October marks the beginning of the holiday season marathon. The buzz of the season can be felt and seen in every store and street corner. It’s the most festive season and a nice ending to the year. Everyone is busy planning holiday activities such as dinners and travel and shopping for gifts and meals. This year, there’s so much uncertainty around celebrating the holiday season during the pandemic. We will enjoy the season will be different from usual for many due to restrictions on social gatherings and possible lockdowns.
Five creative ideas to celebrate Thanksgiving
We reached out to six female entrepreneurs asking them to give us their take on the current situation and share tips on how they plan to celebrate the holidays during the pandemic. It’s interesting to realize that all of them have similar aspirations for joyful and triumphant festivities. It is reassuring to recognize that we are all in the same boat and endeavor to make the best decisions to keep everyone safe and happy. Here are some of the creative ways you as well can celebrate the holiday season during this pandemic.
Mary Ashkar – Lifestyle blogger & Social Media Strategist
This year, Christmas is going to be different, but in a good way. I usually go all out for the holidays because my husband and daughters love this special time of year: the decorations, the baking smells, the classic holiday menu, the carols, and the holiday movies. This year we’re going to do things a bit differently while keeping Christmas cozy and traditional.
Here are the seven ways to simplify and enjoy the holiday season during the pandemic:
- Start early. Go through your holiday decorations by mid-November and donate those you haven’t used in the last few years. Think of how special they will make someone else’s Christmas.
- Use the good stuff! I’m guilty of ‘saving’ things like plates, silverware, serving dishes, glasses, etc. This year, they will be used, including a set of silver utensils that I got for my wedding – it’s about time!
- Decorate minimally and mindfully. Because we’re not hosting our annual Christmas parties, I will be scaling back some of the decorations: instead of little ones in nooks and crannies, I’m going for impact and simplicity in the most used rooms.
- Schedule family fun activities. Consider a cookie decorating contest, hot chocolate nights, evening walks to check out the neighbourhood decorations, porch visits, virtual family parties, and tobogganing.
- Eat more meals in the dining room and make sure to wear holiday clothing. It’s fun to dress up, even if you’re staying in.
- Ask family members to prepare part of the holiday meal. For example, my husband makes the turkey. My oldest daughter makes a different but delicious version of fattoush, and my youngest has a unique way of preparing any food she plates. I prepare side dishes and desserts.
- Keep as many traditions as possible. We have games after our Christmas dinner and we read three different illustrated versions of Twas The Night Before Christmas. We call relatives around the world. And, we take a million self-timed family photos on Christmas day before, during, and after opening the gifts!
Mary is a lifestyle blogger and social media strategist. Stay up-to-date on her blog Sweet Lifestyle
Michele Maher – Jewellery Designer
I have to say that I have always loved Christmas. Even though I am not a fan of winter, I love the Christmas tree and all the music and decorations.
What will it look like this year?
We don’t know. My inlaws are Polish, and so Christmas Eve, we celebrate Wigilia, with 12 dishes and desserts, always making sure to set that extra place setting in case a guest joins us at the last minute! We usually are at least 14 people, and so given the current maximum is ten people, we will not be able to gather this year unless things change by then. Consequently, this means it is time to get creative!
We have made deeper connections with our friends and family as we realize what is truly important to us and the fact that this crisis is here to bring us all together as one global community of humans with compassion & grace.
Michele maher
This technology that we have used the past seven months will come in handy, we will divide up the meal prep, say three each family, and prepare then do a porch drop and end up with the 12 dishes and we can toast each other virtually!
Just because we are staying at home does NOT mean you stay in pajamas, no way! We will be sure to get dressed to the nines, bling and all, Christmas tree in the background, Christmas music playing in the background, and the table set to perfection. We celebrate the Canadian style with a stuffed turkey and mashed potatoes at my mom’s house on Christmas Day. This year, it will be only 8 of us, under that threshold of 10 people, with social distancing and no hugs.
I know that when you think of the holiday season during this pandemic, you feel a sense of sadness. Believe me, I do as well. But this is the time to be grateful for living at a time and place where we can still celebrate. We are fortunate for the advanced technology that helps connect us with everyone. I am grateful for this country we live in, the freedom we have, and the choice we can make to perceive what is happening. We have made deeper connections with our friends and family as we realize what is truly important to us and the fact that this crisis is here to bring us all together as one global community of humans with compassion and grace.
Michele Maher is a Jewellery Designer, Leader of FemCity Etobicoke and most recently host of the “Pivot with Positivity” show. Shop here jewellery on Michele Maher Designs.
Carmela Pirillo – Accountant
My childhood memories of Christmas include sneaking up on my grandmother while she baked her specialty cookies, torcetti, and pizzelle, trying to steal a few before dinner. My mom’s famous almond cookies that would be eaten in the blink of an eye by everyone. Unwrapping gifts in the morning with my sister, parents, and grandparents. The most vivid memory is attending midnight mass with my mom, even if there happened to be a snowstorm outside. All the preparation and anticipation added to the joyous celebration that lasted two days. We are big on a fancy dinner on Christmas Eve and a scaled-down lunch the next day. Christmas reminds me of beautiful family moments, which makes it my favorite Holiday of all.
We usually celebrate by gathering around a large dining table filled with every food imaginable. Talking, laughing and eating is what my family is all about. The only difference this year is not being able to have friends join us after the big meal for coffee, drinks and dessert and more talking and laughing.
Financial advice for this holiday season
This pandemic has caused financial hardships for many, while some have been unaffected. One tip I offer, and I think it’s pretty timely, is to focus on the true meaning and intention of holiday gifts. They are not meant to upstage anyone else’s gift nor meant to be a sign of how much you love someone. Giving is the message during the Holidays, and here is my tip, which I hope will help get you through the Holidays.
You can save money this year by being intentional about being together. Spend your time, not money, cherishing your loved ones. It’s important to value experiences over material things because material things will remain long after your loved ones are gone.
Carmela is a Chartered Professional Accountant based in Aurora, Ontario. She helps Canadian E-commerce businesses save time, money and stress by handling their accounting and taxation. To connect with Carmela, visit Carmela Pirillo website.
Sandra Di Domenico – Wellness Advocate
Tis the season to become creative! The fall and winter Holiday season for 2020 will be looking a little different than usual for us. Traditionally my family gathers in large groups and encompassing our Italian traditions and cultural dishes.
My favorite holiday is the abundant Thanksgiving, where fall is full force and we can gather for a beautiful stuffed turkey and all its trimmings. However, this year we will celebrate on a smaller scale, focusing on our blessings of being present in the moment. My idea this year is to focus on gratitude. This Thanksgiving, I will ask my immediate family to gather and bring a handwritten message of personal gratitude. Each of us will share and read that message during the meal. A perfect time to engage and reflect on the blessings we all feel to express.
This year, we will be gathering in a small group of the immediate family for the Christmas holiday season. Traditionally we host Christmas eve dinner with a spread of seafood and a variety of fish dishes! I plan to explore more traditional recipes this year and cook with my sous chef adult children.
I truly believe during this time of the pandemic for 2020; we will all have the opportunity to slow down our usual pace and reflect on what truly matters the most. Nothing can replace the love of family gatherings and beautiful traditions. It’s the time to do the things we always say we wish we had time for, now we do!
Sandra found her passion in helping busy women balance their gut biome and increase their vitality. She is an entrepreneur sharing her expertise in living a life of wellness, mentoring women to find their true joy. You can connect with Sandra here @JOURNEYWITHSANDRADIDO
Jessica Dawn – Director with Epicure
As a nutritionist and a mom of 4 children, I always make sure my family has healthy meal options and routines during the holidays. This year is no exception. Yet, due to the current pandemic, I plan to make some adjustments to the way we are accustomed to hosting holiday events.
Tips to celebrate holiday dinners
- Delegate or plan potluck style events so that no one person is responsible for all of it. Who will bring what food and drink? Is someone going to be in charge of desserts? Will someone be setting the table or will it be more like a buffet? Are the kids old enough to participate in some of these jobs?
- Be mindful of EXPECTATION. This one can be hard and is often a large contributor to stress and overwhelm! There can be a general plan but try not to hold too hard and fast to a schedule or build up what you expect an event to look like so you are less likely to stress out about things “not going to plan”. Also, don’t hold yourself to someone else’s expectations either! Just because someone else thinks you should do something one way or another does not mean you have to! And if you find that someone or something doesn’t work for you, it is perfectly ok to say no!
- Work together! When everyone takes a turn in the food prep, serving and cleaning up, again, no one person is responsible for all of it. This can also help to not exclude anyone from the fun part of the holidays. If you are always the one doing the washing up you’re the one stuck in the kitchen with your hands in wash water while everyone else relaxes over pumpkin pie and mulled wine….
- Find “shortcuts” where you can. This is where Epicure has been a massive help to me! Meal solutions, baking mixes, and ready-made blends for desserts, hot drinks, and appetizers mean less overall work required to bring a meal together. Use tools like slow cookers and sheet pan recipes to cut down on prep, dishes, and hands-on cooking time.
Jessica Dawn is a Director and product ambassador with Epicure. She is a Certified Culinary Nutrition Expert and Instructor with a BSc in Environmental Science. You can find her recipes here https://jesscrossan.com/
Alison Stuckey – Life Coach
This year, we are in a unique and possibly once in a lifetime position for the holidays and have a real opportunity to enjoy them more simply and calmly. We can be grateful to be able to focus on ourselves and the things that really matter. With restrictions on social events in most areas, our gatherings will be smaller. We can focus on the JOY of the holidays and all the little things we often take for granted in normal times. We can avoid big impersonal parties where we don’t know anyone, visits with people we don’t want to see and anything that feels like an obligation. Instead, we will fuel our hearts with things that matter, finding joy this season in things we really love and want to do.
How to nourish our minds this holiday season during the pandemic
This year, we can nourish our minds with joy, avoiding people we don’t want to see and simplifying the season, keeping it fun and light. We can nurture our bodies by taking time to relax and enjoy the season, not experiencing it as a whirlwind, as we often do. As well, we can bolster our spirit by doing everything that makes us FEEL good and not doing the things we would do only out of obligation or guilt. And because this season will be simpler, we will have more energy and feel happiness focusing on the things that matter to us.
We will have time to reflect on this gift of time and togetherness with those we love. Most importantly, we have been given the gift of time to slow down and open our eyes to what fuels our mind, body, and spirit and what brings us happiness. We can revel in the things that fuel our true self and make us feel light, joyful, and at peace. Happy Holidays!
Alison Stuckey is a visionary leader and founder of Live Love and Joy. She believes everyone deserves to live a full and joyous life with balance and purpose. Find out about her online courses here https://liveloveandjoy.com
Summary
Thank you to these wonderful women for sharing their personal holiday stories and ideas on celebrating the holiday season of what shapes to be the most unprecedented year of the 21st century.
To health and peace! Happy Holidays
