If you’re presently traveling for an extended time, planning a long backpacking trip, or moving toward the digital nomad flavor of life, there is a good chance you’ll end up spending a holiday or two on the road. If you find yourself far from home around December 25th, we have some tips for how to celebrate Christmas while traveling.
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…perhaps… means a little bit more!”
-The Grinch
How We’ve Celebrated Christmas While Traveling
For the past two years, we’ve spent Christmas, on the road, away from our families. It was not something we intentionally did. It just kind of happened that way. We spent the better part of two years traveling through Asia and Africa. The idea of buying flights home for the holidays just wasn’t realistic for us. So, we embraced the opportunity to celebrate Christmas abroad and in ways, we never had before.
Christmas in Southeast Asia
The first year we celebrated Christmas while traveling, we were in Southeast Asia; we spent the month of December between Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. To our surprise, Christmas is actually celebrated more widely than we expected in Southeast Asia.
In the early part of December, we were in Vientiane, Laos’s capital city. Although sparse, we did see signs of Christmas here and there. The most surprising, and eventually memorable, holiday experience we had was the seeing a children’s production of the Christmas Carol. We just happened to stumbled upon an advertisement while walking around Vientiane. We didn’t hesitate to buy tickets for the performance. The production was a modern Lao take on the classic story put on by a local primary school in the city. Although we were probably the only people in the audience that did not have a son or daughter on stage, it was a heartwarming shoe that left us filled with Christmas cheer.
From Lao, we traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, and stayed there for the week of Christmas. We rented a room within the financial district and were a stones throw from two of the city’s newest and largest shopping malls. The whole area was decked out for the holiday. There were glimmering light displays outside the malls, and inside them was the type of Christmas wonderland we were accustomed to seeing in the United States. Walking around the city in the evening, we found Santa hats to buy and were treated to songs of carolers on more than just one street corner. The spectacle was far grander than we ever expected.
On Christmas Eve, we spent the afternoon in the park and took a spin on a swan boat together. For dinner that evening we did something so unconventional, we were craving buffalo wings so… we went to Hooters in Bangkok (haha)!
On Christmas Day, I left our apartment early and made up a stocking of gifts to surprise Jessica. We spent the rest of the day cozied up in bed watching our favorite Christmas movies, and before the day was done, we video chatted with our families back home.
Christmas in Northern Africa
The second-year we celebrated Christmas while traveling, we were in Africa. We spent the week of Christmas in Marrakesh, Morocco. The predominant religions in Morocco are Islam and Judaism, and neither observes Christmas in the traditional way we are used to. The setting was far different than our time in Asia, and the only real signs of the holiday we saw were in the riads and resorts that cater to western travelers.
By no means did this crush our Christmas spirit though, instead it challenged us to be a bit more open-minded and find a way to celebrate the holiday our own way.
On Christmas Eve, we spent our afternoon wandering around the Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakesh’s main square and one of the cities largest souks (markets). Sure it was far from the festiveness of a German Christmas market, but we made it special in our own way. My mission was to find a red sock for Jessica’s stocking, and we did.
Near the square, we found a charming little red carriage attached to a snow-white horse and eagerly climbed in for a ride through the medina. As the sunset and the temperatures fell, we were encouraged to nestle close together. Nothing says Christmas like a horse-drawn carriage ride!
On Christmas Day, per our new tradition, I got up early before Jessica and went out to the shops to find a few things to fill her stocking with. We took the morning slow and enjoyed a four-course brunch on the rooftop of our riad. After brunch, we spent the afternoon at a spa where we treated ourselves to a hammam and massage.
Our holiday was very different from how we’ve celebrated Christmas in the past, but it felt perfect to us!
10 Tips for Celebrating Christmas While Traveling
Below we have included ten ideas on how to celebrate Christmas while traveling abroad. Hopefully, these ideas will help to inspire you and lead to a few fresh ones of your own! There is no right or wrong way to celebrate Christmas while traveling the fun part is that it’s up to you to make the holiday special in your own way.
#1 Spend the Holiday in a Bigger City
If you can, we strongly suggest spending the holiday in a big, populated city. Cities are melting pots of culture and influence. In our opinion, your best odds of finding a bit of holiday festiveness is in the city. If you find yourself in a country that does not observe the holiday at all, just being around more people will help you feel more festive!
#2 Seek Out Something ‘Christmassy’
Wherever you end up celebrating Christmas while traveling, try and seek out something holiday-inspired to do. In our case, stumbling upon the children’s production of the Christmas Carol in Laos is a perfect example. If you are in a big city, look for an events calendar to find any Christmas themed events or activities.
#3 Give a Gift
Christmas is a holiday of gift-giving and one where we are constantly reminded, “it is better to give than to receive.” So, If you are traveling with a friend or your partner, consider surprising them with a gift on Christmas. The simple act of gift-giving will warm your heart in a way that only Christmas does.
#4 Plan a Special Brunch or Dinner
Food is a focal part of every holiday. Christmas is no different. One way to help to celebrate Christmas abroad is to feast! We think either brunch or dinner are equally great options. What matters is that it’s a meal that you don’t rush through! If you are traveling solo, try and connect with other travelers and share your holiday meal together.
#5 Video chat (Facetime) with Family
If you’ve been away from home traveling for a while, spending Christmas away from family and friends will make you miss home and maybe shed a nostalgic tear or two. To feel some of that familial love on Christmas we encourage you to set aside some time to video chat with your loved ones. They’ll be so excited to see you, and you’ll be filled with love and happiness by seeing and talking to them. You may even end up getting passed around to the whole family! This is an excellent opportunity to check-in with everyone else you probably haven’t talked to in a while, as well.
#6 Watch Some Holiday Movies
We all have our favorite Christmas movie or two that we get excited to watch when the holiday season comes around. Even though you’ve probably seen said movies many times, the season is just not complete without watching them. Netflix makes it incredibly easy to watch these movies from anywhere in the world. You can turn where ever you are from your hotel room to your hostel bunk into a holiday movie screening venue.
#7 Bring Food to the Poor
People are struggling and less fortunate than yourself all over the world. If you’ve visited any city, you’ve likely seen people who call the streets home. Regardless of the reason for their circumstances, Christmas is an ideal time to open your heart and help out your fellow man. One way to honor the spirit of Christmas is to bring food to the people you see living on the streets in the area you’re visiting.
#8 Go See a Movie in Theaters
No matter what your holiday looks like, there is always one foolproof way to spend it – go to the movies! Seeing a movie in theaters is an excellent activity on Christmas Day. For some families, this is a long-standing tradition; if its something you would’ve done at home for the holidays doing it while traveling will undoubtedly stir up happy memories of holidays past.
#9 Do Something Special for Yourself
If you’re traveling solo and spending Christmas abroad on your own, consider doing something special for yourself! Get yourself something you’ve wanted, or that is memorable to wherever you are. If there’s nothing special you want or can’t think of anything, then do something special for yourself, like treat yourself to a spa day!
#10 Learn a New Tradition From a Local and Share One of Your Own In Return
Travel provides the opportunity to learn how people from other cultures live. If you have the chance, try learning from a local about how they celebrate holidays. In exchange, share a tradition of your own with them. Who knows, you might pick up a brand new favorite tradition to share with your family and friends.
Reflections on Christmas Abroad
If you find yourself debating whether or not to interrupt your travels to go back home for Christmas, we encourage you to consider celebrating Christmas while traveling. The two years we did changed our perspective on the holiday and gave us a glimpse into how it is celebrated abroad.
It feels like In the United States, Christmas has become a symbol of hyper-consumerism and stress-inducing gift shopping. Spending Christmas outside the U.S. allowed us the freedom to redefine what the holiday means to us and gave us the un-influenced ability to celebrate how we see fit. Sure, we missed our family and friends and felt a nostalgic longing for holiday traditions we were accustomed to. But, these feelings eventually passed, and what replaced them was a happy feeling of freedom. Freedom to do something for ourselves and create our own new traditions.
Wherever you may be in the world… Merry Christmas!
Have a traveler in your life and not sure what to get them for the holidays?
Check out our Travel Inspired Gift Guide.
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