I'm sorry about you not being able to connect with family, but everyone will understand. In our family at no time in our lives has everyone been in one place at the same time.
Have family take a lot of pictures and you can look at them to see who has gained weight, who has gained a new spouse, who has had a new baby, etc. And send them some recent pictures of your own immediate family, they will be glad to see them.
Maybe next year, God willing.