Montridge’s guide to a fun 2020 holiday season

It’s that time of year again, holiday season. The weather is colder, snow beginning to fall and the streets are decorated with lights. It is safe to say that this holiday season is going to be more challenging than most years. 

We are here to try to help you to enjoy these holiday times as much as you can with our very own guide for injecting fun into the 2020 holiday season.  

Festive events to enjoy around Vancouver this Holiday season

In typical years, the holiday season had markets to explore, magical Christmas musical performances, and displays that gathered the masses. Due to the pandemic, these events are likely to be cancelled or re-structured to meet social distancing requirements. Fortunately, some of our favourite holiday attractions in Vancouver are still taking place. Here are some things you can do during this 2020 holiday season: 

PNE WinterLights Event 

The PNE WinterLights will take you on a magical experience through nine enchanted lands, each containing a beautiful array of lights. At the end of your travels, you even get to meet Santa. Festive performers help guide and entertain you along your way. You can do all of this from the luxury of your own car along a 2-kilometre route. 

Canyon Lights Display

The Canyon lights display is one of the world's most spectacular light displays. Unfortunately, due to the Provincial Health Authority’s announcement recently, the lights display will not be in operation this year. However, The Capilano Suspension Bridge Park will continue to operate during the hours of 11am to 6pm with the necessary COVID safety measures in place. The park is still decorated with beautiful lights and views. 

St. Paul’s Lights of Hope Display  

The Lights of Hope is an annual display and part of St. Paul’s fundraising event. The display uses over 100,000 lights and is certainly a sight to behold. This year’s fundraising event will differ from the normal procedure, with it being held virtually. The event will feature the lighting ceremony and have a choir performance of festive carols.

We know it can be tough to stay indoors for long periods of time and no moment epitomizes that other than during the festive season. When you do leave your household and partake in activities or go to see anything festive, make sure to adhere to the appropriate guidelines to minimise the spread of covid-19

Games, games, games

What says fun like competition? The answer is nothing! Playing games with each other on Christmas is sure to get the competitive juices and adrenaline flowing. There are plenty of great Christmas game options for both kids and adults to play both inside (board games, card games), outside (scavenger hunt, snow relay games) and virtually (trivia, drinking game) so pick some that may be of interest to you, pour yourself a drink, have some food and begin playing with family, extended family and friends.   

Online Games

Among Us - An online multiplayer game consisting of 4-10 players that takes place in a space themed setting. The game consists of teamwork and betrayal and the aim of the game is to protect your spaceship and return to civilization while facing challenges. You can play online or over local wifi.

JackBox TV - contains a series of classic social games and party video games developed by Jackbox Games. Once you choose a game you want to play, you’ll see a four-letter room code. To join, each player goes to jackbox.tv using whatever web browser on their phone or laptop and inputs it to begin playing. 

Houseparty - Houseparty is a social networking app that easily connects you with the people you love who are not in the same location as you. The app contains a variety of games like Heads Up, Trivia, Quick Draw, and more. Add friends to play with you, wait for them to connect, then play. 

Board and Card Games

EXIT games - These are escape room based card games for up to four players whereby you must solve a series of puzzles and riddles to unlock doors and new riddles to eventually achieve your freedom. The clock is ticking so you need to solve as fast as you can.

Apples to Apples - This is an award winning card game that consists of two decks of cards: one for things and the other for descriptions. The active player draws a description card, then the other players in the game all secretly choose a Thing card in their hand they best believe matches that description. The active player then reveals these chosen cards and chooses the one they think, best matches the description card. Once a player has won a predetermined number of description cards, they win.

Chess - You may have gotten some inspiration from the popular new series Queen's Gambit. The game has endless benefits as well as plenty of competition. You can play chess by buying a physical board or by playing online. 

Final Thoughts

With no large crowds assembling for festive events and activities, or large gatherings amongst family or friends to enjoy the finer things in life together, this holiday season can be one of extreme difficulty mentally and emotionally. We urge you to ultimately stay safe and incorporate some fun through the use of this guide and beyond, into your winter holiday season while adhering to the health authority guidelines.