Families keep up holiday traditions

Holiday revelers of all ages are doing their best to stick to their traditions this holiday season, despite the highly unorthodox circumstances from the COVID-19 pandemic that have come to influence just about every facet of daily life.

In Montana’s Christmas Village, Bigforkers seem determined to celebrate the holidays that make their town so special during the winter season. But at the same time, most locals appear to be making adjustments in order to keep their loved ones safe and abide by ever-changing regulations on travel and gathering.

A lot of Bigforkers admitted they aren’t too preoccupied with celebrating in traditional style this year, but they want to try to preserve a sense of normalcy for their loved ones.

“Sometimes, I think I do it for the kids,” said Cody Youngbull, a father of two.

Youngbull said he’s committed to giving his two young sons an authentic holiday experience, pandemic and all.

“I’m trying to make it as classic as possible,” said Youngbull, who singlehandedly prepared a 22-pound turkey for his small family of three on Thanksgiving.

With so many changes and challenges this year, maintaining that classic holiday feeling is a tall order. Youngbull said he and his boys are used to having a much larger contingent of out-of-state visitors to their Bigfork home, since none of their relatives live in Montana.

But even with a much tighter-knit group, Youngbull said he thinks it’s important to give his sons as familiar a holiday experience as he can. Because his children are so young, he explained, it’s a crucial time for them to develop lasting holiday memories.

Youngbull put the situation into stark relief: At five years old, his youngest son has spent about 20% of his life in quarantine, so far.

“They don’t know any different,” Youngbull pointed out, so it’s worth it to make the season special, in spite of the difficulties.

Although her children are older, Deb Johnson agreed that her family is the reason she’s making an effort to try to keep the holiday spirit alive this year.

Johnson’s two children are in seventh and ninth grades at Bigfork School District. Even as they’ve gotten older, Johnson said, they’ve never lost their childlike enthusiasm for holiday activities—especially ones that take place out in the snow.

“The kids are excited for snow. We love sledding. We love building snowmen,” Johnson said. The family never travels outside the Bigfork holiday village during this time of year. “We love it here,” she said.

Johnson was disappointed other family members aren’t able to come visit them this year, but she was relieved her children’s favorite holiday traditions likely won’t be disrupted by the virus.

And at the other end of the spectrum, Larry Abell said he hopes to make the holidays special for his 89-year-old mother, who lives in a Helena Flats facility where she receives treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

The recent emphasis on smaller family gatherings works out well for the Abell family—including Larry’s brother Brad, who was recently elected to serve as one of three Flathead County Commissioners. Larry said the family used to host large parties with 20 or more people in their house, but it was overwhelming for his mother and she forgot who had come to visit almost as soon as the guests left.

“We’ll do things individually,” Larry said. “We’re going to keep it quiet.”

After a small celebration at home, Larry said he plans on seeing his mother at her assisted living center. She might not remember the visit, Larry acknowledged, but he said he’d carry on the family tradition nonetheless.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at (406)-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.