The soothing caress of sun rays,
The free-falling flakes of snow,
The happy chirps of birds,
The warm embrace of blankets,
The fragrance of freshly baked cakes,
They all are echoes.
Echoes of the season of Christmas.
There is something magical about winter. As soon as our hands turn the calendar to December, an inexplicable feeling tiptoes into our hearts. A blend of happiness, excitement, hope, positivity—all that and so much more.
For most of us, winter is synonymous with Christmas, one of the biggest festivals of the year. Most of us plan enjoyable Christmas holiday activities with our friends and family well in advance. Amidst all the fun and joy, let us not forget the ones who are having to spend the Christmas holidays alone, away from home. Are you spending this Christmas alone and wondering how to enjoy the holidays?
Well, I have got you covered. In this blog, I will share five fun Christmas holiday activities for you to indulge in if you are away from home.
Bake a Batch of Cookies
“The smell of cookies baking is the aroma of Christmas.”
Baking cookies is an integral part of Christmas. Not only do they symbolize the noble act of giving and sharing, but they also make us feel nostalgic. The aroma of the freshly baked cookies will take you back to your time together with your loved ones and brighten your mood. Also, baking and decorating cookies helps you reduce your stress level and spend the holidays in a relaxed mood.
Bonus tip!
You can bake a large batch and send them over to your loved ones as Christmas gifts.
There are tons of festive cookie recipes on the internet for you to try out. I am sharing two great Christmas cookie recipes for you to bake this Christmas holiday.
Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
- Room-temperature butter
- Brown and granulated sugar
- 2 Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt and Sea Salt
- Nutella
- Chocolate chips
- Corn Starch
- Baking Soda
- Flour
Recipe :
- Mix the butter and sugars into a cream
- Add the eggs
- Add the vanilla extract
- Add ¼ cup of Nutella
- Whisk the wet mixture well
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and cornstarch (dry mixture) in a separate bowl
- Mix the dry and wet ingredients
- Add the chocolate chips and the remaining Nutella
- Mix them well into a dough
- Roll the dough into mini-balls
- Bake them
- Add some more chocolate chips and season it with some sea salt
This is a super-easy Christmas cookie recipe. So, baking some Nutella Chocolate Chip cookies could be a fun Christmas holiday activity even if you are away from home.
Butter Cookies
Did you know that three ingredients are all you need to bake delicious cookies? Butter, flour, and sugar—that is all you need! Let me share the recipe with you.
Ingredients:
- Soft Butter (but it should not be melted!)
- Sugar (granulated)
- Cake flour or all-purpose flour
Recipe:
- Whisk the butter and sugar for around 5 minutes. You can stop when you see the mixture get pale and fluffy.
- Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes. This firms up the dough.
- Cut the dough into shapes to your liking. Make sure to dust the cookie cutters with flour
- Bake the cookies till they turn golden brown in the middle and lightly brown around the sides. It should take you 12 to 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 160 degrees Celsius.
- The best part about this Christmas cookie recipe is that you can add flavors of your choice and even ice to it if you wish.
Volunteer at an Orphanage
Spending Christmas alone, away from home, reminds us to value our loved ones again. It reminds us how fortunate we are; it makes us feel thankful to God. However, some children do not enjoy this privilege. They do not have a family of their own; they do not have a place to call home. A perfect Christmas holiday activity would be volunteering at an orphanage near you, brightening this festive season for these children. You can spend time with them, indulging in fun activities. Here are some ideas for you.
Storytelling sessions
Children love stories. Stories teleport children into the imaginary world of their creativity, where they can be whatever they want to be. You can tell stories with plot twists and funny characters to engage and entertain them.
Moreover, stories are a good way for the children to bond with you and their peers. It is a perfect activity while you volunteer at an orphanage. It will put a smile on the children’s faces during the holiday season.
Making handmade gifts for Christmas
You can teach the children to make beautiful and easy-to-make handmade presents. For example, you could help them make Christmas cards with colored papers, markers, and stickers. You can also encourage them to add personalized messages and drawings to express their feelings.
The children will have a lot of fun decorating the candlpainth paints, ribbons, and glitter and turning them into personalized gifts. Christmas is the season of love and sharing. This Christmas holiday activity will fill you with mirth and satisfaction, even when you are miles away from home.
Make Custom Photo Christmas Cards
Christmas is a great time to tell your loved ones how you feel. Being away from your loved ones should not stop you from expressing your gratitude to them. If you are away from your home this festive season then making custom photo Christmas Cards would be a perfect Christmas holiday activity.
These cards make the recipients feel uniquely valued and appreciated. The best thing about custom photo Christmas cards is that you can customize them as you wish. For example, you can add a custom photo of you and your loved one to the card, reminding them of a happy memory. You can also add more personalization by adding a handwritten note expressing your gratitude for them.
This Christmas holiday activity will keep you engaged and mentally connected with your loved ones, even when you are physically apart.
Revisit Your Hobby
How often do you miss doing the things that you love?
Painting, writing, playing the guitar, or clicking pictures may be.
The waves of our busyness push us away from our hobbies, inch by inch, every day. Spending these few days of solitude immersed in your favorite activities will fill you with a sense of fulfillment. Moreover, engaging in your hobby will evoke the creativity embedded in you, thus offering a medium to express your emotions.
Most importantly, spending the holidays revisiting your hobby mutes all the stress and worries around you for a while and allows you to devote yourself to the things you love. A stress-free Christmas is a peaceful Christmas. Therefore revisiting your hobby would be a great Christmas holiday activity. It allows you to add an enjoyable element to your holiday season even when you are away from your loved ones.
Bonus tip!
You can use your hobby to craft personalized Christmas and New Year gifts for your family and friends. For example, if you enjoy writing, you can present a poem on the Christmas cards.
Binge a Popular Sitcom
What if I tell you you can enjoy indoors just over some Christmas movies or binge-watch TV series?
And if you love to laugh, then sitcoms are the way to go. It might seem unbelievable, but watching sitcoms has a positive impact on your health. They boost your level of endorphins and dopamine through laughter and keep your stress level at bay.
Watching a sitcom, curled up in your bed with a blanket on a winter day, immediately takes you to a happy place miles away from your daily worries. I understand that spending the holiday season away from your home and family can be challenging. However, watching a sitcom offers you a sense of normalcy, comfort, and familiarity through its predictable structure and recurring characters. By creating a comfortable and stress-free environment for you, Sitcoms also bring you a good night’s sleep. Thus, it is a perfect Christmas holiday activity when you are away.
Here are some of the best Sitcoms of all time.
- Friends
- The Office
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine
- The Big Bang Theory
- Modern Family
- Schitt’s Creek
Bonus Read – Here’s the ultimate ‘Christmas Holiday Watchlist’
Spending Christmas with our loved ones is something we look forward to every year. The company of family and friends makes us feel loved and cared for. However, the obligations of our modern-day life often cause us to live away from our homes. If you are someone who is spending these Christmas holidays alone, then this blog is for you. I have listed five Christmas holiday activities that will make your Christmas away from home memorable and fulfilling.
