How to Have a Merry Little Christmas… Abroad
For people living abroad, holidays are often the time when feelings of homesickness pop up. For me, I definitely feel the FOMO around Christmastime and during summer breaks at the lake.
For Christmas lovers, the holidays are a package of family-filled nostalgia, bursting with good sounds, smells, sights and feelings. Christmas means the smell of sugar cookies in the oven, the sound of laughter while we decorate them together, the taste of my mom’s amazing chocolate peanut butter balls, the sound of cheesy Christmas music, the feeling of snow crunching underneath my feet in a winter wonderland, and the sight of twinkling lights at night.
As a Canadian living in Malaysia, December in either country couldn’t be more different. I’m now living in a hot tropical climate, often with monsoons striking throughout December, and I’m about as far as I could possibly be from my snowy hometown and big family in Northern Ontario, Canada.
For people living abroad, getting home for the holidays isn’t easy. It’s an expensive and challenging time for travel (busy airports and snowstorms)! Personally, I can only reasonably go home once a year, so rather than a visit at Christmastime, I decided it’s best to go in the summer to spend a few consecutive weeks at the lake with my family.
While being away from home at this time of year can definitely feel like I’m missing out on family time, especially with my young nieces and nephews, there are ways to help make the most of your Christmas away from home.
Here are my top tips for enjoying Christmas while living abroad:
1. Let people know you’ll be around for the holidays
It’s important to make some effort to find out what activities might be happening, especially if you’re new to a place. In the vast majority of cases, you won’t be the only one celebrating Christmas abroad, and it’s up to the Christmas-celebrating ex-pats to find each other and be each others’ family for the holidays.
So, talk to people at work, at your yoga class - wherever you hang out - about the holidays, ask them if they have anything special planned, and let them know you’ll be around if they want to do something. Most people will be glad you brought it up, and you’ll probably get invited to some events.
Note: Spending some quality alone time is also great, but most of us also need some socialization - during holidays especially. Don’t wait to thee last minute to make that happen.
My colleagues love celebrating Christmas, so there is always a fun event happening in December. Last year, a colleague had us over for a wine and cheese and some of us played guitar and sang Christmas songs.
2. Connect with family and friends back home
When moving away, have an idea of how you want to stay connected with your family and/or friends back home. Some friends will inevitably slip away with distance and time - that’s ok! You’ll get busy with your life abroad and they’ll get busy with theirs.
But with family, and select friends, you may find it worthwhile to stay connected regularly. I mainly stay connected with family through a Facebook Messenger group and with friends through WhatsApp. I also video chat with my parents or siblings sporadically, usually about once or twice a month. Once in a while, I video chat with a couple of girlfriends while we watch a trashy TV show or play an online game together (we did this a lot during lockdown).
During Christmas celebrations, arrange a good time to video call with your family or friends, even if it’s just for a few minutes to say hello. I’ve even video called into Christmas morning with my nieces and nephews as they open presents, which was sweet.
It’s important to make this effort so you don’t feel totally disconnected from home. It will help you maintain some bonds and connect more deeply when you do visit.
I video call home pretty regularly, and a little extra during the holidays. Here I called when my sister was visiting with my parents.
3. Make your “home” festive (aka deck the halls)
You can’t control everything, but you can control your home base surroundings. So make or buy yourself at least a few decorations to make your place feel like “home”. A string of lights, some bobbles or paper snowflakes can do the trick - or maybe you go all out and get a tree! I usually opt for some bobbles on house plants and a string of lights - it’s enough to get me in the spirit.
My home decor is simple but definitely helps put me in the spirit!
4. Cook, bake and/or eat favourite foods
On a similar note, I find baking really comforting in December. A Canadian colleague and I bake together every year around Christmastime, pulling out classic holiday favourites like butter tarts, gingerbread cookies and my personal favourite: chocolate peanut butter balls. If cooking is more your thing, then put on some hearty Christmas foods - maybe a roast if you’re up for it!
If neither cooking nor baking is your thing, see if you can treat yourself to a restaurant offering festive specials, or treat yourself to shortbread cookies from a shop. Heck, if there is a packaged food you love from home, bring yourself some to have as a treat during special occasions or bouts of homesickness.
I make chocolate peanut butter balls almost every December as a little treat and comfort from home. They have always been one of my favourite holiday goodies.
5. Host an event
There is one clear way to take control of your situation: host a holiday event! There are probably others in your situation who would be happy to get together and/or people who don’t usually celebrate Christmas who will enjoy the experience!
This could be as simple as organizing a decorating gathering at your office or Christmas movie night at your place. Another option is to reserve a table at a restaurant serving a festive Christmas lunch, or if you have the space then you could host a Christmas wine and cheese, game night or dinner. If you’re having people over, consider offering something traditional to you, like mulled wine, apple cider, mince pies, chocolate peanut butter balls, or whatever you love at this time of year. People are normally more than happy to share in what you enjoy!
Watching Elf is definitely one of my favourite Christmas activities, and it’s made better with friends and a cozy vibe.
6. Visit Christmassy places
You’ll be surprised by how many countries decorate for Christmas! For example, if you’re in Canada, you can go house-to-house to see decorations, but if you’re in Malaysia the place to go is the mall. Malaysia’s malls go all out for decorations, as you can see in my Christmas Tour of Kuala Lumpur video.
In general, markets, town squares and restaurants from Christmas-celebrating countries are good bets. Explore and ask around to find the Christmas hot spots where you are, and plan your own Christmas tour for some good vibes.
7. Take a trip
If none of this is working for you, or you just don’t feel like it, then see if you can take a trip somewhere new. It could give you a fun alternative experience to enjoy and make memories. If you’re on a tight budget (hence not being able to travel home), check for destinations within 3 hours of you - there may be good long weekend options for an affordable price.
8. Celebrate with family when you see them
You can do this in whatever way you like and with whoever you consider as family. My family was awesome enough to do Christmas in July with me when I visited in the summer. It was a really sweet way to make up for lost time together!
Even if you aren’t recreating a particular celebration, just rejoice in your time with loved ones, be present and enjoy the moment. You’ll appreciate it all the better after time apart.
Any tips you would add? Message me on Instagram to let me know!
While Malaysia isn’t particularly “Christmas-y”. Pavilion Kuala Lumpur is my favourite place to visit for Christmas decorations during the holidays in KL, Malaysia.
