During an unprecedented time when social distancing guidelines and the constant worry of Covid-19 dulls the holiday season, creative indoor activities can light this Christmas with fun unexplored ideas. Despite the lack of contact with friends and relatives, indoor activities can liven the holiday spirit by making the best of the current situation, so that this Christmas year will last as yet another happy memory.
People can remain in the safety of their homes while baking and decorating Christmas cookies, making gingerbread houses, decorating the house to display holiday cheer, and making handmade cards to drop off in friends’ mailboxes. Baking Christmas cookies is a low-budget way to express artistic endeavors while making sweets to brighten the day. Only a box of cookie dough is needed, along with cookie cutters of various shapes like Christmas trees and snowflakes and a colorful array of frosting that will make delicious sweets displaying personal designs and artistry. Gingerbread house kits will also bring a smile to children’s faces as they can spend quality time with family while strengthening hand and finger muscles, which is key to motor development. Children can let their creativity run free and transform images from their imagination into real crafts.
To relieve the desire to meet friends and family, gifts and letters can be dropped by their houses, which will remind each other of persistent care and love. Another great way to give gifts with a touch of fun and creativity is Secret Santa. Secret Santa is when members of a group of friends randomly draw names to become that person’s Secret Santa. People are given a wishlist to help them choose meaningful gifts, and after receiving the gift, people must guess who their Secret Santa was. Since it is difficult to physically meet with friends to draw names, people can use virtual Secret Santa generators that randomly draw names for people. Ko-Eun Lee, a junior at Northview High School who is planning on participating in Secret Santa this year, states that she feels “excited at the thought of being a Secret Santa and choosing gifts for friends that will hopefully make their day.” She expresses disappointment in not being able to meet her friends in person, but is optimistic that “playing games like Secret Santa and giving gifts shows that we care about one another and did not forget about our friendship despite being away from each other.”
Although parties and meetings with companions are put on pause this year, there is still hope left for this Christmas year through fun indoor or virtual activities that enhance excitement and quality time with family.
