Its been two weeks since the start of 2022! This post is about me reminiscing and taking the time to appreciate the little blessings (which, if I think about it, were really quite big) we experienced as a family over this past Advent and Christmas season. My parents were able to visit us over the latter part of 2021 and we had the most full-filling time together, than we have had in a long while. Having to step-up our pandemic precautions during this time meant spending most of our time indoors. It turned out to be a cozy and memorable experience for us all, and much needed relief from the stress this pandemic has imposed. I hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful and memorable time as well.
It has almost been two years since the start of the pandemic. And as we build our hope for it to ease up into more of a common cold; we try to take every little opportunity that presents itself to grab ourselves a much needed break from the intensity of us all being thrown outside our comfort zones for far too long.
With the festive season approaching in November and December 2021 and the news of the Omicron strain potentially making its way into India, we perceived that it would be best to restrict our outdoor social activity during this time and so we did just that. But we were sure to make the most of our time indoors! Here’s what we did.
Take up crafting and do it with the whole family: Art and craft-work can truly take stress away and does this in many ways; and at any age. My dad has a creative side and at the age of 80 it was wonderful to see him actively offer to help the kids with their craftwork prep for school. He even took up the laborious task of creating pirate hats and eye patches for my daughter’s ‘Mermaids and Pirates’ birthday theme. He helped craft little brown paper envelopes to hold special Advent messages as part of my version of an Advent Calendar for the kids and family to partake in. I asked him to sign each one as well, which he very proudly agreed to so that we will always have this something special from him with us at Christmas on our tree.
Plan a special meal or give some traditional recipes a try: The season was filled with special meals and making traditional sweets for Christmas, some of which I tried out or the first time. It became a little project to focus our energy on and displace our frustrations (of the pandemic restrictions) through. Having my mom around was a joy and gave us some special memories of this time to hold on to. We tried out a beef brisket for the first time and created our own little stash of Christmas Goan Baath Cake (semolina and coconut cake), Kulkuls, Chocolate Walnut Fudge, Healthful Ginger Cookies and Ginger Wine! We were super pleased with the outcome and were able to share some with our neighbours and friends, as we traditionally do. But this time was cozy and more meaningful because the little joys of sharing though practiced widely, have otherwise been overshadowed by the commercialisation of Christmas and New Year. Most of our Christmas seasons gone by disappear in a flash with us constantly scrambling to meet up with as many friends and relatives as we can (a good thing but too fleeting). Time with family passes just as quickly and gives us the post vacation blues for not having had that ‘quality time’ with each other. This year was just different.
Pass it on – We were able to get in touch with an NGO that aids some of the poorest of the poor and neglected in our country. We managed to arrange a donation drive to have interested fellow residents in our apartment community pass on their belongings (still in good usable condition) that they no longer had use for. We are glad that this meant we were able to share a little of our Christmas joy with a few people in need this season. We discussed the importance of sharing our belongings with those in need, with our little ones and they also coincidentally learnt about the same at school during this time. The whole experience served to reinforce this teaching and helped us decide to do something similar consciously on other occasions during the coming year, perhaps even make it a family / community tradition.
Praying together:
We took the Advent season (preparation for Christmas) as an opportunity to teach our kids to practice prayer. Prayer not only for themselves but for others around them. It has developed even further since, with the grandparents also teaching the little ones a few important prayers. Our daily moments in prayer have definitely served to calm us down throughout the day, be it through prayer in the mornings before we begin our day, prayer and gratitude before our meals or prayer before we go to bed.
We calm down and relax together, we are able to meditate together (in no strict manner) on gratitude for our many blessings, on strength to overcome our hardships, on peace for a good night’s rest and on hope for a beautiful tomorrow. Repetitive practice of prayer together has no doubt, strengthened our bonds within ourselves and with each other. Try it if you haven’t!
Create new family traditions: Of course being the Christmas season, we chose to begin some new family traditions and bring back a few old ones. We planned a small Advent tea-party with some crafting activities and homemade snacks, and a nice Christmas potluck with our small social bubble. We added in some fun Christmas activities like pin the nose on Rudolf and make your own Christmas ornament. We had a Christmas carol karaoke and cozied up with some homemade Egg Nog, Christmas sweets and warm Apple Pie (courtesy our social bubble family 🙂 )
Going over old pictures: I asked my parents to bring over with them some old / ancestral family photographs which I wanted to have touched up and reprinted for our home. We spent some time going over these photos reminiscing times gone by and recounting some hilarious and memorable experiences. A joy for all of us including our little ones.
Have a family member do something different for a change: The hubby volunteered to make dinner one night (gorgeous seeded sourdough bread filled with smoked ham, lettuce, an egg, tomato, mustard and butter). It was a treat for us all. A simple quick dinner that was gobbled down by all with pleasure, excitement and pride (especially by the kids who witnessed Daddy make a meal in a long time – sure was special and one they will remember for life!).
Learn something new: I learnt how to make homemade Yogurt using A2 milk and jowari (Sorghum) roti! It took me ages to take these up but I finally took the opportunity of a full-house and the need for special dietary requirements to prioritise it and finally make the move. Once I took the plunge and kept at it consistently for a week, I got better at both skills with each day. Today we proudly feast on both and they have become a part of our weekly meal plan. It was fun and something I have been able to teach the hubby as well (the Yoghurt making, that is).
The Power of a Social Bubble during a pandemic: Being able to find the space and circumstances that afford you to have a social bubble can be a major life-saver. If you are like me and are conscious about putting in your own effort to contain this pandemic through choices that are within your control, then having a social bubble can be liberating. Allowing you to socialise with a few friends and family with minimal to no risk of contracting the coronavirus (particularly when case loads drop but is still of epidemic or endemic proportions). It affords you peace of mind especially where the kids are concerned, particularly through the tough months of uncertainty. Our social bubble allowed us to have a cozy, meaningful and fun celebratory season without feeling isolated and overwhelmed by the never-ending long working hours, high-stress and highly frustrating daily circumstances that build up due to the inability to go on vacation or just a get-away. A social bubble can be your get-away sometimes, for the time-being. It certainly has been ours.
All in all these little initiatives and ideas boosted our mental and emotional health during a time that could otherwise have been rife with frustration, disappointments and depression. It brought together a 2021 Holiday season and end of year to remember in our home and built up our morale to head into the new year and tackle those relentless resolution challenges. And perhaps, these are some ideas you can take up with your family the next coming holiday season – pandemic or no pandemic. Cheers to making heartwarming memories.
If you enjoyed this post, found these ideas useful or have some of your own to share; I would love to hear from you. Do leave a comment for me below.
Wising you and your family a Happy and Healthful New Year 2022!
Beautifully written Janelle, capturing the joy in simplicity and small things that matter the most !
Thank you so much Kheya! I am glad you enjoyed this read. I hope to have more coming your way so do stay tuned 🙂
Janelle, reading your blog felt like we celebrated Christmas
with you all..Certainly felt good to know you all had a lovely Christmas season with lots of fun activities, get together with families in your social bubble and ways in which you found, you can hold these memories for a long long time.Missed you all and all the goodies and new recipes you tried.certainly your writing has inspired me to think up creative ways to spend time in this pandamic. It’s the best way to fight the blues.
Very warming read and the penning down of holiday season activities have a personal touch to them. The entire experience listed down is first hand and not just indicative suggestions put together by googling.
Hoping it inspires others to start their own traditions too or/and add something new from this article to their existing traditions. The major take away from this post is to create memories with your near and dear ones – big, small, silly, heart warming!;
Thank you Abhi for your honest and detailed feedback! Glad you enjoyed reading it and hope it takes you guys down memory lane for years to come! Cheers to making more memories together and all the very best!
Thanks for sharing your very meaningful Christmas moments Janelle! Beautifully written and honestly expressed – I loved the new Christmas traditions, the joy you have in your parents and family and traditions, and your sense of community. Please keep them coming – we all need these reminders and inspiration.
Lovely post in spending quality time with family & bringing out the best initiatives in remorse circumstances of this pandemic strain that keeps reoccuring.
Memorable moments that offer our children values that they would never gain in a scholastic syllabus. Memories of a lifetime to look back & cherish 😍 🥰
Beautiful post Janelle. Thank you for sharing. It’s certainly inspiring and assuring that holiday fun doesn’t always need to be travel and party, but often found in the simplest of things. Taking time out is so important and I’m glad to see you had the chance to slow things down.
Beautifully written Janelle . This lockdown has taught us many valuable lessons .
Hi Janelle, I enjoyed every little description of the activities you created where there was so much for you and your kids to learn… Very inspiring. The love and time spent together will be always cherished. God bless you and your family.
Beautifully penned Janelle. – Inspirational and thoughtful. The pandemic has been a great reminder for us all to slow down and ‘smell the roses’ so to speak… So happy that you are inculcating these values, memories and traditions in your kids. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Thanks so much Alita! So glad you enjoyed the article. I have more coming and would appreciate your feedback so that I may continue to grow. Please do stay tuned!
Thank you for the wonderful post, Janelle! The pictures are especially beautiful. Do keep writing 🙂
Thank you Pooja for your appreciation and encouragement. I plan to write more, I do hope you will continue to read more ;P Please share my site with your friends and family.
So beautifully written Janelle! Love the simplicity and neatness in your blog, from the wordings to your pics! Congratulations
Thank you so much Nisha and I am glad you liked the article. Appreciate your feedback. It certainly adds to my motivation to take it further 🙂 Do visit again and do please share it with your friends 🙂