This mother of 4 isn't letting the pandemic dampen her holiday spirit: 'Remember this is only temporary'

Angela Kim, mother of four and creator of the parenting blog Mommy Diary, isn’t letting the coronavirus pandemic dampen her holiday spirit.

Kim, who has more than 247k followers on Instagram, tells Yahoo Life that she’ll be keeping up with her family’s favorite holiday traditions this year, including cooking Christmas breakfast with her husband and children and baking holiday cookies from scratch. Kim shares that her family also loves to make a gingerbread house together.

“Every Christmas morning after opening gifts, we take a family selfie by the Christmas tree,” Kim tells Yahoo Life. “It's fun to set up a timer, make silly faces and document how much the kids have grown since the year before. Last year, I was nine months pregnant with our fourth baby, and this year we will be celebrating her first Christmas!”

How the family gets into the holiday mood

Kim says that her Christmas tree, the decorations on their fireplace mantle and her favorite Christmas song, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" all help her family get into the holiday spirit. When decorating their Christmas tree, Kim shares that she has some sentimental favorites — namely, ornaments that display her kids' baby photos.

And let’s not forget festive foods and drinks. Kim says that her favorites of the season are pumpkin pie and apple cider. But when it comes to wearing fancy versus casual clothes for the holidays, the Kim family likes to do a little bit of both. “We like to dress up when we go to church, but keep it casual in our cozy holiday pajamas when we're at home,” she says.

How the pandemic is affecting their holiday plans

Like many families, Kim says that she and her family have decided to downsize their holiday gatherings this year. She plans to keep their get-togethers small “with just our family and parents-in-law.”

To stay connected to out-of-town relatives over the holidays, Kim says, “We will have to do a family FaceTime on Christmas morning with my parents in Seattle because we miss them so much!”

For those who are not seeing extended family and close friends this year in an effort to stay safe during the pandemic, Kim shares some words of support: “I know we miss our loved ones terribly, especially during the holiday season, but remember that this is only temporary and that we still have a lot of things to be grateful for. Just the fact that we are safe at home and breathing clean air are blessings because so many people don't have this today.”

Even though traveling out of town and attending festive parties are on hold for many this year, the holidays can still leave people running low on energy or budget. However, Kim says there are easy and affordable ways you can create special memories at home with family. “For me, the best way to create meaningful holiday memories is to cuddle together and watch Christmas movies with twinkling Christmas lights in the room,” she says. “You can always add your family's favorite snacks and hot cocoa.”

How practicing gratefulness changed her life

Kim also tries to find ways to slow down and take care of herself — something that isn’t easy to do with four children. “After being home all year with the kids, I've gotten creative when it comes to ‘recharging my batteries,’” Kim says. Over the holidays, she says, “I plan to just be lazy at home without any work or Zoom meetings, bake cookies with my kids and take lots of bubble baths with a glass of wine.”

She credits her daily gratitude practice with helping her stay positive over the past few challenging months, saying it “changed my life tremendously.” Kim adds, “Just being present with my family brings me so much joy because 2020 taught me how to be grateful for every little thing. I don't take these ordinary moments for granted anymore.”

Read more from Yahoo Life:

• 'She's the Boss' star Nicole Walters on the importance of taking 'self-care sabbaticals'

• Why one family put up their Christmas tree early this year: 'It's 2020'

• 3 genius ways to turn food scraps into delicious treats, from coffee grounds to apple cores

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