Celebrating Winter Traditions Overseas
- Wayfinder Expert
- Dec 30, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 6
If you’ve spent decades celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s, or winter traditions in the U.S. surrounded by familiar foods and predictable rituals, the idea of being in a completely different culture during December can feel both exciting… and a little unsettling.
The truth is, when living overseas you can maintain your cherished traditions, while discovering beautiful new ones as well. Read on for some tips on making the holidays abroad still feel like home, and for some memorable new traditions you should experience.
Build “Found Family”: Most expats eventually create a holiday circle — part Americans, part locals, part friends from everywhere. Common traditions include potluck Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas Eve cocktail evenings, rotating “holiday host homes”, expat group celebrations, and multicultural blended traditions. Belonging isn’t about geography; it’s about people.
Rebuild Holiday Meals with Local Alternatives: You may not find canned cranberry sauce in Portugal, or pumpkin pie filling in Panama — but expats get creative. They substitute local ingredients, buy turkeys from butcher shops instead of giant supermarkets, swap pies for regional desserts, order certain American staples online or through expat vendors. Remember that the meal doesn’t have to match your past perfectly to feel special.
Technology Keeps You Connected: Today, distance doesn’t erase connection. Expats routinely video-chat gift openings, watch Christmas morning unfold remotely, join virtual religious services, stream U.S. parades and celebrations, and host “virtual dinners” with family
back home. You may be abroad — but you’re never truly far away.
Here’s something truly magical: once the worry fades, expats realize relocating opens the door to new holiday joy — the kind they never would’ve experienced staying in the United States. Below are five winter traditions expats frequently discover and fall in love with.
Germany — Christmas Markets (Weihnachtsmärkte)
If you’ve ever dreamed of Christmas coming alive, Germany delivers. Cities like Munich, Cologne, and Dresden transform into glowing holiday towns filled with stalls carrying handcrafted gifts and festive food, twinkling lights, choirs and carolers. Many U.S. expats describe German Christmas markets as the most charming, nostalgic, and enchanting holiday experience they’ve ever had. Trying the Glühwein (mulled wine) is a must.
Panama — Tropical Christmas with Caribbean Flair
If “winter” to you means sunshine instead of snow, Panama brings Christmas to the tropics. Don’t miss out on the vibrant parades, holiday fireworks, festive city lighting, lively music everywhere, and family-centered traditions. It’s Christmas — but in flip-flops.
Portugal — “Natal” with Community Warmth
Portugal offers a cozy, family-centered holiday season. Here you’ll experience beautifully lit city centers, Christmas Eve seafood feasts, bolo rei (traditional holiday cake), midnight Mass, and strong sense of neighborhood connection. It’s less about consumerism — more about togetherness.
Mexico — Festive, Faith-Rooted, Joyful Celebrations
Mexico is famous for warm, music-filled holiday energy. People often fall in love with Las Posadas (nine nights of community processions), colorful decorations, fireworks and street celebrations. Be prepared for Christmas Eve family gatherings continuing past midnight. It’s joyful, deeply cultural, and welcoming — expats are often invited in, even as newcomers.
Austria — Advent Magic & Alpine Christmas
Vienna and Salzburg take European Christmas atmosphere to another level. Visitors find elegant Advent markets, classical concerts, ornate nativity displays, candlelit streets, and peaceful, reverent celebrations.
Austrian Christmas feels slower, calmer, and deeply joyful — a welcome contrast to the frantic commercial pace many Americans are used to.
The Truth Expats Eventually Learn: Moving abroad doesn’t erase your holidays--it expands them. Yes, some things will change — the food, the sounds, the weather, the language. But expats consistently say their traditions don’t disappear, they blend into new ones. Their celebrations deepen, the holidays become more meaningful, and life feels richer, not emptier.
Because holidays were never just about a place. They were always about connection, joy, and belonging. And those exist everywhere.
Happy Holidays - wherever and however you choose to spend them - from your friends at Wayfinder International.
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