Holiday Hacks

Tried and tested hacks to save your holidays

by Marta Ferrer Lubeck

Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays… As the Covid pandemic lingers, some may be celebrating the holidays away from home one more year. That does not mean we should miss out on our beloved traditions. We reached out to AWA members and asked how they adapted and maintained their holiday traditions in Singapore last year. Here are some handy holiday hacks shared by our members.

Halloween

If you cannot find an orange pumpkin, or if it is too expensive, carve a watermelon! Meg Farrell Sine

Thanksgiving

Ever since we moved to Singapore more than eight years ago, we redecorate the house four times a year to create "seasons": Chinese New Year, Easter, Fall/ Halloween/Thanksgiving, and Christmas. We have turkey for Thanksgiving and invite new friends we met that year who have never had Thanksgiving before to share the tradition with them. We like to order the turkey, but we make the sides at home. Finally, we love going to Lawry’s the day after Thanksgiving to kick off the holidays. Nataly Boswell

We debone the Thanksgiving turkey so that we can roast it in our only oven—the toaster-oven. Beth Wang Llewellyn

Christmas

A couple of years ago, we started kicking off 25 days of Christmas by going on a staycation to get into the holiday spirit. We watch Christmas movies the whole month of December, and each year we add one or two new ones to the list of classics. Before the pandemic we loved taking cruises around Christmas Day. Nataly Boswell

Our family always has a real Christmas tree, so I was happy to find that many nurseries on Thomson Road sell live trees. The tip I learned from experience is to buy the mosquito pellets to put in the water when you buy your tree. That way mosquitoes don’t breed in your house. And my friend swears the needles stay fresh longer if you spray them with hairspray. Jennifer Williams

Jennifer's Christmas tree - tropical version

In a humid climate, let your kids use graham crackers for their gingerbread houses. They can use white frosting to glue the crackers to a cardboard box, like a half gallon milk carton, and then decorate with candy. To create that 'winter' feeling at Christmas time, we cook some spicy chili, turn the air conditioner on extra high to make the living room extra cool (put on some fleece or flannel), play a video from YouTube on the TV of a yule log burning, turn on some Christmas songs and eat our chili. Meg Farrell Sine

Border closures last year kept us separated from our adult kids in various countries. We all cooked the same Christmas ham menu and sat down to eat our meal together virtually, over three different time zones. Jenni Lee

Jenni's Christmas ham meal

One thing I learned when trying to bake Christmas cookies in Singapore: rub ice on the counter before rolling out the dough to prevent it from melting. Jane Kim

I bake and distribute gingerbread loaves every December. Angela Chen

Angela's gingerbread loaves

My mother-in-law makes a July fourth ice-cream cake when we visit Chicago in the summer. Last December, I borrowed that recipe and created the "Christmas in the Tropics Ice Cream Cake." Marta Ferrer Lubeck

Finding kids’ holiday jammies for summer climates is hard but you can order from Australian stores, including Kmart. We always order a huge sushi platter and enjoy with champagne in our wedding flutes on Christmas Day. We like to go for a stroll along Orchard Road to see the lights. The snow machine outside of Tanglin Mall is a must! Shad Paul

Family holiday movie night: Flick on the Christmas tree when it gets dark, everyone gets in their favorite jammies, makes some hot chocolate, and watches a movie every Saturday or Friday night in December. Every family member puts in their top movie choice, you draw one entry out of the hat, and that is the show for that night! Christy Nilsen

Marta moved to Singapore with her husband and two children in July 2020. She loves to explore Singapore with the AWA walking, hiking and photography groups.