blogmas 2020: how we're celebrating at home
obviously things are different this year. I know we’re all tired of hearing that, but it doesn’t make it any less true, or any less real. for the past 2 years, my friends have celebrated “friendsgivemas” together. it’s hard for us to all connect at the same time, between school schedules, work schedules, and the whole “we don’t all live in the same part of the state - or even the same state” thing. and while we get together throughout the year, friendsgivemas is how we celebrate the holidays together. it’s friendsgiving + christmas wrapped into one. and in a normal year, we’d connect again to ring in the new year together.
this year is obviously much harder for us to connect. and while we’ve found a (safe and responsible) way to see each other in person at the end of the year (as long as state/county restrictions don’t change by then), we’ve all found ways to celebrate differently this year!
here’s a few of my favorite ways we’ve safely celebrated this year!
FRIEND/FAMILY GATHERINGS
game nights over Zoom - we love Jackbox, it’s super easy for everyone to get involved playing this way!
Teleparty (formerly Netflix Party) - the perfect way to watch netflix together without actually, you know, being together
twitch/Discord - if you like gaming, it’s a super easy way for all of you to join in on the fun together. if you have a capture card, you can stream your game for your friends and family to see, or you can all just chat together in a Discord session!
BIRTHDAYS
for my pop-pop’s birthday, we had a Zoom call with the whole family and got to sing him happy birthday. I haven’t seen my grandparents (in person) since February, much less my whole family all at one time. this was perfect.
with a late summer birthday, I was able to celebrate within my quarantine pod, and take a quick road trip to the Hamptons. obviously this is no longer doable, but my birthday was back in the “less restricted” phase of things. aside from the day trip, we had brunch at home, and just enjoyed being together. I normally go to Disney World for my birthday (our family trips to Florida would usually overlap with my birthday, so it became a tradition of sorts), but that was clearly out of the question. regardless, I still had a magical birthday, even if I couldn’t even blow out my own candles.
OUR ANNIVERSARY
the real reason for this post: today is our 8 year dating anniversary! normally, we’d go out to dinner, or celebrate with a trip to NYC and/or Disney World (yes, again, if you’re new here, I do actually enjoy going to Disney World as an adult). though we’d planned to drive back up to NYC this year, it’s really not advisable, or really even doable based on current travel restrictions, nor what’s in our comfort zone. so this year, we’re celebrating at home! for us, that means a fun homemade dinner, followed up by a not-so-competitive gingerbread house decorating competition, and lastly, cozying up with a Christmas movie. since today is a work day for both of us, we’ll celebrate tomorrow with a scavenger hunt around the house! we’ve both written up clues with silly tasks and riddles to send us all over the house and yard, leading up to the anniversary gift that we got for one another.
HOLIDAYS
bonus picture of Blue “helping” prep one of the batches of mac + cheese this thanksgiving
now that the holiday season is fully upon us, the reality of how different things are this year is setting in. but we’re doing the best we can, and keeping each other safe so that maybe next year, we can sit at the same table for Thanksgiving again.
for Thanksgiving: my cousins and I exchanged the dishes we normally make for our big family dinner. we exchanged our dishes in the driveway (wearing masks, obviously), and then ate our meals at home. even though we weren’t together, it was nice knowing that we were at least sharing the same meal. earlier in the day, we had a Zoom call with everyone, and while it was odd not hearing my pop-pop bless the food as he’s done every year that I can recall, it was just nice to see my family.
for Christmas: this one will just about gut me this year. it’s my favorite holiday, and I love seeing my family at our annual Christmas party. I expect it’ll be like Thanksgiving - a safe, socially distanced gift/dish exchange, and a Zoom call where we can all see each other. I’m lucky to live so close to my family, but this year it just makes it hurt a little more - so close, but so far. and for my out of state family, we’ll mail gifts like always, and probably hop on another Zoom call!
for New Year’s: as stated above, we’ll try to make our little squad gathering happen, but we’re obviously paying close attention to the situation. but should we be able to proceed - it means quarantining beforehand, COVID tests, alladat. we normally have new year’s day dinner with the fam (greens and black eyed peas, if you know, you know). also, obviously not happening in its normal capacity this year. and while we’re bummed, we’ll drop off dinner for the fam, celebrate 2021 with some champagne, and hope that by 12/31/21, we’re singing a different tune.
