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The holidays are coming and you’re a couple thousand miles away from home and it doesn’t look like you’ll be able to make it home this year. The stores are filled with joyful holiday music celebrating family time and it has you feeling a little bummed out. While living abroad, I found myself in this exact situation and instead of dwelling on it too much, I decided to embrace it. I threw myself wholeheartedly into having a great holiday, surrounded by the family I did have – my expat friends from all corners of the world.
Here are a few things I did to help me keep my mind off missing my family and I present to you: How to Celebrate the Holidays Away from Home.
Participate in the local traditional holiday activities
A santa hat filled with delicious treats!
I went to a Hungarian friend’s house for the lighting of an advent candle, a Hungarian tradition. I looked for Szent Mikulás on St. Nicholas Day. I visited the various Christmas markets took in the atmosphere and drank some mulled wine. There is no better way of getting into the holiday spirit.
Celebrate with friends
They essentially become family to you while you’re away from home. My friends and I organized a Christmas party and secret Santa gift exchange. We didn’t have a tree, so we made one out of some cardboard, and paint. Creativity at its best and it worked.
The evening was filled with delicious food from around the world, silly games, opening of presents and lots and lots of laughter. Despite no longer all being in the same city, we’re doing the same thing again, only going international. We’re all in different parts of the world now and we’ll be doing a international gift exchange virtually.
My crazy adopted family and our homemade Christmas tree.
On Christmas day, my flatmate and I opened our flat to our friends who were still in Budapest for a Christmas dinner. No turkey, but a roast chicken did the trick. You’ll almost feel like you’re at home when surrounded by great friends and sharing a meal together.
Just don’t have 4 kinds of potatoes on your table like we did. We had them roasted, mashed, stuffed and in a salad!
Connect with home virtually
With technology these days, your family is only a few clicks of the mouse away. Both Google and Skype offer the ability to call from computer to computer. It is really easy to share in a little holiday cheer with friends and family back home. In the weeks leading up to the holidays, ask friends for their mailing addresses so you can send them a holiday card. Who doesn’t like receiving snail mail now—especially one with an exotic stamp and card in a different language?
Travel
Christmas on the road perhaps?
And if none of these things seem exciting, you can always travel over the holidays. While many countries in Europe shut down over Christmas, you could head to countries who don’t celebrate it. If you are staying in Europe then just be prepared for a couple quiet days and schedule outdoor sites to visit during this time. With the excitement of exploring a new country and city, you won’t miss being at home for too long.
Are you away from home for the holidays? How are you celebrating?
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Celebrating with strangers and other solo travelers has also worked for me 🙂
True, good point. There are many solo travelers and it’s a great opportunity to make some new friends!
That sounds fabulous!! I actually love the Christmases I have spent away from home – less stress!!
I think it’s fun to celebrate the holidays away from home. You get to see new traditions and experience the something from a completely different view point. And definitely – less stress!
We find our family like to come and visit us during the festive period. Less White Christmas, more White Hot Christmas. It’s a Southern Hemisphere Xmas in the Northern Hemisphere.
I’ve never had a warm Christmas. It seems like it would be strange for someone always in the northern hemisphere, but I’m definitely not opposed to the idea!
It’s not to late to come over and experience one, Adelina.
We usually don’t travel over the holidays, but I have really enjoyed it when we have traveled in the month of December to enjoy the pre-Christmas traditions of other places. Four kinds of potatoes, sounds like Christmas in Ireland!
I really enjoy exploring the traditions of different countries during the holidays. It’s a lot of fun!
This is a great little holiday abroad guide! And I definitely agree that mulled wine brings about the holiday cheer 🙂
My wife and I celebrated Thanksgiving in Istanbul, Turkey. An expat put on the dinner at her cafe and we joined an assorted group of travelers and expats for the evening. Christmas found us on Koh Samui, Thailand, and we celebrated over two days (in Slovakia, where I’m from, Christmas Eve is the day, in the U.S., Christmas Day, of course) with barefoot walks on the beach in the shade of coconut trees, seafood dinners, and beachside massages. Holidays are in your head, I’m convinced, and they are what you make of them.
Definitely! I agree! Barefoot walks on the beach with coconut trees and seafood dinners? Sounds like the makings of a fabulous Christmas!