Connecting with Family over the Holidays in Meaningful Ways

For some in early recovery, then, it may be best to connect from a distance and not in person. Skype, FaceTime and video chat apps are great online tools for strengthening this long-distance connection. Handwritten notes, too, can communicate greater intentionality and care went into your effort to connect with a loved one.

Another meaningful way to connect with family from afar? Sending photos from a current album. For a parent, grandparent, or even spouse, those images from your life don’t just update them about how you’re doing and what you’re up to; they can be priceless.

If your family is local and you need to minimize your interactions at this time of the year, consider taking part in a volunteer event that is hosted by a church or service organization in the area. This lets you spend a few hours with your loved ones, without having to be captive to their company over a longer period of time at home or elsewhere.

For those of you who will be home with family this holiday season, here are some ideas for connecting in meaningful ways:

• Keep your expectations of others and of the day very low. Expectations are pre-meditated resentments.
• Offer homemade gifts. 
• Ask everyone to keep phones and electronics off the dinner table, so you are able to be more present to one another.
• Play board games together.
• Watch holiday movie classics together.
• Cook/bake together.
• Go around the dinner table with each person sharing one thing that they love about the person to their left/right— or why they are grateful to them.
• Put several open-ended questions into a basket and send it around the dinner table. Each person then pulls out a question and has to answer it.

With a little planning and forethought this holiday season, you’ll be able to connect with your loved ones in meaningful ways.

If you are looking for tips on how to connect with a family member in recovery, check out:

• Building Empathy: How to Connect With an Addicted Loved One
• How to Help a Recovering Loved One Cope With Holiday Triggers