There are a myriad of Christmas movies that center around the storyline of trying to get home for the holidays. The main one that comes to mind is the classic “Home Alone” with Catherine O’Hara’s character standing in yet another airport desperately screaming to the weary ticket agent, “I’m trying to get home to my eight year old son!” One obvious element of the holiday season is being together with family. But what happens if, for whatever reason, you aren’t able to travel home? As life progresses, the way holidays look may change including not seeing family every holiday. While change can often be exciting, it can also come with feelings of homesickness or missing the comforts of home. Finding ways to connect with your family while being away from them over the holiday season can be challenging. We’ll offer some ideas to connect with family virtually as well as offer suggestions for gifts that might encourage anyone feeling lonely this Christmas season. 

One of our favorite movies of the season is “Four Christmases” with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon trying to avoid their dysfunctional families on Christmas. Every year they plan a vacation to prevent them from spending the holidays with their parents and siblings, until a weather delay forces them to attend four Christmas meals in one day. It makes for a hilarious plot but, in actuality, many people want to be with their families – even if they sometimes drive us crazy! However, it may be that this year, your finances aren’t in a place to spend hundreds of dollars to travel home. Another reason could be the challenges of getting time off from work. When my husband and I lived in Washington DC, I worked for a national cable news network and, as you can imagine, the news doesn’t take a holiday. I have spent Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day in the office. It can definitely leave you feeling sad and homesick and not very merry. Your holiday season could be a mixture of bitter and sweet this year. Maybe you’ve recently gotten married and are experiencing “sharing” the holidays with your spouse’s family. Whatever the reason is for your separation, it can be challenging to find ways to feel connected. 

Finally, during the acceptance phase you might be in more of a stable headspace and be able to manage holiday emotions by setting boundaries and taking time to balance grief and gratitude. Make sure to identify common triggers and think through how you’ll respond to them, so there’s less chance you’ll be caught off guard. 

Can I be honest? Gifts stress me out. It’s not that I set out to be a Grinch and want to pack up all the presents in Who-Ville and send them over the side of a mountain but I just feel DISTRACTED by life and don’t have hours to devote to curated wish lists and dozens of Google searches to find “the perfect gift.” Am I the only one? Whether you are like me or you LOVE gift giving, we have some great ideas for self-care gifts, gifts to connect with family, gifts for homesickness or even long distance holiday gifts. Laurelbox offers a number of personalized gifts for anyone feeling sad this holiday season. If you or a loved one are grieving or missing someone this season, check out our heartfelt holiday collection. The Custom rotary candle set is special in that the heat of the flame spins the carousel of feather pendants. Feathers are a deeply symbolic and sacred symbol of everlasting connection, making this custom gift extra special in memory of a loved one. Each candle is customized with your loved one's name and includes a candle label. I could imagine how calming and therapeutic it could be to light the candle and watch the carousel spin while listening to Christmas music and journaling all the emotions you are feeling. Some of my favorite journals and notebooks are from Rifle Paper Company. Their colors and patterns just make me smile! If you can’t attend holiday festivities but want to send treats in your place, there’s always a honey-baked ham or collection of treats from Harry & David.

Maybe you’ll be spending Christmas away from family and instead of trying to recreate all your family’s traditions and meals (which let’s be honest, might end up being a let down), consider going a different route. Plan a self-care Treat Yo Self spa day (I’m a huge Parks and Rec fan!) with all the indulgences. Don’t stress about finding a spa open on Christmas day though. Use this list to create an at-home DIY pampering day that will leave you feeling refreshed and renewed. Don’t forget Laurelbox carries a variety of self-care gifts that are intentionally curated to promote peace, serenity and feelings of wellness. 

As enjoyable as a self-care day would be, make sure to plan time for in person and virtual connection as well. If you are away from family, be intentional about reaching out to local friends and organizations to be around people over the holidays. That could be planning a holiday shopping trip with new friends, bringing homemade treats to neighbors or even volunteering at a local non-profit. Studies show just some of the benefits for volunteering include:

• Improved physical and emotional health
• Stronger sense of purpose
• New skills learned
• Existing and new relationships nurtured

In addition to connecting with people locally, plan to spend time with your family and friends far away too. Since the covid pandemic, it’s never been easier to connect virtually via Zoom, Google Meet, Facetime or Whatsapp. Schedule a virtual holiday happy hour with friends near and far. You could play games during it, catch up on each other’s lives and even work off a specific theme for a unified food and/or drink of choice. If different time zones complicate schedules, plan to record some videos and share them. When we’ve been away from family, we’ve recorded our children opening gifts from far away grandparents and then sending that video. If you are struggling with homesickness over the holidays, be proactive in thinking through what would lift your spirits! As you can probably tell, our family loves to watch movies together. I’ve seen a number of platforms (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu) offer “watch parties” so you and your loved ones could even watch a favorite Christmas movie together! Grab the popcorn, call each other on speakerphone and enjoy the time together.

Being homesick during the holidays is no fun. We hope this blog offers creative ways for families who are unable to be together this holiday season to connect as well as find thoughtful gifts to send to loved ones during time apart. From self-care gifts and curated gift boxes to scheduling a virtual happy hour or streaming Christmas movie watch party, make sure to plan ahead and be intentional in finding ways to connect despite long-distances. How do you connect with far-away family and friends during the holidays? Let us know via email or our social channels!