2020 has kicked off our generation's version of the roaring twenties with no time to waste. With all of the unique challenges presented to us this year, the holidays are especially difficult to plan ahead for. It is even more of a challenge to plan an appropriate and much-needed holiday bonanza without the beloved family members you are so used to seeing every December. Many of us are left asking how we can enjoy our first Christmas away from family inside our UCF apartments. Here are a few pro tips and tricks to help you cope with your first holiday season apart from your loved ones.
Decorating A Tree For Your UCF Apartment
One of my family's most important Christmas traditions is decorating the Christmas tree together. Every year we go to the local Christmas tree lot, pick out the perfect tree, lug it home, prop it up, and stuff it with lights, ornaments, and whatever we desire! Unfortunately, this year makes typical family get-togethers like that a little more difficult to set up. If you are in a similar situation, you should know that there is an easy remedy to fix these unprecedented obstacles.
If you and your roommates decided to get a Christmas tree this year and spent the last semester attending University of Central Florida classes through Zoom, you probably already know that Zoom can be used for recreational purposes in addition to serving as a classroom. Go ahead and get your grandparents, parents, and extended family on a Zoom call while you decorate your UCF apartment's tree! You can ask your family members if they see a spot perfect for their favorite ornaments, get a few additional opinions on how the lights should be organized, or take them shopping with you for the perfect star on top of the tree.
Buying Presents
One silver lining of this unfortunate year is that family members will have no way of spoiling their own surprise when they open their presents on Christmas morning. Your eager nephew won't have a chance to grab the box with his name on it and shake it to guess what's inside before he gets to open it. You get to do all of your Christmas shopping and planning without worrying about family members spoiling their own surprise. If you happen to get all of your Christmas shopping out of the way earlier than usual, you can mail it from your apartment near UCF over to your sibling and ask them to write Santa's name on it to give your niece or nephew an extra special surprise; they have had a rough year too, so an extra present from Santa would be more than welcome this Christmas morning.
You Don't Have To Be Alone
Most importantly, you do not have to be alone this holiday season, even if you live in a one bedroom apartment near UCF. Check your apartment community's resident event calendar to see what's going on this week! You might be happy to find that they're offering an even with free food or a holiday raffle where you can get an extra gift.
Maybe some of your roommates in your three-bedroom apartment are also stuck in Orlando for the holidays. Not only can you go through all of your family traditions together, but you can also have your families congregate on a Zoom call for some extra holiday cheer! Set up the call and pour a glass of eggnog for a well-deserved Christmas day.
You see, though 2020 has done an above-and-beyond job of splitting us up, modern apps like Zoom can keep the family together for the holidays. Your favorite family traditions can still be done this year, just with a slight change of pace and personnel. As this historic year winds down to a close, you have the opportunity to take your holiday spirit to the next level and not let the obstacles we've dealt with all year throw a wrench in your holiday celebrations.