Celebrating the Holidays Across Long Distances
The holidays are often a time to celebrate with friends and family, but the rise of Covid cases across the country has made traveling across state lines difficult and unsafe for some families. The good news is that many tools are available to keep families connected during the holidays. If you’re celebrating your holiday with loved ones at a distance, consider these options for a long-distance celebration.
Host a Virtual Dinner
You may not have the chance to get the entire family in one room, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a holiday meal together. Video conferencing tools such as Zoom and Google Hangouts make it easy to connect people across the country for a quick and easy meetup. Coordinate with your family ahead of time to have everyone cook the same dinner, or you can surprise your loved one by ordering food to their home. Don’t forget the desserts and festive drinks like hot chocolate and eggnog.
Enjoy a Movie Together
A movie night is an excellent activity for the entire family to enjoy. Streamlining services such as Netflix and Hulu make it possible to watch the same movie together on different screens. They also have a text chat box to send messages to each other during the movie.
If you’re planning a movie night, you can watch a holiday classic such as It’s a Wonderful Life or A Christmas Story or enjoy a family favorite. Encourage your loved ones to grab their go-to film snacks, and if everyone wants, you can plan monthly movie nights throughout the rest of the year.
Play Games Online
If you’re a competitive family, consider planning a virtual game night. Many traditional game night options are available online, or you can try something new with a virtual scavenger hunt or online mystery party. If you want to step up the competition, you can even offer the night’s winner a prize, such as a virtual gift card. And similar to a movie night, virtual games are a wonderful way to keep the family connected throughout the year.
Send Gifts and Cards
Not sure what to get your loved ones this year? Exchanging gifts across state lines can be challenging, but you can still shower your loved ones with presents and holiday cards even if you’re not physically together. If you plan to send your loved one a gift in the mail, consider holiday shipping delays and order early. Keep it simple with a holiday card or gift voucher to their favorite store or restaurant.
How Visiting Angels Can Help
If you have an aging loved one who lives long distance and needs additional care this holiday season, the team at Visiting Angels can help. We have a compassionate team of trained caregivers who can help your loved one with various nonmedical tasks such as light housekeeping, personal grooming, medication reminders, meal preparation, mobility assistance, and more.
Our Powder Springs office serves those in Marietta, Austell, Powder Springs, Dallas, and the surrounding Georgia communities. If you’d like to learn more about our services, you can complete this form online or call us at 770.222.7388.