Feeling Alone & Homesick Around the Holidays
With the holiday season right around the corner, it is only natural to start thinking about your holiday plans, wishes, and expectations! Whether you have a fairytale holiday agenda lined up or plan to lay low this year, holidays can take a toll on you physically and emotionally. For those of you spending the holidays abroad, on a mission, on duty overseas, or just apart from your loved ones, feeling homesick (meaning you are missing home), is only natural! If you find yourself in this situation this year, we are sharing our nine best-kept secrets on how to avoid feeling homesick during the holiday season!
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Being Away From Friends or Family During the Holidays
For some reason, the holidays have a funny way of reminding us of any feelings of loneliness. They also make our hearts yearn for some familiarity. For some of us, the holidays may also remind us that we may not necessarily have a home or family to be with. Furthermore, there are no clear-cut rules for homesickness. Some holidays may be extremely tough, while others seem to fly by.
Perhaps you’re experiencing homesick symptoms. Well, for starters, it is completely normal to feel the need to hole up in your room and withdraw from everyone and everything. You may want to cry, scream, vent, or feel completely unmotivated. While it may seem like no one else in the world understands your homesick symptoms, rest assured, knowing your feelings are valid and you are seen.
Regardless of how you react to your feelings, recognizing that you are indeed feeling homesick lies in your thoughts about returning to your home. And unfortunately, anything can trigger those thoughts. It may be a waft of a specific scent, the lack of creature comforts, seeing other families together, a particular food, or even a familiar smile.
How to Cope With Feelings of Homesickness
Unfortunately, there is no magic pill to get over homesickness. However, the good news is that you do have options! Let’s check out our nine best insider tips on how to cope with feelings of homesickness during the holidays!
1. Aquire Some Comforts from Home – Nothing feels more like “home” than your favorite brand of hot cocoa, local treats, or even a familiar song or movie. Surround yourself with items, products, or places that feel like home to you. Consider getting Homesick Candles. You can grab one for any major city, and when lit, they smell like the city they are named after!
2. FaceTime Baking Date – One of everyone’s all-time favorite holiday traditions is baking treats with their families! If this is a tradition you have to miss this year, consider setting up a FaceTime Baking Date. You can sit on FaceTime with your family, make the same holiday recipe, and even watch the same holiday movie while baking. It’s so much fun, and you’ll also be left with a taste of your traditional treats.
3. Plan a Teleparty – Ever heard of this? You can create a “Teleparty.” All your friends or family members can simultaneously watch a TV show or movie online together in your respective houses. You can utilize various streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, and more! The videos are perfectly synced and even include a group chat. You can chat with each other and upload emojis, screenshots, and even GIFs. So, pick your favorite holiday movie, grab some snacks, and enjoy a long-distance movie night with your family.
4. Matching Family Pajamas – Many families wear matching jammies during the holiday season, and you can still participate in this even from afar! You and your family can team up and select a style of PJs to adorn throughout the season. You’ll be reminded of your family members and your silly traditions every time you pop them on. You can even plan to wear them during your Baking or Teleparty Date!
5. Create a Family Photo Album – When the year begins to come to an end, it’s only natural to reflect upon the events that happened over the last 365 days. And what better way to hold onto those precious memories than creating a family photo album? Have everyone in your family find photos of all the fun things you did and all the good memories you had from the year. Then, you can all put them together in a photo album and order one for each family member.
6. Create New Traditions – If you have to celebrate a holiday away from family or loved ones this year, you don’t have to miss out on ALL the fun and festivities. First, we recommend keeping up with your usual holiday traditions. This is an easy way to help you feel more “at home.” However, starting some of your own traditions is a good idea too! This may be a special Thanksgiving craft, making reindeer food for Christmas, hiding Easter eggs in a neighbor’s yard, etc. Anything to bring up those holiday spirits!
7. Focus on What You’re Thankful For – The holidays are a perfect reflection time! If you are feeling alone or spending this holiday away from your loved ones, take this time to sit down and have a quiet moment to yourself. Reflect upon what you are thankful for, what blessings you currently have in your life, and what you enjoyed most about the past year. This practice will help you to have a positive mindset moving forward.
8. Host a Friendsgiving/Friends Christmas – Just because you are away from your family this holiday doesn’t mean you can’t still have a blow-out holiday gathering! Consider inviting your friends over to celebrate the festivities with you. For example, you could host a Friendsgiving dinner, a Friends Christmas Eve brunch, or a Friends Easter egg hunt. The possibilities are truly endless here.
9. Limit Social Media – Alright, alright. We know this one may be tricky for some of you. BUT, if you are already feeling a bit down this holiday season, spending excessive time on social media will only worsen things. Seeing others with their friends, families, and loved ones on your home page might do more harm than good. So do yourself a favor and take a break for the day.
Sure, things may look a bit different this year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make the best of it. So, if you are finding yourself in a not-so-ideal holiday situation this year, take the day to throw yourself a pity party. Then, when you’re all finished, it’s time to put some of these ideas into action! With an open mind and a little creativity, we promise you can still have a great holiday this year.
Happy Holidays!
