Quarantine Christmas is changing everything. There are so many things that you can’t do.
You can’t travel, have extended family over, visit Santa, or go caroling. Towns and cities are canceling their regular holiday festivities.
Everyone has to maintain social distancing and mask up to go outside their homes. The feeling of giving, love, and joy seems to be a little dampened due to all the restrictions.
That can make it tough to get into the mood to celebrate. It may also leave you wondering if there is any way to make this holiday jolly as you celebrate the season at home with only your immediate family.
Don’t give up hope! There are still many ways to keep the Christmas spirit alive with the following quarantine Christmas tips.
Recommended Read: What Will You Do When the Toilet Paper Runs Out?
Quarantine Christmas: Tried and True
Once you start to look at things, you’ll realize there are still many activities you usually do that work just fine during the quarantine. These tried and true activities are a great way to ensure your family will be rockin’ around the Christmas tree.
1. Make cookies
No holiday is complete without some tasty baked goods. You can still bake up a storm, and there’s no better way to do it than to make some sugar cookies. This is always a fun family activity. The kids can help roll out and cut the dough, and once baked, they can decorate the cookies.
Good Housekeeping suggests that you can even package some up to drop off or mail to family and friends just as you would do in a typical year.
2. Decorate your home
Go big on the decorating this year. After all, what else do you have to do? You can pull out every holiday decoration you can find and dress your home up to the nines.
You can even get a real tree this year because outdoor activities such as cutting down a real tree are still something allowable under quarantine guidelines.
You can add a little bit of craftiness to the season by making your own ornaments and decorations. String popcorn or bake up some clay ornaments. Let your kids get out the paint and glitter and go to town.
3. Read Christmas books
Reading is the perfect quarantine activity, so grab your favorite holiday-themed books, put on your No products found., and settle in for family reading time. Add a fire if you have a fireplace and some hot chocolate to make things even cozier.
No products found.
No products found.
4. Play some games
If you feel like boredom is setting in, bring out the games, and start playing. Gather up any games you have, from those for your little kids to all-stars like Monopoly. Playing games can occupy many hours, but you won’t even notice the time flying by because you’ll be having so much fun.
5. Cook a big meal
Every year, you probably plan to make an extravagant Christmas meal, but more often than not, you simply can’t find the time to do it. If nothing else, 2020 has blessed us all with time. Spend quarantine perfecting some fancy recipes and put them all together to create the holiday feast of your dreams.
6. Have a movie marathon
Whether your favorite holiday movie is a traditional pick, such as Frosty the Snowman, or more modern, such as Die Hard, you can gather everyone in the house to watch a marathon of them all.
If you don’t have movies in your own stash, you should be able to rent them or find them on streaming services. Relive your favorites and discover new ones as you enjoy spending time together.
7. Send Christmas cards
Sending Christmas cards is another thing that usually goes on the back burner, and you never get it done, but in the year of the quarantine, you shouldn’t have any problem finding the time to do them this year. If you want, you can even make homemade cards to send out.
8. Go sledding
Getting some fresh air is great. Exercising makes you feel amazing. When you can combine the two with snow and a sled, it makes for some great fun.
So, break out the old sleds or order some new ones. As soon as you have the next nice snowfall, hit the hills with your family for a day of shrieking and thrills.
9. Build a snowman
You don’t need to go anywhere to have a fun time. Sometimes, just stepping out your front door makes for a great way to spend the afternoon. If you get enough snow, you and your family can design and create a snowman.
Have some fun adding clothing items and creating faces. You can even add a mask as a head nod to the times in which we are living.
Quarantine Christmas: Modernize Old Favorites
Technology is undoubtedly making this quarantine easier. Imagine trying to do this in the 1980s before the internet was mainstream! Use technology to your advantage by modernizing some old favorite activities that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to do because of quarantine.
1. Video visits with Santa
Visits to the mall or local shops are void of Santa this year because of social distancing restrictions. However, your kids are only little once and will only believe for so long. You don’t want to lose out on a whole year.
Luckily, there are many opportunities for virtual visits with Santa where your kids can interact and, most importantly, tell Santa what they want for Christmas.
2. Video calls with relatives
Perhaps the most heartbreaking thing about quarantine Christmas is not being able to get together with loved ones.
If you feel like no holiday is complete without seeing your extended family, then video calls can be a great way to reconnect. It’s the modern way to visit that is entirely risk-free, and anyone can do it as long as they have a device and internet.
3. Go virtual caroling
Just as you can talk with family over video calls, you can also pay a visit to friends and others through video caroling. Prepare your song list, practice until you’re perfect, and invite everyone to tune into your caroling call.
4. Host a virtual party
Technology can also save your holiday parties. Delish suggests inviting guests to each make their own appetizers and have a cocktail handy so that you can get together for a unique virtual party.
You can play games and talk just as you would in person. Make sure you have some Christmas music queued up to play in the background.
5. Make a holiday-themed photo booth
A super fun activity for the whole family is creating a holiday-themed photo booth in your own home. Order what you need, including backgrounds and props, online. Then, start snapping photos of the goofiness that is sure to happen.
You can even combine this with sending out Christmas cards by including a photo booth pic with each card.
Quarantine Christmas: Make the Best of Restrictions
Some activities will be different this year, no matter how normal you try to make things. Fortunately, there are many ways to make the best of restrictions and still enjoy many traditional activities.
1. Shop online
While most stores are still open, you may not feel safe doing as much shopping as you usually do. Stay safe and still get what you need by shopping online. Just make sure you pay attention to deadlines.
Shipping usually slows down this time of year, and with the pandemic, extra use of the mail to deliver goods is overwhelming the postal service and other delivery services, so make sure to start your online shopping early.
2. Drive through light displays
You can still enjoy Christmas lights just as you always have. Many walk-through displays have been adjusted this year to allow you to drive through, which is much safer. Head out in the night to take in some simply beautiful works of art made out of twinkling lights.
3. Enjoy socially distanced outdoor holiday events
Many locations that usually host large groups for the holidays are finding ways to create socially distanced events. You should search in your area to see how locals are handling things like this.
It can be fun to don your holiday-themed masks and get out of the house for something that makes you feel a bit more normal.
4. Join online trends
The New York Times tells about how early in the pandemic, people were putting up Christmas lights to share online. They are still at it, and now that the holiday season is in full swing, you’ll find a range of hashtags.
Try your hand at joining in on the fun by posting your pictures and hashtags. You can even start a trend of your own.
One thing to note is that the trend to share the spirit with others is much like the origin of Christmas decorations. People started decorating this time of year to help chase away the blah feeling that winter can bring.
You are doing the same when you decorate your home or put up lights and share them with others during quarantine Christmas.
Recommended Read: Food Storage Calculator – How Much Food Do You Really Need?
Quarantine Christmas: Don’t Forget Giving Back
Christmas is really about giving, and people are in need more this year than ever before. With so many people out of work or working reduced hours, it can make it a struggle to find joy in the season.
While volunteering in person may be off the table, there are still ways to give back and help make someone else’s holiday holly jolly.
1. Donate to a food pantry
Food is an essential item that many people are finding difficult to afford. Help ensure that every family can eat well this holiday season by making donations to your local food pantry.
Remember, canned goods and other non-perishable items work best since pantries do not often have the capabilities to refrigerate items, so dip into your canned storage to help out a family in need.
2. Drop off snacks
Essential workers haven’t gotten a break at all this year. Many of them, such as those in the medical field, are even working extra hours to keep everyone healthy and safe.
These people can feel overwhelmed and underappreciated, so help them see that we really are thankful for everything they do by putting together care packages of snacks and goodies to drop off at hospitals, police stations, and even grocery stores for workers.
3. Help out homeless pets
While many pets in shelters have been lucky and found new forever homes this year, there are still many more left without homes. Shelters can always use a range of products, from dog and cat treats to blankets.
Put together a care package for your local shelter and drop it off with Christmas wishes for the pets still waiting to find their home for the holidays.
Quarantine Christmas Wrapping Up
Don’t let the idea of quarantine Christmas get you down. As you can see, there are still many ways to celebrate and have a lovely holiday season.
Whether you choose to get creative, enjoy the snow, make friends with technology, or simply give back, you are sure to have an amazing holiday despite the challenges 2020 has thrown at you.
Katy Willis is a writer, lifelong homesteader, and master herbalist, master gardener, and canine nutritionist. Katy is a preparedness expert and modern homesteader practicing everyday preparedness, sustainability, and a holistic lifestyle.
She knows how important it is to be prepared for whatever life throws at you, because you just never know what's coming. And preparedness helps you give your family the best chance to thrive in any situation.
Katy is passionate about living naturally, growing food, keeping livestock, foraging, and making and using herbal remedies. Katy is an experienced herbalist and a member of the CMA (Complementary Medical Association).
Her preparedness skills go beyond just being "ready", she's ready to survive the initial disaster, and thrive afterward, too. She grows 100% organic food on roughly 15 acres and raises goats, chickens, and ducks. She also lovingly tends her orchard, where she grows many different fruit trees. And, because she likes to know exactly what she's feeding her family, she's a seasoned from-scratch cook and gluten-free baker.
Katy teaches foraging and environmental education classes, too, including self-sufficient living, modern homesteading, seed saving, and organic vegetable gardening.
Katy helps others learn forgotten skills, including basic survival skills and self-reliance.
She's been published on sites such as MSN, Angi, Home Advisor, Family Handyman, Wealth of Geeks, Readers Digest, and more.
Last update on 2024-05-08 at 20:58 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Great post with some clever and fun ideas for a quarantined Christmas. Personally I always donate Christmas meals to the homeless as I imagine it’s a particularly lonely time for them without there even being people on the street to talk to as everyone is at home.
Likewise will do a virtual party / zoom event and it should be fun.