How to Celebrate the Holidays When You’re Far From Home

Far from home during the holidays? Make new traditions! (Photo: iStock/LPETTET)

By Laurel Robbins / Monkeys and Mountains Adventure Travel Blog

Perhaps you’ve had visions of escaping family dramas by celebrating Christmas on the beach, or maybe you’re living overseas. Regardless of why you’re not at home, it can be tough celebrating the holidays without family. I spent my first Christmas away from my family in Thailand crying. But while celebrating the holidays without your clan will be different, it doesn’t have to be a complete bust! I’ve now spent six Christmas holidays abroad (and counting), and I’ve discovered these five tips to make it easier:

1. Have Christmas Dinner with a Local Twist

It may not be possible to have a turkey with all the trimmings and your grandmother’s secret-recipe stuffing, so don’t stress about trying to create the “perfect” Christmas dinner. No turkey? A roast chicken makes a lovely substitute. This is the time to experiment with new traditions — a side of Pad Thai, instead of mashed potatoes adds a Thai twist if you’re in Thailand, not to mention how much easier it is find. No Christmas tree? Try stringing lights around a palm tree. No snow? Build a sandman and give him a Santa hat.

Alternatively, you can head to a large international hotel. There’s a good chance that they will be serving something resembling a Christmas dinner.

2. Invite “Orphans” to Your Christmas Dinner

Besides your travel companions or regular circle of friends, extend your invitation to people you don’t know very well or even, perhaps, at all. Spending Christmas alone sucks for many people and is a time of loneliness. Now is the perfect opportunity to spread some of that Christmas cheer. Ask friends to invite people who are spending Christmas solo, or post an invitation on a local discussion forum. You can ask everyone to bring something to keep the costs and the work to a minimum. In exchange for your generosity, you may just meet some amazing people and perhaps make some new friends!

Related: Last-Minute Holiday Travel Survival Guide

3. Invite Locals to Your Christmas Dinner

If you’ve ever been invited to participate in a local holiday that you don’t have at home, you will know how much locals will appreciate your invitation. I will never forget how lonely I felt when I was living in South Korea (I’d been there just few weeks) and Chinese New Year came around. All my colleagues were making plans for a holiday that I had never celebrated before, nor knew how to celebrate. A colleague I didn’t know very well invited me to spend the occasion with her family. Despite the language barrier it was one of my most memorable nights in all my travels. So just because someone doesn’t celebrate Christmas, doesn’t mean they won’t appreciate experiencing it with you. It’s also a nice way to repay locals who have been helpful or kind to you during your stay in their country.

In Germany, where I now live, most of my German friends would love to experience a Thanksgiving celebration. I’ve made a promise to a few to hold a gathering and invite them so they can see for themselves what that holiday is all about!

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Sometimes the most unexpected activities become the most memorable. (Photo: Richie Diesterheft/Flickr)

4. Do Something Nice for Yourself

Yes, Christmas is about more than just the gifts, but this is a chance to treat yourself if you’re feeling down. I love to buy a book I’ve been meaning to read, then take several hours to sit down and enjoy it over a glass of wine. In our busy world, sometimes the gift of time is the best gift you can give yourself.

Related: The Secret Weapon for Beating Holiday Travel Stress

5. Do Something Completely Un-Christmassy

During my second year of living in Thailand, some friends and I headed for the beach. We spent the day snorkeling crystal clear waters, chasing fish, then getting massages on the beach. There was nothing Christmassy about it all, yet it was a great day. Sometimes doing something unexpected, or something that you’ve always wanted to do but have never tried, is the best cure for the holiday blues!

Celebrating Christmas while vacationing or living abroad will not be like celebrating at home, but it can be special and memorable in its own way. Years later, when I reflect on my favorite winter holiday, snorkeling in Thailand will be near the top of my list.

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