How to Spend Christmas Away From Home

Christmas away from home is always tough – if you’ve never experienced one, then take it from us expats at Europe Language Jobs. It's normal to experience all sorts of emotions when spending  Christmas away from home. 

For many people, this is a reality, especially if you work or study in a foreign country. Unfortunately, this isn't always a decision we make. Sometimes, there can be great difficulties when it comes to getting home for Christmas; whether it's the price of flights, company policies, or your workload. Whatever the reason, spending Christmas away from home doesn't have to be as difficult as it sounds. 

We’ve compiled a list of cosy alternatives to the traditional family Christmas to help those of you who have to spend the Yuletide alone.

How to spend Christmas away from home?

1. Make new friends
2. Get together with friends
3. Volunteer
4. Stay in touch
5. Send cards and gifts
6. Embrace local traditions
7. Try new things
8. Decorate your home
9. Prepare comfort food
10. Book a getaway
11. Rest 

1. Make new friends

Although you won't be spending Christmas with the people you normally do, this is a frosted window of opportunity to bond with others. It's the perfect time to learn about new cultures, take an impromptu trip away or give a little Christmas spirit to those who need it the most. 

Look for Christmas events happening near you. You surely aren't the only person in this situation, so there are bound to be fun meet-ups organised by other expats in your area. 

2. Get together with friends

You can also ask around among your local friends - maybe some of them also aren't planning to spend Christmas away from home and would be happy to celebrate together. 

Or, if you can't go back home for Christmas due to outrageous prices of flight tickets, maybe you have friends who live closer? You could visit them instead and still get to spend the holidays with your loved ones - even if they're not family. 

3. Volunteer

If you're not in the mood for either of these options, consider making somebody else's Christmas worthwhile. You can volunteer at a Christmas charity event and either help prepare and serve food or keep company for those who need it. This way, your disappointment over spending Christmas away from home can be countered by the contentment of doing something good. 

4. Stay in touch

In this day and age, there are many ways you can feel connected with your friends and family, even if you spend Christmas away from home. We enjoy the luxury of technology which allows us to send gifts and cards cheaply and even virtually. 

You can also be with your loved ones on Christmas day via a video call. It won't be the same as the real thing, but it's a way to see familiar faces during the festive season. 

5. Send cards and gifts

Sending Christmas cards and presents is a task very easily forgotten – but it's one of the most thoughtful things you can do for your friends and family. Although you may not be spending Christmas with your nearest and dearest, it's always nice to send a card or a gift to show your loved ones that you are still thinking of them. 

Luckily, certain websites have been set up, especially for us people who leave things until the last minute or are too busy to go out, buy presents and cards, wrap, and write them - we now have the power of the Internet to do it all for us. 

Websites like HelloPrint allow you to design your own cards, add personalised text and photos, and have them delivered. You can also choose from some generic but tasteful gifts, just to make sure that you don’t get in more trouble for missing Christmas AND not sending presents. 

6. Embrace local traditions

You have spent dozens of Christmases at home. You know the drill by now.

But how much do you know about how the holiday season is celebrated in your new home? 

Holiday season festivities can be very different from country to country. Spending Christmas away from home is a great opportunity to experience this unique element of the local culture. You haven't really integrated into your new home until you have spent a holiday there. 

There are a lot of new, exciting experiences awaiting you: sampling festive food, getting to know the traditions and customs, and tightening your bond with your local friends and the country itself. Attend markets, festivals, and other events to make the most out of this unique experience. 

7. Try new things

If you have friends from other countries who are also spending Christmas away from home, organise a party celebrating different cultures. Everyone can prepare food typical to their region and share customs and traditions with which they are familiar.

Novelty is the opposite of homesickness - you can focus on trying new things to keep the negative feelings of spending Christmas away from home at bay. You can also play Secret Santa to make your celebrations even cosier. 

7. Decorate your home

The first Christmas spent away from home is usually the most difficult - especially if the decision to stay wasn't entirely up to you but was provoked by external circumstances outside of your control.

A good way to deal with the initial disappointment is to prepare your home for Christmas. Bring in a Christmas tree - big or small, real or artificial. The size and type don't matter - it's its presence in your home that's important!

Buy garlands, tinsel, Christmas lights, and other ornaments to decorate your house or flat. This way, you will find it easier to sink into the festive spirit, despite spending Christmas away from home. Go all out - you deserve it! 

8. Prepare comfort food

Food is a crucial element of the holiday celebrations. Thinking about Christmas, your mind probably skips to all the dishes that typically grace your table this time of the year.

However, the food you associate with the holiday season may be different from that popular in your new home. If that is the case, you won't encounter it at a local celebration. Similarly, watching your loved ones eat a traditional meal over a video call might leave you feeling homesick.

Ask your family for recipes and prepare your favourite meals that you associate with the festive season when you spend Christmas away from home. Keep in mind that some ingredients may be difficult to find in your new country - start planning ahead of time so that your family can send you the missing items as a Christmas gift. 

9. Book a getaway

If you believe that spending Christmas away from home would be too upsetting for you, then why not give yourself the ultimate distraction? Take a trip!

If you want snow, head North. If you hate the cold weather, then head South! You can visit a Christmas destination to embrace the festive spirit, or do the exact opposite - spend the holiday season sipping cocktails on the beach, if you'd rather take your mind off Christmas. 

Top tip: stay in a hostel! That way, you’ll easily meet travellers and people in a similar situation. Many hostels organise special holiday events connecting the staff and guests, so you may even get to attend a cosy Christmas dinner. 

10. Rest

Often, Christmas at home requires so many preparations, that we don't even get the opportunity to rest like we should (and deserve!). There are presents to buy, guests to host, food to prepare, and houses to clean... All of this generates so much stress, that we often end up wishing Christmas didn't come at all!

Spending Christmas away from home is your chance to relax. If you want, you can seek company. If not, it's absolutely fine to stay alone. You get to eat whatever you'd like, decorate the house however you see fit, and clean only as much as you consider necessary.

Nobody is force-feeding you traditional food you don't enjoy or making comments about that one spot you missed when mopping up the floor. You are the boss of you, and you don't need to eat or do anything you don't want to. 

Instead of answering nosy questions about your career or love life, you can do whatever makes you happy. Curl up with a book, go for a walk, knit, or binge-watch Christmas films. You can connect with your family over a video call without having to wash the dishes after dinner. 

Spending Christmas away from home suddenly doesn't sound so bad... does it?

Hopefully, we’ve provided you with some comforting alternatives to the traditional Christmas holidays. Life is too short to spend it upset, so use this opportunity to do something you enjoy - whatever it might be.

On our side, we wish you all the best for the upcoming holiday season. No matter where and how you spend it, we hope you will get the rest you deserve and do things that make you smile. Happy holidays, from our Europe Language Jobs team, to you!

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