It is December 23, 2020 and yesterday was my last day of work until after New Years. Almost two weeks off! Plus? I am done school for the semester and don’t go back until January 11. (Don’t worry, I am starting up both things hot after the break – the next course I coordinate starts first day back and I literally have my first school zoom on the 11th). On the one hand, this is super exciting. On the other hand, this is the time of Covid and I’ll be spending most of my Christmas break alone.
For a bit of context, I live alone. (Well… sort of. I have a roommate but he has been back home visiting his family since October and is staying for an indeterminant amount of time. In the eyes of the Covid law, I am a single person household.) I also live in a province that is under fairly strict public health restrictions. The type of strict restrictions that include “no social gatherings whatsoever”.
Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying this to make you feel bad for me. Our public health restrictions have provisions in place for people living alone (I’m going to get to see my baby niece, Rylee, on Christmas and I could not be more excited). I totally understand that social gatherings are vectors for transmission and we all think we are exceptions to the risk. I’m here for doing my part. Plus? I enjoy my own company.
So, this is not a list of what you should do over your Christmas break alone.
One? It’s way too late for that, every outlet has been writing about this since October.
Two? We are all different people. We have different things that will make our time off merry and bright. (Like… cleaning? I know some people get jazzed by doing a real good deep clean but that does not bring me joy. I’m all about spending 15 minutes every day on upkeep so I don’t have to spend my time off catching up, but you do you.) This is simply a list of the things I will be doing over the next two weeks. Maybe you’ll take a little inspiration off of it. Maybe you won’t. But without further ado – here we go!
Puzzles
Puzzles!? During Covid!? Revolutionary. *insert Miranda Priestly gif. In your brain. I’m not doing that.*
I told you, this list is nothing new. But I love puzzles. They give you the same dopamine hit as playing Candy Crush, but you get time away from screens which is so good for your everything. Plus, keeping your brain active. Plus, they take time!
Pro tip: I do my puzzles on an old corkboard so I don’t monopolize my coffee table. I can just slide the corkboard under my couch. Flexibility!
Books
Duh. Lol.
From the library, I have: the last book in the Diviners series, the most recent Harry Dresden, Bad Blood (about the Theranos scandal) and whatever comes in from my digital holds.
I also think I might tackle a re-read of the October Daye series. I’m excited.
Podcast Walks
I have a huge backlog of podcasts to catch up on and some pretty picturesque river walks near my house, so on days that are warmer than -15 C, I’m here for walks! (I’ve found that my phone dies if I walk for longer than about ten minutes when it’s too cold.)
Some favourites include: Hey Riddle Riddle, Sawbones, Literary Disco and Noble Blood
However, what I really recommend listening to is my podcast Mystery, Outsiders and Abs. My brother, Kevin, and I watch teen drams (you know, shows that we are definitely the target audience for) and recap/review/goof about them. We are currently watching the very good 2014 show Star-Crossed and will soon be watching the less good show… Riverdale.
Online Fitness Classes
Keeping on that fitness train, I typically try to do one online fitness class per day. My go to is, of course, is Barre Body Studio. They are currently offering several livestreamed classes per day for only $10 each. However, they also have an awesome On Demand platform that has 100+ classes for only $29.99 CAN per month. (Plus 14 days free trial!) (Plus they have all sorts of barre class styles, lengths of classes, difficulty levels, modifications for fitness level/equipment, etc.)
I’ve also been trying to do a least one virtual yoga class a week. For my motility. And my sanity. We’ll talk about this a bit more in another post.
Pro-tip: Livestream fitness class etiquette is basically the same as any virtual meeting, so don’t be afraid. Turn your mic off (unless you’re supposed to be talking, which… during a fitness class you are not), please turn your camera on at the beginning/end of class to wave at the instructor. I know you don’t want to. You don’t need to leave it on for the whole class, but give your instructor a little support, loves. 🙂
New Content
I was a big fan of Ladylike, back in the day, and I’ve recently discovered Untitled Lady Show. The ladies are much more fun to watch in this casual, non-corporate environment and I’m loving watching the back catalogue. I can’t wait to make other fun discoveries like this during my two weeks off.
Virtual Hangouts
This is probably old news, but you can still hang out with your people from a distance. Tonight, my mom and I will both be enjoying Vertigo Theatre’s It’s A Wonderful Life from our respective homes.
On Saturday night, my friends Kendra, Claire and I had our annual holiday party. In our own individual homes. We had a video call to get ready together (makeup and drinks!), as you do on a girl’s night. Then we each watched Forte Musical Theatre’s Naughty… but Nice! (The run of this show is done, but you can get a bit of the experience with their cast album or on their youtube page.) Finally, we popped back on the video call to gush about the show – just like real life!
I’ll be doing all kinds of little things like this during my Christmas holidays alone, including a Zoom Christmas morning with my family.
How are your Christmas holidays looking different things year due to Covid? Will you be alone? What fun things do you have on the books? Drop it in the comments below!