How to spend this Christmas in a pandemic
The pandemic has put a different tone to Christmas. Image source: pixabay.com.
Christmas is almost here, and although we would like to celebrate it normally, this will not be possible, so it will be an atypical Christmas in many ways. Many will not be able to meet with the whole family, in my case, a large part of my family will not be able to move from other cities and from outside the country to meet with us, and it always took a few days to accompany my husband to visit his parents, so this year our Christmas dinner will be a little smaller. On the other hand, it is a custom for us to take our son to see the decoration of the squares, but I still don't feel ready to take him to crowded places. And if we add the economic crisis in my country, we will have a Christmas with different nuances and restrictions.
So breaking with several traditions can produce many emotions that may be difficult to manage, such as concern, restlessness or nostalgia for not being able to celebrate Christmas as I used to. Feelings such as frustration and anger may also appear because our expectations are not met or we are told to reach conformity because of so many restrictions, even aversion to this Christmas may develop in cases where the loss of a loved one has been experienced because of this virus.
Image source: pxhere.com.
So, in order to face these days before the holiday itself with the most constructive spirit possible, we can follow these guidelines to be able to properly manage the emotions we have described above, and spend our Christmas as best as possible from an emotional point of view.
1. Stop repeating the same topic
Christmas is a beautiful time and celebration, Christians celebrate the arrival of Jesus Christ, in other places have their customs, but for all the meaning is always related to happiness and joy, so it is advisable not to spend the night talking about issues relating to the virus, and give way to the expression of greater diversity of emotions that can enrich the evening and the communication experience. If we get stuck on the topic that has filled almost the entire year with news and our daily conversation, it is not stimulating for an evening of celebration and it also fuels unfounded fears about it.
Image source: pxhere.com.
2. Taking into account the children of the house
Image source: pixabay.com.
They also have their opinions and feelings about this pandemic, they have lived it with us all this time, so we should not assume that they take for granted that everything related to the pandemic is going to disappear with Christmas, they should already be assuming that this year Christmas has the pandemic integrated, however, it is not superfluous to remind them that this year maybe the grandparents or some uncle will not be present at the celebration, or like in my house, to inform them in advance that there will be no skateboard in the square; but that in spite of everything we will talk to them through video calls and that the dinner and the gifts of Santa and the baby Jesus will be present.
3. Planning
If there is one thing that feeds the uncertainty is not planning ahead, keep in mind that preparing for the Christmas celebration and the shopping that goes with it can be stressful. While it is true that some conditions cannot be foreseen, and there are always things that must be adapted on the fly, at least having a general idea to work on is very useful. Think about what you want to do and how you will do it, and even what you don't want to do. I know that this year my celebration will be small, so I am only concentrating on that day, and I decided that I do not want to participate in meetings with work groups, first because I still prefer to avoid restaurants or meetings with many people and second to control my budget.
4. Relieves the collective pressure to buy gifts
Image source: pixabay.com.
I know, the exchange of gifts is a custom that comes with Christmas. But in the midst of the pandemic and also going through an economic crisis, it is better not to fuel the dynamics that lead us to spend money for the sake of spending it. In my house I have proposed that there will only be gifts for children, and I discussed it with my family to agree, so that those on a tighter budget are not so compromised.
5. Take a moment to meet again
Christmas is a time of reunion with those people we love and that for various circumstances we see very little, obviously this year we do not have the same margin of freedom to do so, however do not waste the potential of video calls and plan a moment of quality with these people, do not make the fact of not being present is a reason not to meet again this year, even if it is only through the phone. And of course, take some time to reconnect with yourself, I enjoy watching Christmas movies the day after Christmas, but I don't cook haha, I love to repeat Christmas dinner, so we reheat the leftovers. And don't worry, it's okay if you want to leave space for negative emotions, take some time to deal with them, because they are also part of you.
Image source: pixabay.com.
6. Be more flexible.
Loosen the tension that the restrictions imposed by the pandemic can cause and relativize its importance, do not lose the perspective that it is only this time, next Christmas will be much better. If you haven't had a tragic event because of this virus, try not to give more importance to something that doesn't have it, and don't spend the day thinking about how it could have been better, and keep in mind that there are many people in the world who might have a really bad time, because of the pandemic or other circumstances, if at least we have a small and simple celebration, we are already luckier than many people whose situation is more precarious or sad than ours.
Well friends, these are just a few tips we can keep in mind so as not to let negative emotions cloud this special moment of celebration, Christmas that will undoubtedly leave a mark on our personal history.
I hope you enjoyed the reading, until next time!
hope the pandemic ends together with the new year
We all hope that it will be so
Good advice @yusvelasquez, I agree that we should not get stuck with the issue of coronavirus during the celebration of Christmas, it's time to be happy and that does not help.
That's right, it's better to focus on sharing and talking about good things.