Easy Pandemic Christmas Traditions That Will Spark Joy

Whether it was big family parties or cookie bake-offs , many Christmas-loving Canadians are nixing their usual holiday traditions this year.

But just because the pandemic has put a damper on in-person gatherings outside of our households doesnt mean we need to skip the festive spirit. Watch the video above to see what easy Christmas traditions you can do with your household this year.

As weve previously reported, starting a new ritual can spark holiday magic that burns bright for years to come. According to peer-reviewed research on Christmas traditions, its not what a person does for the holidays that makes people enjoy them, but how often they do it and if theyre doing it with loved ones.

So take heart in knowing that just because Christmas is different this year doesnt necessarily make that a bad thing , as family therapist and Montclair State University professor Jonathan Caspi told CNN .

Among the traditions suggested by Caspi in the video above, many are free and give people a break from being cooped up: Walking in a winter wonderland, enjoying reindeer games with kids, and taking a neighbourhood drive to see holiday lights can be a literal and emotional breath of fresh air.

Check out: gifts that will help you enjoy the great outdoors. Story continues after the slideshow.

If your family would rather not frolic in freezing weather, giving Christmas foods an even bigger role than usual can also make for fun traditions, all without leaving your home. From ordering your favourite meals for delivery to experimenting with new Christmas recipes , culinary delights can be a source of comfort.

Still feeling bummed? If you cant help but bemoan your blue Christmas, Caspi recommended seeing the bigger picture: Theres always Christmas in 2021 to look forward to, after all.

Also on HuffPost:

","type":"newAolon","meta":{"aolOnCid":"5514403a1146fb0d084da50e","aolOnVid":"5de6d34641aecf21e2263c1c","hlsUrl":"https://delivery.vidible.tv/video/redirect/5de6d34641aecf21e2263c1c?bcid=5514403a1146fb0d084da50e&w=1080&h=1080&enc=m3u8","length":104322,"name":"Elf On The Shelf: An Origin Story","placeHolderThumbnail":"//img.vidible.tv/prod/2019-12/03/5de6d34641aecf21e2263c1c/5de6d35ddac60c0001ee8936_1080x1080_FES_v1.jpg?w=1600&h=900&q=60"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{"fonts":{"primary":{},"accent":{},"caption":{}}},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"archive","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"ca","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5fe36b63c5b6ff74797f49ee","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/archive/ca/entry/pandemic-christmas-traditions_ca_5fe36b63c5b6ff74797f49ee","entryTagsList":"video,holidays,christmas,lifestyle-news,traditions,@ca-living-viral,@instantarticle,@newsletter-lifestyle3","sectionSlug":"living","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"lifestyle-video","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.living","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":7},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5fe36b63c5b6ff74797f49ee","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"video","slug":"video","links":{"relativeLink":"news/video","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/video","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/video"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/video"},{"name":"holidays","slug":"holidays","links":{"relativeLink":"news/holidays","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/holidays","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/holidays"},"section":{"title":"Life","slug":"living"},"topic":{"title":"Holidays","slug":"holidays","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/holidays"},{"name":"christmas","slug":"christmas","links":{"relativeLink":"news/christmas","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/christmas","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/christmas"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/christmas"},{"name":"Lifestyle News","slug":"lifestyle-news","links":{"relativeLink":"news/lifestyle-news","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/lifestyle-news","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/lifestyle-news"},"section":{"title":"Life","slug":"living"},"topic":{"title":"Lifestyle News","slug":"lifestyle-news","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/lifestyle-news"},{"name":"traditions","slug":"traditions","links":{"relativeLink":"news/traditions","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/traditions","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/traditions"},"url":"https://action.news/archive/ca/topic/traditions"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"defer":true,"addPlaceholder":false}">