Spending the holidays away from home can be extremely hard. For me, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas when the temperature hits 90°F and people are spending their days at the beach. Christmas to me is snowy weather, getting curled up on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate and watching a feel-good Christmas movie. It just feels a bit strange setting up the tree and listening to Christmas music while blasting the air conditioner.

Mason and I were supposed to be traveling back home to Boston for the holidays this year, but sadly, we had to change our plans. Thanks covid… While the holidays just aren’t the same for me over here, I’ve come up with a few ways to still enjoy the festive season.  

Embrace New Traditions

We’re going swimming on Christmas? Yup, that’s right. Aussies love to hit the beach on Christmas day, something a New-Englander would never even dream of doing. Usually during the holiday season, I’m nowhere close to being bathing suit ready, but on Christmas day here, it’s too hot to NOT swim. AND we’re eating seafood?! Ok, somethings just not right here… Prawns (shrimp) are a big Christmas tradition here in Australia. On Christmas day, thousands of Aussies “throw some prawns on the barbie” and cook up a whole barbecue. While having a barbecue and eating seafood screams 4th of July to me, it seems to satisfy everyone else on this side of the world during Christmas. While these may not be my go-to holiday traditions, the whole point of traveling abroad is to experience a new culture and embrace new traditions, and what better way to do that than during the holidays!

Continue With Your Own Traditions

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Mostly because of the weather and my family coming together. However, being abroad, I don’t really get either of those things during the holidays. While it may not feel like a conventional Christmas for me here, I still keep up with my holiday traditions every year. We still set up the Christmas tree and decorate the house in all of the Christmas decorations I can find (thank you Kmart…), we still bake cookies and drink hot chocolate while watching Christmas movies (yes, with the air conditioner blasting…), and we still drive around to look at Christmas lights (not Mason’s favorite thing to do but he still does it for me). Just because you’re in a different country, doesn’t mean you need to give up all of your traditions from back home!

Plan Something to Look Forward To

Spending the holidays away from home can leave you feeling homesick and down rather than merry and bright. By having something to look forward to during the holiday season, it can help lift your spirits and keep you from becoming the Grinch. Mason and I are planning to go camping down south for a few nights during the holiday break. While camping is something I would never do around the holidays back home, it’s the perfect time of year here to take advantage of the great outdoors.