Traditional holiday experiences go digital this season.
This year, celebrating the holidays feels very different. It’s the perfect time to be innovative.
It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. There are messy realities and challenges of going digital, and there are extraordinary silver linings.
To make it just a little easier to go digital this season, we’re sharing our favourite Holiday Hacks for 2020.
May these Holiday Hacks bring you inspiration and joy, and maybe help up your digital game too.
Happy Holidays!
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Holiday Hacks 2020
Have a bash New Year’s Eve
Say goodbye to 2020 in style.
Send out fancy digital invitations – and mail out confetti, hats and noise makers ahead of time, if you feel inspired – and plan a virtual New Year’s party (whether on Zoom, Skype or Meet Now). Celebrate with a themed cocktail everyone can make at home, share your party playlist on Spotify, and break the ice with a game of Charades or a few rounds of online Karaoke before the big countdown.
Then ring out the old, and bring on the new.
Come all ye faithful
This holiday season, you can go to church without leaving the house. Many local parishes offer online services, and there’s also the option of travelling far from home virtually.
Celebrate Christmas with Toronto’s St. James Cathedral live-stream events, go further afield and attend England’s famed Salisbury Cathedral for carols and Christmas services, or visit the Vatican for Mass.
See the world’s treasures
When it comes to museums and galleries, there are virtually endless possibilities to explore.
Google Arts & Culture offers free admission to more than 2,500 online options around the world – its ‘Top 10 Museums’ gives you a peek at some of the best, including the British Museum in London, the Guggenheim in New York, Paris’s Musée d’Orsay and The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. You can also go directly to some of your favourite galleries for a private tour, like The Louvre or Canada’s own National Gallery.
Let the games begin
Invite them to play. Gather around your screens for a night of fun and games.
With Nintendo Switch, there are endless digital games you can get together online and play, including the ever-popular Animal Crossing. Or, you could suggest a more classic, crowd-loving party favourite. There’s Pictionary (you can use a sketchpad on video chat or, if you play on Zoom, you can choose the whiteboard feature to draw with a mouse or touchpad), or you could challenge them to a rousing game of Monopoly or a round of cards like Euchre or Hearts.
Give the gift of kindness
Bring someone else some comfort and joy this season. Spread good cheer by donating to charities that provide hot meals during the holidays.
Give to the Salvation Army’s ‘Fill the Kettle’ Christmas program (this year an online event instead of in-store), contribute to Feed the Frontlines (which serves frontline workers and families hardest hit by the pandemic), or support The Scott Mission (serving Toronto’s hungry, hurting, or homeless).
Share your movie screen
See a movie together.
Teleparty lets you share films from your favourite streaming sites with family and friends to watch at the same time. Great holiday picks include the new romantic comedy Happiest Season with Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis (Amazon Prime), family-friendly Christmas Chronicles 2 starring Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, and the musical comedy The Prom with Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep (both Netflix), or classics like It’s a Wonderful Life (Amazon Prime) and Home Alone (Disney+).
Spring for the snacks – and mail out microwave popcorn and other munchables in advance – and make a night of it.
Make a child’s Christmas
Christmas is for kids. And this year, more than ever, toy drives could use a hand making the holidays happy ones. As local lockdowns may be restricting in-person toy donations, online or text contributions are recommended.
Toy Mountain, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, delivers gifts to children and teens for Christmas morning; the Children’s Aid Foundation provides kids and their families with gifts and gift cards for meals and entertainment to make the season merry and bright.
Season’s best performances
You don’t have to miss live holiday music – in fact, you’re invited to some of the season’s best Christmas concerts. The London Symphony Orchestra’s classic night of carolling ‘A Singalong Christmas’ (from Dec. 13), the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s distinctly Canadian, new adaptation ‘Messiah/Complex’ (Dec. 13 to 26), and celebrated tenor Andrea Bocelli’s ‘Believe in Christmas’ concert live from Italy (Dec. 12) are all available for free or for-a-free streaming.
This year, the best seat in the house is at home.
Brighten up the season
Bring a little festivity to the festival of lights this year.
Plan to get together with family and friends online. Send out special digital Hanukkah invitations, and treat them to goodie bags of party supplies, be it wine, rugelach, jelly donuts, gelt or dreidels (which can be ordered and delivered ahead of time). You can join them for lighting the menorah, and join in a game of dreidel (whether you play the traditional game or opt for the digital version), or challenge them to a Hanukkah quiz.
Where to find Saint Nick
Even during Covid, little ones can still reach Santa.
They can send a letter to the North Pole (posted by Dec. 10, they’ll also receive a letter back) or they can visit him virtually. No need to line up, this year children can see him online, have pictures taken and even enjoy some story time at Virtual Santa Canada (which supports Food Banks Canada) or Jolly Santa (with proceeds going to Toy Mountain).
The show must go on
Treat yourself or someone you love to a night out – indoors.
This holiday season, there are surprising possibilities from stages around the world for free or for-a-fee streaming. See the National Ballet’s The Nutcracker (Dec. 4 to Jan. 2), watch a live performance of A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic theatre in London (starring Andrew Lincoln from Love Actually and The Walking Dead, Dec. 12 to 24), or take in New York’s Metropolitan Opera free Nightly Opera Streams or its upcoming Live in Concert New Year’s Eve gala from the comfort of your own couch.
Invite them over – online
Have a very merry, virtual get-together.
Play host and pick a date, set a time and place (whether it’s Zoom, Skype or Microsoft’s download-free, app-free Meet Now), and send out special digital invitations. You can make it more festive by ordering party favours for delivery ahead of time (i.e., holiday treats or a food basket for happy hour, matching pjs for Christmas morning, or a floral centerpiece for dinner).
And, if 2020 isn’t memorable enough, you can screen capture the moment by taking photos.