This year, getting ready for the holidays may be a bit different. You no longer have to rush to the mall as online shopping is a safer and more convenient option. You might not also need to prepare elaborate meals. That’s especially true if you’re going to spend Christmas alone, with the coronavirus pandemic limiting travel and gatherings. But this doesn’t mean spending the holidays alone is all doom and gloom.
Here are some ways to prepare yourself and your home to enjoy going solo this holiday season:
Declutter your home
The holidays can bring a lot of clutter in the form of gift bags, cards, and wrapping papers. That still rings true even if you have to spend this season alone. As your family and friends can’t travel to see and celebrate with you, they are more likely to send gifts and goodies to your doorstep this year. Create spaces for these gifts and the clutter that comes with them by decluttering your home before Christmas.
While you’re at it, check whether there are parts of your home that need deep cleaning or professional service. Maybe, you need an air duct cleaning service. Even if you won’t entertain guests this year, it pays to have a healthy home this winter and as you welcome the new year. Perhaps, your kitchen needs deep cleaning before you go on a baking spree and send cookies and other goodies to your loved ones.
Prep your living area for virtual calls
Who says you shouldn’t decorate your living room this holiday season just because you’re alone? Virtual holiday celebrations are likely to be the trend this year. After decluttering, go on and get a tree. Decorate it with your favorite ornaments, so you have a festive background for all your Zoom parties this season. COVID-19 may mute festivities, but spending time with your loved ones, albeit virtually, can still be as loud and merry as before. You have to be extra creative and clever for all those online parties.
Build anticipation and create a plan
Often, the run-up to the holiday is more exciting than the day itself. So even if you’re going to be by yourself on Christmas day, you can still make a plan for that day and create excitement around it. What do you love to do on Christmas? You may want to recreate family traditions and put a twist on them. Or is there something you want to try but haven’t had the opportunity to do it? Maybe, it’s meant to happen this year. Spend the next days by planning so you can have something fun and exciting to look forward to.
Give back to the community
For you and your loved ones, this year of muted holiday celebration may only be temporary. But for others, holidays have always been lonely. So if you don’t have any plan for the big day, how about you spend it giving back to your community? You can drive around your neighborhood and give some food to the less fortunate. Consider spending an afternoon in the local soup kitchen. Don’t know what to do with some of the things you’ve decluttered while preparing for the holidays? You can donate those items to local charity organizations. Share the spirit of Christmas, even when you have to spend it alone.
Above all, let go of any stigma around being alone on one of the busiest and merriest days of the year. We all have been through a lot this 2020—we have to be a bit kinder to ourselves as we end this year. Whether you want to channel Marie Kondo, go on a hike, attend one Zoom party after another, or give back to your community, you can still make this holiday fun, exciting, fulfilling, and prosperous.
