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Connecting with Family over the Holidays

During this time of year, there’s shopping to do, for “decking the halls”, that’s something for us who are stuck at home, that we can do together. Go to our storage area and dig out the artificial Christmas tree, or go and make a day of it to look for a real Christmas tree. Sometimes, they are in your front yard.

Put on some music, get out the decorations, bake some goodies, and together decorate the Christmas tree. That is so much fun even decorating the tree by yourself. It takes me two to four hours decorating my tree. I light it up and its beautiful.

They say that the holidays are the “busiest time of the year.” Christmas cheer, pour yourself a glass of hot apple cider with a slice of orange or whatever your kind of Christmas cheer you may want to add to it and “be merry.”

Is there going to be a Santa around this year? Look it up.  I just read somewhere that a store was going to place Santa in a glass box and have kids talk to him through that. That’s weird, but hey, you get to see and talk to Santa.

But what’s the best thing about Christmas this year? It is spending quality time with each other and making different and better memories with people we love.

There’s another way we could see our other loved ones, by using videoconferencing, like Zoom, Duo, Skype, and other means that could make you feel connected.

Using these video technologies that science has brought us, we can watch a video together. My daughter and I have done this. My daughter moved to Utah and we have connected in this way before.

Plus, you can talk to each other during the movie.

Here are other ways to connect with our loved ones this holiday season, even if we are miles apart.

You can send out some cookies by mail. You will just have to wrap them well so they will not be broken to pieces when your loved one gets them. Contact your local post office for some really good tips. They might just have the right package to send.

Here is a wonderful thing to do: Getting the family together to watch a holiday-themed movie such as “Home Alone,” “A Christmas Carol” with Scrooge, (I love this one.) “Christmas Vacation,” “A Christmas Story,” or other Christmas movies that could be your favorite movie for the holidays.

Today, through “Netflix Party”, you can watch a movie with them in real-time. “Netflix Party” is a Chrome extension that syncs up the film so you can watch it all at once and it has a live chat feature so you can comment on your favorite parts together. I just discovered this; it is so awesome. Netflix Party is available in the Chrome web store.

You could also donate a “Toy for Tots” at Les Schwab which is a tire repair shop.  Les Schwab takes toys every year to donate to the children in the community.

You or your family can work on a gingerbread house and decorate it together. Or mail it out to those who you would love have them to build it for you.

This is what I am planning for the beautiful people I live with. I got some hot tamales and cinnamon candy canes from the local store, and I am going to make some Mexican very rich hot chocolate and place the candy canes inside, using the cane to stir the chocolate… MMM.

MERRY CHRITMAS EVEYONE AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!