When You Have To Celebrate Christmas Away From Home…
Christmas is the time when we all want to be close to the
people we love the most. Many of us travel hundreds or even thousands of miles
to make that happen. But even with our best efforts, sometimes life happens and
because of circumstances out of our control we simply cannot be where we want
to be during the holiday season. This post offers tips to make your holiday
better when you have to celebrate Christmas away from home.
Keep The Spirit Alive
Regardless of where you are or who you are with, you
can make the holiday more meaningful if you keep the spirit of giving alive.
Make it a goal to make someone else’s day better in some way.
Get Close To Being There
Maybe you can’t be there to enjoy all the delicious foods
or to rip open gifts during the early Christmas morning mayhem, but that
shouldn’t stop you from making a connection via phone or Internet. At least you
can see and feel the joy in some way through the miles – it’s not the same but
it is better than nothing at all.
Volunteer
No matter
where you are there is some agency or community that could use some help. Volunteer
some of your time. You will be welcomed and you will feel like you are a part
of a group or cause. Your options are varied; for instance, you could contact
any local homeless shelters, soup kitchens or nursing homes or assisted living
communities.
You might
also be able to work with organizations that deliver food, gifts, or just spend
time with shut-ins. Check with local community services for ideas.
Adopt Someone
You can adopt a child, a senior citizen, or an
entire family to care about during the holiday season. This gives you someone
(or a group of people) to get to know and love in a very special way. There’s a
good chance that this person (these people) will become important to you for
the long term!
Attend Church
Even if you don’t usually attend church, the holiday
season is a great time to ‘visit’ a church – it gives you an opportunity to get
to know others and Christmas church services are always special. Most churches
have special services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Postpone Christmas Celebrations
Keeping yourself busy with these activities can ‘get
you through’ the holidays – then you can celebrate Christmas in your
traditional fashion when you get home. For some people, this is the best
solution. There’s a good chance that your family and friends won’t mind
celebrating again!
Remember Your Blessings
We all
have dreams of what our ideal Christmas should be like – but the reality is
that Christmas is Christmas no matter where you are, who you are with, or how
it turns out to be. We have to learn to make the best of things – focus on the
positives in life. Rather than having regrets about the way things turned out
it is much better to find something productive to do with our time and to
remember our blessings.
Debbie
Allen writes about Christmas traditions, letters from Santa, and
other topics related to the holiday season. You can find her work at many sites
across the Internet.
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