Happy Monday! 

I hope you had a great weekend!

Tj and I left on our Australian vacation last week. We had an eventful start to the trip, which I will fill you in on another time, but we made it. It’s been raining non-stop every day all weekend, haha and it’s showing 100% rain for the next few days. Our beach vacation has turned into a lot of reading and naps, but I’m not complaining. We feel such a huge difference just having a change of scenery. It’s been a long year of lockdown and since about March, we haven’t been allowed more than 5km from our home. It’s nice to be somewhere different than our apartment, and our Airbnb has a great view and a big deck. 

As Christmas approaches, I wanted to share my thoughts on how to enjoy the holidays, even if this year is different than usual. 

When I lived in Toronto, I was known at work for loving Christmas and the holidays. I would set up my Christmas tree on November 1st. From December 1st I only listen to Christmas music.  Throughout the year, I would pick up small gifts whenever I found something good so that by the time Christmas rolled around, I wasn’t worried about what to buy people. I hate buying gifts just for the sake of buying something, but I love finding the perfect gift that I think someone will love. I found it so much fun to put on a Christmas movie and wrap presents with a mug of hot chocolate and Bailey’s. Some parts of the holidays were stressful and chaotic, but there was always so much to look forward to, like the annual Christmas party with my girlfriends and spending time with family that I don’t get to see often. 

The first year we moved to London I went back for Christmas but I haven’t been back for the holidays since. We have had some amazing Christmas adventures that I wouldn’t trade for anything - Christmas with my mom and brother in Paris, and spending Christmas at a beach club in Bali with some of our good friends. 

But man, sometimes I really miss a traditional Christmas. Since we are travelling this year, I didn’t decorate our apartment. And it’s not the same doing a gift exchange with just the two of us when we already know what we are getting because we picked it out ourselves haha. 

A lot of our family back home aren’t able to spend the holiday together because of Covid restrictions, so it’s looking like this Christmas will be different for everyone. So today I wanted to share some of my tips for making the most of the holidays when you can’t look forward to your favourite traditions:

• Stay connected - block off time to FaceTime and talk to your loved ones

• Surprise someone by doing a socially distant hello - drop off a gift or some baking and don’t forget to wear your Santa hat!

• Shop local - support small businesses

• Watch your favourite Christmas movie

• Wear your Christmas PJs all day

• Watch old family movies or look at old Christmas photos

• Bake a favourite family recipe that you usually only get to eat at Christmas

• Shop online and ship the presents directly to someone’s house

• Plan a family game you can play virtually

If all fails, you can always postpone Christmas for a few months until you can celebrate together. Just scrooge it and let the holiday pass without a fuss. It’s 2020, anything goes lol. 

Have a great week :) 

P.S. Here are some tips for getting in the holiday spirit and enjoying the hectic holidays!