and remember the true meaning of the season and you can still have a great time. Maybe even better than if you were with family.
In closing, make Christmas truly a one-big event to remember. Not everyone will make it to the next one so we can only make the most of those we have right here, right now. And always remember…Christmas is a wonderful thing,even if you're at home or not.
Happy Holidays!
Note:
This article was originally published in 2014 by EMMAGAZINE, a magazine I used to write for that was based in Japan and had Filipino and Japanese audiences. Thanks to Mr. Butch Causing, the editor-in-chief for the trust.
