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10 Tips To Deal With A Christmas Away From Home

Christmas away from home is always a biggie, especially when you come from my family. Over the years I have spent away – I have come up with 10 Tips To Deal with a Christmas Away From Home.

Christmas is no small family of four event at the Gabbey household. It’s a minimum 18+ of dads side of the family. Where Christmas dinner is more like a military operation, with serving trays to keep things hot, followed by a 5 course, full-on spread to be fought over.

Then comes round two, where all of our neighbours and friends come over for “Bob’s (my old mans) Roast” because its that bloody good.

So, I’m now the terrible daughter who has abandoned that family at Christmas, not once, or twice, but for four years in a row. Sorry, Gang.

Australia Christmas 2019 Go With Gabbs

Here are some of the countries I have been lucky enough to spend Christmas these last few years

2019/2020 – Sydney Australia
2018/2019 – The Philippines
2017/2018 – Sydney Australia
2016/2017 – Bali

So Christmas away from home for me is a day of mixed feelings; Happiness it’s XMAS!, FOMO, Guilt, sadness for not seeing family etc or just generally being drunk.

However, you have to make a day of it wherever you are. Here are some of my coping mechanisms for when you are away travelling over Christmas, because, ultimately, it’s just not the same.


10 Tips To Deal with a Christmas Away From Home Go With Gabbs

10 Tips To Deal with a Christmas Away From Home

Your friends become your family

The Philippines was an odd place to travel. There’s no set route, it’s all islands, finding other travellers is harder than any other country we visited. I am very grateful we had a group throughout the whole of it and could create that sense of family.

In Australia however, we rented a huge 16-bed house with a swimming pool. Had a fake Christmas day with full traditions on Christmas eve. Only on the real Christmas day – we headed down to Bronte Beach with 30 of our mates, partying with every other UK and Ireland person away from their families in Sydney, Australia. It was an epic Christmas.

Much better than the raining, cold pizza and Bondi Beach Christmas back in 2017.

Flashpack

Now is the time, if you can, to splash out. Book a beautiful hotel with travel luxuries like; double beds, a BATH!!, a TV with Netflix, Working internet, swimming pool!

Things that you would hope to have in any hotel – but not when your travelling, these are winners! It’s Christmas and why not live like a (budget) Queen.

Stock Up

To the exception of 7/11 and Macdonalds – everything shuts everywhere, inevitably. The two days leading up to Christmas we stocked up.

In The Philippines, collectively we raided every 7/11 on the south side of the island of Cebu and collected around 12 bottles of Baileys.

In Australia the approach “Fuck it, its Christmas” became our motto as we raided the local supermarkets along with everyone else who left it to the last minute to do their Xmas shopping.

Bali – Pick a beach club and set yourselves up for some tanning, cocktails, beach club food and a lot of drunken antics.

Go With Gabbs 10 Tips To Deal with a Christmas Away From Home

Dress Up

ts Christmas! Whether it’s your best shit shirt, or, you have raided to local markets in Hanoi, Vietnam, or even pre-planned your Christmas hats.

Dress up! It makes the day a little bit more fun and ultimately Christmassy. If you’re used to a cold Christmas, it won’t feel like Xmas in 30* heat and vice versa. Or, a fun thing to do, if there is a group of you, buy each other something to wear on the day.

Small Gifts & Christmas Morning

Having previously flown in from Hanoi, Vietnam. We had pre-planned Christmas at the markets there. Hats, Beards & Shitty ridiculous presents all accounted for. Christmas morning is the start to how your day is going to go. Put on a Christmas film and get in the Xmas spirit.
Secret Santa is always a fun one for a large group of friends over Xmas.

Fun & Games

Everyone’s family has some game they play on Christmas. Whether it be the famous charades, Guess Who, Present passing, Or some random team building game. Introduce it to your friends and get the fun going. We played a mass game of hide and seek around the hotel. If you can’t act like a big kid on Christmas, when can you?

Make Memories

Photos! capture every moment, even the ones people wish you hadn’t. Make memories document it, as good as your memory may be, it’s amazing to have something to look back at in fondness.

Music

An obvious one, crank out the Sinatra and Jive Bunny, blast Bublé and keep the tunes going all day long.

Christmas Traditions

Teach your friends yours, or start a new one. If not, throw some Christmas international drinking rules in there and you will have fun either way. Mine: Baileys and Bublé, Sinatra and Sherry (very hard to find in the Philippines).

Facetime

The most important one. Regardless of where you are in the world, what timezone you are in, seeing your family and loved ones makes or breaks it. Try and find somewhere with good wifi and catch up with your family!

Those are my 10 Tips for Dealing With Christmas Away From Home!
Travel, see the world and if you are away for Christmas and missing the family, I hope my Christmas tips can make it a little easier for you!