Expats' Christmas celebrations away from home

A difficult choice for expats

There might be various reasons for staying in your expat host country for the holiday season: distance, poor planning, no vacation from work,  o budget constraints. You might also prefer to stay with your partner and learn more about your host country's culture during this period. As you might have figured out, the reasons are many.

However, when you don't really have a choice, it's likely to be quite challenging, especially if you recently moved abroad and you feel homesick. The feeling of loneliness can indeed be particularly overwhelming in during the festive season. Whether it is a deliberate decision or not, you might also have to explain it to your loved ones why you can't travel back home, and sometimes it is not an easy thing to do! And, of course, it is not always easy for parents to spend Christmas without their children, even if they are adults.

What are your options if you can't go home for Christmas?

Well, it's now official: you won't be going home for the holidays. So how do you intend to celebrate Christmas away from your loved ones? Do not hesitate to ask your new acquaintances about their plans. There are often two options. The first one is that your expat friends won't be going home either, so you can plan your own alternative Christmas celebrations according to your respective traditions. This can be a great moment to share your culture and your traditional dishes with your new friends. The other option is to have your local friends invite you to their family, which can be an excellent way to discover the local Christmas traditions. And then, thanks to technology, you can plan a video call with your loved ones so that you feel closer to home in no time. Even though it's not the same thing, it's still a great way to share these joyful moments.

As for the New Year, it will perhaps be easier because most countries have similar ways of celebrating the New Year: get-togethers and parties. Of course, depending on your host country's culture, some things might be different. But generally, you will have no problem relying on your friends and acquaintances to have a good time while waiting for midnight.

Expats share their experiences of being away from home

We asked some expats about their experiences of being away from home for the first time.

Sarah is Kurdish and Iranian, and in her culture, there is no tradition of December holidays. So, staying in her host country at this time is not necessarily unusual, although she misses her family. The first time she spent Christmas away from home was quite a discovery because she only knew the story of the decorated tree, the gifts and Santa Claus: "I was invited by my roommate and her parents to have dinner together on December 24, they had come to our house for the holidays. We ate so much, especially fish, which I was not used to eating because I come from a city that is not close to the sea. We then went to midnight mass, and it was really amazing. I had no idea that Europeans were so close to religion, and I realized it that day!"

Emma is spending her first Christmas away from home this year: "I'm spending it in Thailand with friends I met during my trip; they will be my family this year. There will be no snow, no tree, no fireplace, no typical meal, and no Yule log, but we will certainly exchange small gifts during a meal around a Pad Thai (local dish) on the beach in a bathing suit. On the plus side, it's a different experience; it's nice, it's warm, and it's a significant change". But there are downsides as well because these holidays have always been very important for her and her family. "It's hard to be away from your loved ones, knowing that they are all together, and not spending this precious time with them, eating all the good things that we eat at Christmas. I also miss the Christmas atmosphere: the Christmas carols, the decorations in the streets, the Christmas shortbread, the mulled wine, the markets, etc."

Manon spent two years on a Caribbean island with her partner. "I had a pretty good time for my first Christmas away from home, but it was weird, as it's a place where it's hot all year round, especially in December because it's summer. It was a special atmosphere and quite different from what I had experienced before. You don't necessarily think that one day you're going to decorate your house in shorts and a tank top and then go to the beach! I ended up buying a Christmas t-shirt instead of a sweater. For Christmas Eve, we video called our respective families to be somehow together in spite of the distance, but with a big 5 hours time difference! We managed to make something simple and cozy at the same time by observing Christmas traditions, and it was great. As for the general atmosphere in December, Martinicans love Christmas, so it hasn't changed much. There were Christmas decorations, animations, Christmas markets, etc., but instead of drinking mulled wine, we had a homemade sorbet!".

Vanesa was born and raised in Argentina and has lived in Europe for a few years. "For my first Christmas away from home, I was alone because I didn't know anyone, so I pampered myself with Panettone and sparkling wine and had dinner alone. It may sound sad, but I really enjoyed that moment because everything was new to me, and I had accepted the idea that I wouldn't be returning home since I had been gone for only a few months. But I remember that on December 26, I went to Berlin to visit two friends (I was living in Rome that year), and I celebrated New Year's Eve there. It was wonderful."

Sebastien has lived in Ireland for several years, and for him, Christmas is a traditional event with family, and New Year's Eve is the time to party with friends: "My first Christmas away from my family was really strange. We were 4 French and 4 Canadian friends for this first Christmas, and I remember very well our first meeting to discuss the menu and other things. We French immediately made the choice of wines and 'foie gras' a priority while our roommates looked at us doubtful! On their side, they mentioned dishes that seemed quite "basic" to us: mashed potatoes, gingham carrots, and steamed green beans. It was probably going to be complicated to agree. Finally, we, the French, decided to take care of the aperitif and the wines (a different one for each dish), and the others managed the rest. After a few heated discussions, Christmas finally came, and we were able to enjoy a great time together. I remember a lot of laughter and cultural discoveries (we had been living together in the apartment for only one month). For the first New Year's Eve, we had a get-together in our apartment with many people of different nationalities. It was a real melting pot for me, who had never been outside the borders of my native French department. That's when I realized that the world was big and that I had not seen anything yet. I really liked this mix and meeting people from different cultures."

Pauline has also lived in Ireland and recalls the first time she spent the holidays away from home: "I was working on December 24, but I finished early, and the plan was to meet up with friends for Christmas Eve. We were two French, one Tunisian and two Irish, and it was decided that we French would take care of the dinner. I still remember a few days before New Year's Eve, running around looking for festive food and expats passing the word on which supermarket to go to. During the dinner, it was great to discuss our cultural differences and discover the traditional dishes. For one of the guests, it was the first time she tasted 'foie gras'. I think she went through all kinds of feelings. She was in full discovery mode. For dessert, we had prepared a 'bûche'. Our friends were touched that we had prepared this meal and shared it with them. We then spent the rest of the evening singing typical Christmas songs in karaoke mode. Looking back a few years later, it's still a great memory. Christmas had more than confirmed that feeling of sharing and kindness. There was a real meaning to the word sharing".

Spending Christmas and New Year's Eve away from home is something that expats experience at least once. One thing is for sure, being in another country during the holidays does not necessarily mean loneliness. It can even be very enriching and a way to create your own traditions with your new expat family!