CLEVELAND — The Nutcracker, live concerts, sitting on Santa's lap; these are all popular and traditional experiences for this time of the year. However, the pandemic has created distance between people and their favorite in-person holiday traditions.
All is not lost.
3News spoke with lifestyle expert Lindsay Myers on how everyone can keep the holiday spirit alive, even in the middle of a pandemic.
She says we need to get creative by thinking outside of the box this year to still enjoy the traditional and festive activities of the holidays.
“Most of them are from the safety of our home but that doesn't mean we are giving up on them,” Myers said. “There's just a different way to look at them and (to) use technology to be our best friend.”
Technology is key this holiday season because many of those traditional performances and experiences are going virtual this year.
In fact, opera legend Andrea Bocelli is performing in Italy today (December 12, 2020) and livestreaming the concert around the world.
Tickets to the Believe in Christmas performance can be purchased on Ticketmaster for $25. The live stream for the east coast here in the US is at 8 p.m.
Myers also shared that many ballet companies are providing virtual streams of the Nutcracker this year and The Civic Center of Indiana is streaming "Elf the Musical" during the month of December.
The beauty of this, according to Myers, is everyone now has the luxury to make the choice when and where they want to watch their favorite performance.
Myers offered more options, including virtual visits with Santa and singing holiday songs with a Broadway star, on her website.
Locally, The Music Settlement, which is a music school in Cleveland, is live streaming a holiday concert with The Forest Hill Quartet Sunday, December 13 at 7 p.m. on the BOP STOP Facebook page.
The concert is free, but they’re asking for donations.