When My family moved from Minnesota to Florida in 2017. I moved here in October of 2017. My husband joined me in November with the moving truck. Mom had to wait until her house sold. Thus, she moved in March of 2018.
We had lots of family and friends there. We had some family around Florida but not nearby. It felt weird during holidays to not go to a large family gathering. We had a hard time getting new friends right away. We had many close friends just a phone call or FaceTime away.
Our second year in Florida, we came to realize that many of our new friends were in the same situation. We learned that many of them were alone during the holidays and really missed home. During that Thanksgiving, we opened our home to our new friends. It was our first Friendsgiving. This became a new tradition for us.
We opened our home for Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving, etc. Then we started inviting them to resort stays in Walt Disney World too. This is when we realized that our friends were becoming part of our family. We truly missed them when we weren’t together.
You may find yourself in a similar situation. You may have recently moved from a state that most of your family members live nearby. You no longer get excited about the holidays because you will be so far away from “home” whatever that means. If this rings true with you…you are not alone.
There are so many tourists in this area, that the meaning of “home” has lost its definition. Many of us have gone through the same struggles. You can join our group of friends that have become part of our family. Plug yourself in to our gatherings, art parties, and even our vacations. Don’t struggle through the holidays…come “home” to our house. Our hearts and our house are open to you.
We will be hosting Thanksgiving on the actual holiday at 3 PM for those that don’t have family close by. You are invited to bring friends with you too. We simply ask you to bring a dish to pass and let us know what you plan to bring. This will allow us to have all the pieces of the meal covered. Welcome home and welcome to our family.