Simple Tips to Make Your Quarantine Christmas Merry!
It’s certainly been a challenging old year, hasn’t it? 2020 will be remembered for simultaneously being the longest yet quickest, most boring yet also the eventful year most of us will never have witnessed. For most of us, it just seemed like it was never going to end! But, now that we’re finally coming to the close of 2020, looking ahead to 2021, you can feel yourself begin to wind down, ready to see what’s on the horizon with a glint of optimism.
But first, it’s time for the holiest, jolliest season of all: Christmas! Can we get a festive “HO HO HO!”?
Just because this year hasn’t gone to plan doesn’t mean you can’t have a nice Christmas. As it’s looking to be a lot smaller than we might be used to, we have taken the liberty of putting together a shortlist of tips to make your quarantine Christmas that little bit extra merry. So grab yourself a glass of festive cheer as we run you through quarantine Christmas ideas.
1. Celebrate At Home!
If you can’t make it to your local area’s annual Christmas tree lighting, you can stage your own at-home ceremony. All you need is your tree, perhaps a Christmas tree stand, and a selection of decorations, including Christmas tree toppers. Find some Christmas poems and read them while you’re decorating, and play your favorite festive playlist. We also suggest putting some seasonal mulled wine on the hob too! Nothing says Christmas better than mulled wine and board games! It’s the perfect accompaniment to hanging up those Christmas tree decorations with your nearest and dearest.
2. Choosing Your Tree
Depending on the style you want (think color, tree species, et cetera), you have a wide variety of artificial Christmas trees available to you from a wide range of online retailers. You could even buy an ornate Christmas tree stand to give your tree an extra boost! Are you looking for a traditional pine or something more like a fir? One of the benefits of a plastic tree is you can use it for many Christmases to come! All you need are your Christmas tree lights, and the festive ambiance is all good to go.
3. Christmas Tree Toppers
Finding the perfect Christmas tree topper can be challenging, so why not try making one? Using everyday objects, such as Sellotape, some construction paper, and an empty water bottle, you can craft your very own angel or star to top your tree. It’s a traditional part of putting up the Christmas tree and something that the youngest members of your family will love to get involved with.
4. Reduce, Reuse… Redecorate!
As for decorating your tree, you might not want to go out and buy all new ornaments. Instead, rummage around, and you’re likely to find a box full of decorations that have been handed down among your family. Use these decorations, and any lights, as these will add that much-needed feel of ‘home’ to your Christmas set-up. Re-using traditional family Christmas tree decorations delivers a real sense of nostalgia.
5. Get Your Kids Excited!
There are plenty of ways to get into the spirit of Christmas. For those readers who have children, it’s never too late to set up the old ‘Elf on the Shelf’ and set him up in different spots every day to ‘keep an eye on’ your little ones!
6. Christmas Movie Marathon, Anyone?
As for activities, there’s nothing better than spending Christmas Eve tucked up on the couch with a nice big mug of hot chocolate or spiced apple cider while having a Christmas movie marathon. Choose from festive favorites, such as the Grinch (either the Jim Carrey or Benedict Cumberbatch version, or both!), Die Hard, and even Home Alone. There are so many excellent Christmas movies, both old and new, and you needn’t even get dressed out of your festive Christmas pajamas or obligatory Christmas jumper.
7. Home-Based Games
Other fun activities include a Christmas-themed scavenger hunt, making your own Christmas tree decorations from cheap crafting materials and recycling items from around your home, and baking Christmas treats! Since Christmas is a time for family and reflection, now is a great time to dig out those board games you bought but never had the opportunity to open. Some family bonding time is much needed during these stressful times. Just make sure to leave the Monopoly until last! It’s the board game that’s broken many a family in more ways than one!
8. Break Out the Bubbly for Your Support Bubble
For the grown-ups in your support bubble, some Christmas cheer in the form of wine or brandy might be called for. It’s Christmas, after all! And 2020 has been quite stressful. Find some creative ways to add an extra drop or two of Christmas merriment to your brunch and dinner. Just be careful if someone decides they want to operate the kid’s sled under the influence! You don’t want to break that bubble or anything else for that matter.
9. Christmas Breakfast!
You could always start the day with flambéed French toast topped with a dollop of crème Fraiche and a side of blackberry preserves. For after dinner, soak your Christmas pudding in a healthy serving of brandy, and set it alight. Once the alcohol burns away, you will be left with a soaked, grown-up treat! We’ve got a bit of an alcohol theme going on here, but if ever there was a time (and a year) to cut yourself a little bit of festive slack, it’s 2020!
10. Make Some Decorations
We’ve already mentioned crafting as a fun Christmas activity and briefly touched on making some decorations. There are plenty of tutorials on the internet which guide you through making baubles out of egg cartons, as well as making snowflake garlands to hang around your house. Whether we opt for a genuine or an artificial Christmas tree, homemade decorations make a wonderful addition.
11. Shop Local
Finding affordable gifts so close to Christmas can be a bit of a challenge, so shop local. While larger sites might seem to have everything, independent retailers will have more unique items. For example, for the scented candle lover in your life, you will be able to find a wide range of themed wax melts and candles that might tie into their other interests.
12. A Personal Touch
People were inserted to take up many different hobbies this year. Some took up baking, others took up soap making, crafting, and perfumery. If you want to make a Christmas gift with an added personal touch for your loved ones, find out their favorite scents and colors, you could craft an extra special soap for them if you find the right melt and pour base. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, try making some bath bombs!
13. Hot Chocolate… With a Twist!
We’ve all seen that viral TikTok video with the balls of chocolate you drop into hot milk, and then they explode into the most decadent hot chocolate you have ever experienced! Since that video went viral, several copycat recipes have sprung up, making the recipe a little more accessible and a lot more varied. Have fun with your family making your own chocolate bombs, then enjoy the fruits of your labors the night before Christmas.
So there you have it, thirteen of our favorite hacks to make this Christmas a seriously merry one. Enjoy! And Merry Christmas to your all.
