If you can't work in a trip home for the holidays on your current travel nursing assignment, have no fear! We have a number of ideas as to how you can spend this time of year. Plus, there is a good chance that some of your patients will be struggling with depression from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day, so you might find that putting in a little extra quality time at your job – not working – does the trick! When you're not working or lifting the spirits of your patients, try one of these ideas:
Volunteering
A lot of people spend the holiday season giving back to their local communities and others, so sometimes it can be difficult to find a place like a soup kitchen or homeless shelter that requires assistance. However, that doesn't mean that you're out of luck. You can spend your time volunteering in a number of different ways. For instance, how about collecting jackets for those in need? Talk to your co-workers, neighbors and friends about passing old coats on to you instead of to the trash.
If you have the time and the money, adopting a family is another great way to help others out around the holiday season. Organizations such as the Salvation Army will provide you with a family to sponsor this winter. Once you're assigned a group, the facility will provide you with a list of items that the family needs. These may include food, clothing and home goods, but it can be fun to include a couple of toys for the little ones.
A less-known option for volunteering during the holiday season is at the Humane Society. If you're an animal lover, you can connect with your local shelter to find out what items it is in need of and then start collecting as much as possible. Plus, you can also set aside some of your time to give the strays some special attention.
Sending love
Just because you aren't heading home for the holidays doesn't mean that you can't send some love to your friends and family. Instead of worrying about dealing with the crowds and then packaging and mailing your gifts, you should try out online shopping. Not only can this be done from the comfort of your own home – while sipping on a mug of hot chocolate – but you might even find some excellent deals. Just make sure that you are ordering from secure pages, so that all of your credit card information is safe. You'll also want to watch out for delivery times. If you wait too long to start your shopping, your gifts may not arrive until mid-January!
Handmade cards are another excellent option for the holiday season. You can spend your downtime as a travel nurse crafting designs on store-bought card stock. This is a great way to personalize each note you send out to your loved ones. Have fun, sit down and get those creative juices flowing! If you have extra supplies, make some cards to deliver to colleagues and patients at work. This small gesture can go a long way – especially during this time of year.