Its December already!? Crazy, I know. November really flew by and now it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas (for real – it snowed this morning.) Once you get past the cold, Boston is a great place to be during the winter. With tree lightings, and carolers, outdoor skating rinks and pop-up markets, the city has so many different winter activities to help you celebrate the holiday season with your international visitor! If your’e getting tired of listening to 106.7’s nonstop Christmas music, here are some other festive ways to have a happy holiday!
(GI host mother and her students looking at holiday lights in Saugus, MA!)
Get in the holiday spirit by taking your visitor to see amazing holiday lights! Tour your own neighborhood or explore the light displays in other areas of greater Boston. Don’t know where to go?? This article can help. Check out the places with the best Christmas lights in Boston. Take a trip by car or bond with your visitor during an outdoor stroll. If you would prefer to travel by train, you can do that too! The Somerville Arts Council’s Illuminations Tour will take you through the illuminated streets of Somerville via trolley.
(One of our students decorating her host family’s Christmas Tree last year!)
After, take some inspiration from those neighborhoods and decorate your own home! Ask your visitor to help you place holiday decorations inside and outside your house. If you celebrate Christmas, involve your student in hanging Christmas ornaments and lights or even picking out the Christmas Tree. Designate a special ornament for your student (craft or buy one together!) – your visitor will feel like a welcomed part of the family and you will have a memento of the holiday you shared!
(GI students and their host family building a gingerbread house!)
Speaking of crafts…a fun at home activity is decorating a gingerbread house! If you don’t think you have the culinary skills to make one from scratch easy kits can be found in your local grocery store this season. You and your visitor will enjoy assembling and decorating the gingerbread house together and you’ll especially love eating it after 🙂
(Japanese TALK students posing with their gifts and Santa Claus!)
Take your visitor holiday shopping with you! Let them help you pick out gifts for your family and see if they want to get a present for their friend at school or family at home. A festive place for a shopping outing is a Holiday Market. Throughout the Christmas season, Boston offers a variety of holiday stores and pop-up markets for all your gift giving needs! Check out the Holiday Market in Downtown Crossing, The Harvard Square Holiday Fair, The Holiday Shopping Village at City Hall Plaza, or The Christmas in Boston store at Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
Don’t forget about New Year’s Eve! Holiday celebrations don’t stop after December 25th. Ring in the new year by watching Boston’s NYE fireworks display over Boston Harbor. The show begins at midnight on January first, but First Night festivities begin long before that. Bring your visitor to enjoy parades, ice sculptures, music, and dancing on the last day of 2016!
