The 2020 holiday season has come and gone and I bet it was unlike any other holiday season we’ve experienced. This pandemic isn’t getting any easier to deal with, and the new year isn’t waiting for us. While there is no substitute for spending time with family members, we moms need to get a little bit creative while you strengthen relationships during a pandemic in this new year. Again. More.

Oh, momma, I know that is the last thing you want to hear. I know you’re exhausted and fresh out of creative and magical ideas. I know you just want this pandemic to be over and to return to the “normal” chaos of motherhood. You are not alone in any of that. We’ve created this list of ideas for you to help you connect with family and friends in some fun and safe ways while the world continues to heal from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Send Mail

Technology is a wonderful blessing these days, but there is still some magic attached to good old fashioned snail mail. Mailing a card or letter is a great way to connect with your people in this pandemic-arific season. It’s no longer considered antiquated to type up a long family update to send to your friends and family members. 

Since visiting in-person has been restricted lately, your friends and family will be happy to read about what you have been doing. Include caring messages in your mail encouraging connection. For family members not on social media, think about including some photos in your letters or cards. You don’t need perfectly posed family portraits (although those are wonderful, too!). Your family members want to see your real life.

Cook and Craft

One of my favorite things to do with my own mom during the holiday season is to make homemade English toffee. This year we live over a thousand miles apart with heavy travel restrictions, so we made toffee together virtually. Choose a recipe to make with a friend or family member, schedule a FaceTime call, and prop your FaceTime device up to chat while cooking or baking in your own homes. Choose a kid-friendly recipe and invite your kids to join in, we all need to strengthen relationships.

If you enjoy doing crafts with your kids and extended family members, order a craft kit like this for each household. Schedule a date and time for a FaceTime call or Zoom meeting with your parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, or anyone you want to craft with. Prop up your device and assemble your crafts together while having some great conversations. Keep these crafts as a memory of a wild season of life.

Worship Together

Many churches have had to make the difficult decision to hold their worship services online only this year. Some areas of the country are able to hold church in person but have continued putting time and energy into their online presence. If you have fond memories of attending church with your family, you may be struggling with online church. That is understandable! This is hard! Online church will never offer the same experience as being in a decorated sanctuary smelling of old wood and burning candles. You may miss your worship band and seeing familiar faces. I wish we could somehow replicate the sights, sounds, and smells of a church online.

The good news is this: no matter where or how we are able to get to church, Jesus is still with us. He still came to this earth as a human baby, only to die on the cross later to save our butts. Let’s celebrate and worship in the ways we still can.

Worshipping together is a great way to strengthen relationships during a pandemic. Choose an online church service for you and your extended family to attend together. Watch the service and enjoy the gift of worship. Sing together, pray together, learn together, and reflect together. Remember to thank your church leadership for making an online service available, it’s hard work!

Read and Remember

Reading books together does not have to be lost during the pandemic. Schedule a virtual meeting with your friends or family members and choose a book to read together virtually. Pick one of your favorite childhood books, or choose a new book to read for the first time together. Have a grandparent, aunt or uncle read a book to your kids virtually. Make everyone a cup of hot cocoa and invite the family members on the other end of your device to do the same. Have each family member talk about their favorite childhood memories after reading your book. 

If you are wanting to connect with adult friends and family members, consider starting a digital book club with everyone. Pick a book, a place to meet virtually, and a time to meet. For a small group, perhaps start a text message group. For larger groups consider creating a Facebook group for all of the members to join. Here is a list of my favorite faith-based books to read with groups or on your own. With the world full of so much chaos and so many unknowns, it’s always a good idea to cling to Jesus, our constant source of truth.

Experience Entertainment

Before the pandemic, you may have been used to strengthening your relationships by making or listening to music together,  watching movies together, or playing games together. We may not be able to do these things in-person quite yet, but with a dash of creativity, you can make new memories of experiencing entertainment together virtually. 

Plan a Virtual Hymn Sing

Pick a place to meet online, date, and time, and get together virtually to sing songs together. For smaller groups, schedule a FaceTime meeting and sing together on your electronic devices. For larger groups, host a Facebook live video on your personal page or in a private group and invite others to comment to stay involved. Create a list of songs to sing together virtually and enjoy your time with friends and family.

If making music is not a gift for your family, create a playlist of your favorite songs on Spotify, Pandora, or Apple Music, and share that playlist with the members of your family. Pick a genre of songs and invite friends and family to add their favorite songs under that category. This is a great way to remember old favorite songs and find new songs to love together.

Watch Movies Together

Streaming services like Disney+ offer an option to watch a movie as a group at the same time from different devices. Invite members of your extended family to watch a movie of your choosing at the same time. If you want to do this a few times, take turns picking the movie to watch.

Play Games Together

If your family enjoys playing games together during the holidays, plan a virtual family game night to help strengthen relationships during a pandemic. Schedule a digital call with another household and play games together digitally. Each household needs to have a copy of the same game. Prop up your device after calling in, and take turns playing through the game. Search online for fun-themed bingo, scavenger hunts, trivia, and conversation starter games to play together virtually.

Before you stress yourself out planning ALL of these things, I would like to make one more suggestion: keep it simple. Pick one or two of these activities and only pick the things you truly enjoy. There is so much stress and anxiety caused by the pandemic, so there’s no need to create more. You are not alone and you are doing a great job, momma.