This article originally appeared on Behind the Curtain from the 5th Avenue Theater. Premera Blue Cross Case Manager Andrea Donovan-DuPont, a licensed social worker, shares with us tips for handling a physically distanced holiday season.
Even in “normal” years, the holidays can be stressful. Finding perfect gifts, delighting children with holiday magic-and then sharing it all in social media posts is a lot of pressure.
To be honest, purchasing gifts seem to be the toughest task. You have to visit stores, find a gift that might suit the person, and check whether it is affordable or not. The same thing happens year after year. However, the most challenging part is choosing gifts for teenagers, especially if they are about to graduate from high school. These are the people who will be transitioning to a new life soon. So, gifting them a photo frame or a deodorant spray might not be very useful. Perhaps, buying them something that can help them reminisce about their senior year in the school can make a perfect gift. Take, for example, senior apparel that can be designed to match the recipients’ style and graduation year. This could help them to display their class pride wherever they go. That said, if you are considering this idea, then why not look here to find shops like Jostens that can offer affordable senior apparel options.
Anyway, coming back to the topic, this year, in addition to all the other holiday activities and work, we’re adding the burden of worrying about our health and facing the reality that celebrations won’t look like they usually do. If this brings up feelings for you, you’re not alone.
Acknowledge the Grief
There might not be money for extravagant meals and presents. Holiday gatherings are canceled. There’s no live Christmas musical at The Fifth Avenue Theater. It can be difficult to realize we can’t do all our favorite traditions this year.
Take the time to check in with yourself and acknowledge what you’re feeling and sit with it for a minute. From there, you can determine what you need to do to move forward and take care of others. It starts with taking the time to feel what you need to feel.
Once you’re ready, you might find some creative ways to maintain some traditions. Going for a drive to look at lights could get you in the spirit. You could also take some gatherings virtual-like gift opening over video chat or sending photos for gingerbread house judging.
But, before you do anything else, you must plan everything and notify your boss of your plans ahead of time. The reason is he might have planned the schedule and office tasks considering you as well in mind, so it’d be much better to check out the list of all the holidays. And if you can plan your holidays, especially at that time of year, it might be much more acceptable for your company and your growth. If interested, you can find the list of federal holidays in the United States on this site: zenefits.com. If you live somewhere else, you can easily find a list of holidays on the internet by searching for a list of holidays in your country.
Allow Yourself Some Grace
This has been a challenging year for many of us. Try to have some compassion for yourself. You don’t have to celebrate at the same level you did in previous years. You might even decide that some holiday traditions were more overwhelming than enjoyable and decide to let them go. You could simply stay at home and play games. In that regard, trying role-playing card games (browse this site to know more about card games) such as Dungeons and Dragons with your kids could be a great way to have fun with them. You can take advantage of this opportunity to spend time with them and make them feel more special. It could also be a solution to prevent yourself from getting bored. To get rid of your boredom, you can also watch movies, and relax in the comfort of your own bed. You can also invest in sports betting iowa to pass the time. It may increase not only your adrenaline level but also your earnings, to some extent.
Your loved ones want you happy more than anything else, so enjoy the holidays the way that makes sense to you this year.
Tell Others What You Need
You can’t always assume that people know what you need, so reach out to your loved ones and tell them. Let them know how they can support you.
That could include canceling usual gatherings, cutting back on gift-giving, or asking for weekly phone calls.
COVID-19 has left many people isolated. This can be especially challenging in the dark, winter months. Help is available. Check your health insurance company’s website for information on finding mental health care. Flexible, low-cost virtual care options are also available.
Reimagine the Holidays
Reframing the situation can help you enjoy it differently. For example, you can look forward to a low-stress holiday in your own home instead of feeling disappointed that you can’t travel. A favorite quote of mine is “gratitude turns what we have into enough.” Feeling grateful for what you do have might help you get through the unusual season.
Finally, remember this isn’t forever. This is temporary. We’re going to be back to our holiday traditions in the near future.
While you can’t go to the theater right now, if you want something special for the holiday season, check out digital offerings from the 5th Avenue Theater.
Image by visualspace
