Staying Connected With Family During the Holidays

expat network

Staying Connected With Family During the Holidays

Moving abroad and becoming an expat is a bold move, mixed with excitement and worries. Plus, if you’re moving the entire family away from parents, siblings, and friends, the experience often has a bitter-sweet taste. What are the options for staying connected during the holidays?

However, the separation doesn’t have to be this difficult since nowadays it’s easy to stay in touch and see each other whenever you want (due to smart technologies). After all, due to the miracle of technology, two people separated by continents and oceans can still have their morning coffee together and share their daily lives with one another.

Still, things tend to get tough around the holidays, when you start missing the warmth and comfort of the good old days when you could all be together in a face-to-face format. So, instead of feeling sad about it, why not find new ways to connect with all your loved ones?

Turn Your Photos into Custom Gifts

While the folks back home can see you on video, photographs have a special charm because they can be developed and placed on a wall, a mantle, or a bookshelf. So, if you want to surprise your family with a thoughtful gift, why not use some of your photos abroad?

You can create a custom calendar with some of the most endearing pictures you took of your family (together and/or by members). This way, your parents, siblings, or friends back home will have your pictures around all year long. Plus, it’s easy to find a wide range of home calendar designs you’ll love!

Share Your Experience with Everyone

Social media is not just for bragging about your latest acquisition or promoting the perfect-picture life. At a deeper level, social media channels offer you the chance to keep everyone back home up to date and engaged with your daily life.

With over 4.5 billion users worldwide, social media creates the perfect environment for communication and socialization nowadays. So by posting life updates and experiences, you also have the chance to make new friends with people in a similar position.

However, if you don’t feel comfortable sharing about your life publicly, there’s always the option of private groups and chats or creating a channel just for your family.

Participate in the Holiday Family Dinner

Even if you’re hundreds of miles away, this doesn’t mean you can’t be a part of the family events, such as the holiday dinner. Sure, you won’t be able to taste your mom’s turkey, but you can still be a part of the fun by joining in a video call.

And, if the time zone fits, you may also have dinner with your family on your side of the world. This way, the experience will be shared from both perspectives. And, if you really want to interact with everyone while they gather for the holidays, you may want to use a mobile virtual presence device or telepresence robot.

These devices allow you to control the movements of a device, which makes it easier to interact with people on the move or while doing various activities.

Overall, it’s important to find creative ways to stay in touch with friends and family from abroad because standard calls can easily get boring. One way to spice things up is to summon the family to a night of games via zoom or play silly quizzes that keep the atmosphere light and fun.

Wrap Up

Lastly, if you’re really missing the guys back home and can’t return for the holidays, why not bring them to you? For them, it would be a holiday vacation in a different country, and for you, it would be a long-awaited meeting with people you love and miss.

Moving Abroad Checklist

Initial Considerations

Will your partner be travelling with you?

If so, what will they be giving up in your present home and will they be able to continue with their career in your new home? You will need to check whether a separate visa is required for your partner to work or if your visa gives that right. If they are unable to work you will need to decide on the effect on your finances and what alternatives are available to give a fulfilling life (home business, training, voluntary work).

Are you taking family with you?

Moving with family raises many exciting opportunities, but also can create challenges. The HSBC Expat Explorer survey indicates that expat kids can take six months to settle in to their new country (see article). Getting young or even older children to prepare to move and leave their friends and family behind can be a challenge and should be thought through.

The options for education is another area that needs to be thought through.

Moving your child to a new country with a different education system can be a great opportunity to broaden their experience, but if they are close to key exams the timing can make this inadvisable. If you do take your family with you, it is important to decide between joining the local school system or choosing an international school.

Where will you be living?

Whether you will be living in a house or apartment, furnished or unfurnished, these decisions will affect what you need to take with you. The time you are planning to live overseas will also affect whether you should leave your property at home empty, rent it out or sell it. See the article Sell, Store or Ship.