Celebrating with Family Even When Holiday Travel Isn't Possible

If you are like me and your family lives miles and miles away from you and you just can't afford to to visit them as often as you would like (especially during the Holiday season when airfare is overpriced), here are some tips to help you stay close to your family even though you are so far away.

My family lives in Europe and I'm very close to them. In fact I talk to my mom every single day. I remember when I first moved to United States fifteen years ago, the price of a one minute phone call to Europe was about $3.50. At that time I was in college and could not afford to talk to them so often. We are so lucky now that we can use Skype which is totally free--plus we can see each other now, not just talk to each other. My daughter loves to talk to her Grandma every day. She always has something new to show her and tell her about her day. We also have Vonage service at home and for a flat monthly fee we can call any land line in the world for free, so I can call all my friends and family who aren't online and talk to them as much as I want.

So, since we cannot spend Holidays together this year, we will spend out Christmas together online.
Of course my daughter is mostly excited about presents and my mom will be able to share that excitement with us. She will watch her unwrap all her presents via Skype and we'll talk and share some laughs. We'll count the minutes together on New Years Eve and celebrate together.

There is one good thing about not going home for the Holidays--you don't need to buy tons of presents for distant relatives and friends. I'm only sending small gifts to my mom, sister and my niece and nephew. I always ask my sister what her kids really want, because she won't be able to exchange them or return them. We are also not spending tons of money here--most of the presents are for our daughter and we'll buy each other small gifts.

Most important thing is to stay close to your family, don't be separated by distance and share your life together. I know that wherever I go or whatever I do, my family is always with me.