The holidays are a time for families near and far to come together and make memories with each other. We’ve become accustomed to the same holiday traditions – decorating the Christmas tree, perfectly coordinated family photoshoots, over-extending ourselves financially in the name of gift-giving, piling into church for watch night service, stuffing our faces at the dinner table, telling jokes with family and friends and heading out to Bay for the Junkanoo rush. These are all highly anticipated traditions, many of which are deeply embedded in our culture, but wouldn’t the holidays be even more special if more meaning was brought to the season?
Here are a few suggestions of holiday traditions you and your family can try.
- Sing carols at a Children’s Home or the Children’s Ward at the Hospital: Children are the sweetest humans ever. Why not give these little angels a holiday to remember? Bring the holiday spirit to children by singing carols and bringing treats to children at a Children’s Home or at the Children’s Ward at the hospital. There are various children’s homes in The Bahamas that you can consider giving to such as the Ranfurly Home, Nazareth Center and Children’s Emergency Hostel. You can organize caroling with your local church group or a civic organization.
- Buy a gift for someone other than friends and family: The best gifts are those we weren’t expecting. Many people in The Bahamas do not know where the gifts are coming from this holiday. Why not buy a gift for someone? Foundations such as The Bahamas Aids Foundation accept donations and gifts for children affected by HIV/AIDS. With the recent passage of Hurricane Dorian, there are still many people left without homes to go to. Bring the holiday cheer to a Dorian survivor with a gift and a personalized card so that they can feel special during this season.
- Invite someone to your family dinner or share food with those in need: Many people that we come into contact with on a regular basis may not be blessed with large families or money to prepare elaborate holiday feasts. It would be a great idea to invite someone or even a family to your holiday dinner. Single mothers work extremely hard to provide for their children. How about lightening the burden for a single mother this holiday and inviting her and her family to have dinner with your family? If you cannot find a family to invite to your dinner, you can donate some of your food to a nursing home or even give some food to a homeless person that you may see on the streets. No one should go hungry this season and if you can assist in alleviating this problem then you should help.
Often times, we get so carried away with planning the perfect holiday for our families that we neglect those less fortunate. This year is the perfect year to implement some new holiday traditions. Now is the perfect time to be a blessing to others. By trying these new traditions, you will brighten someone’s day and be the reason someone smiles this holiday season.
