We have strategies for celebration that will help you stay safe, socially distanced, and sober this year.
Any holiday can be a trigger for those of us in recovery from drug, alcohol, or other addictions. But during a pandemic, when we are more often isolated and stressed, the holidays can feel worse. Whether it’s your first sober Halloween or your fifteenth, this Halloween is the start of what will surely be a unique holiday season for all of us.
We have strategies for celebration that will help you stay safe, socially distanced, and sober this year.
Transform Your Home
If you’re missing the in-person thrills and chills of haunted houses or scary movies in the theatre, focus your time and energy on decorating your home with spooky lights, drawings, decorations, or maybe even a 12-foot gigantic skeleton. You don’t have to be a designer or spend a lot to transform your space, check your local dollar store (while wearing a mask) for spooky decorations or search for free printables and print color copies for a few dollars at your local copy store.
Get Crafty
New and unique activities can help break up the monotony of staying home most of the time, and give you a much needed screen break from Netflix and Zoom calls. Pick up some pumpkins and spend an evening carving them and baking the seeds, or pick a Halloween-themed recipe and spend a night baking.
Host a Virtual Halloween Party
When larger gatherings and parties are off the table, Zoom can fill in. Plan your Zoom party around a specific theme like a costume contest or a virtual pumpkin carving. Classic games like charades can be played over Zoom, or if you prefer something more modern, Jackbox games offers online options for a group. Watch a scary movie with your friends over Teleparty, which synchronizes video play and adds group chat. Provide everyone with a list of mocktails ahead of time, and ask them to share which one they prepared.
Take it Outside
The CDC recommends socializing in outdoor spaces where there is better ventilation to reduce the spread of COVID-19. If you do plan an in-person Halloween activity, take it outside. If it’s starting to get cold where you live, bundle up and make apple cider to take on a Halloween walk.
2020 has been a rough year. The holidays, which can be difficult in the best of times, will be more difficult for many of us this year. But it’s important to remember that each holiday is just another day. Whether you choose to celebrate or treat it any differently is totally up to you. It’s fine to do absolutely nothing and skip celebrating entirely. If the thought of planning a celebration stresses you out, then skip it. If you’ve had FOMO about holiday events and parties since getting sober, this might be an indication that you want a celebration. Celebration isn’t dependent on drugs or alcohol, it’s a state of mind and a feeling. Find what feels right for you this Halloween, and take that spirit with you into the rest of the holiday season.