6 Awesome Ways Troops Celebrate the Holidays in Afghanistan

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve are a few of the biggest holidays we collectively celebrate here in the states.

However, when you deploy to the front lines of Afghanistan, those special holidays can feel like a normal working day — but troops still find ways to celebrate.

So check out six awesome ways troops celebrate the holidays in Afghanistan:

6. We hold gaming competitions

We may not have the latest X-box or Playstation, but we compete at whatever games we have laying around — even if we suck at them.

Soldiers playing Risk.

5. Make an awesome cake from a combination of MRE goodies

Not bad, right? All of the ingredients come from what we collect from our MREs.

We really know how to bake a cake on the front lines.

Just kidding! It looks more like this:

Real MRE cake. It still looks as good, right?

We pretend that it’s gourmet, though.

4. We slaughter and eat goat meat with the Afghan Army guys

We’re not going to show you how we go about killing our holiday dinner, just know that it’s tasty. Sharing meals really does bring people together.

3. Chemical light raves

Pro-tip for all my forward-deployed friends: crack the capsule and wait until the light is at its brightest, then spin those suckers around to create a cool curtain of lights. It’s a solid way to celebrate and forget you’re far away from home.

It’s also totally tactical.

Think about getting some for your next deployment party.

2. Playing improv musical instruments

It’s amazing how good a homemade guitar actually sounds.

thyago phyllip Melo, YouTube

Note: This isn’t an Afghan homemade guitar, but it’s close enough to get the point.

1. We gather around a laptop for movie-night.

We may not have tons of holiday movies to choose from, but we make it work.

Merry Christmas from your friends at We Are The Mighty. And to everyone deployed, stay safe out there and come home soon.

MORE POSTS FROM WE ARE THE MIGHTY:

Medieval knights used to fight giant snails and no one knows why

The top 8 ways to throw an epic barracks party

These 5 military leaders knew how to win wars and party hardy

We Are The Mighty (WATM) celebrates service with stories that inspire. WATM is made in Hollywood by veterans. It's military life presented like never before. Check it out at We Are the Mighty.