It's the Holidays!!! And with the holidays comes all sorts of fun and good cheer.
To help you make sure you get in the maximum amount of festive fun this holiday season, I've compiled this handy little checklist. Be sure to get out and participate in all these fun holiday traditions while the season is still rocking around the holiday tree!
1. Deck the Halls
Step one of getting into the holiday spirit is sprucing up your abode in festive holiday garb! Get out your tree and hang your stockings to keep the season merry and bright. I'll be doing a post early next week showing our festive holiday living room, but here's some shots of the door garland I just got up this week!
Something like this is pretty easy to put together; either you can buy an arrangement or wreath or fashion your own with some festive clippings at your local flower purveyor. I find really great blooms and fillers at our Trader Joe's, I am never disappointed with their selection of fresh flowers!
2. Make Festive Cookies
One of my favorite traditions for the holidays is making all sorts of fun cookies. From cut out shapes to dense shortbreads, the possibilities are endless! Look out next week for a post featuring some of the cookies I'm making for this year!
3. Participate in a Grab Bag or other Holiday Party
When it gets to this time of the year I am always dreaming up entertaining ideas — we used to do an annual grab bag dinner party back in high school that was always a hit. But if you don't have time to throw a whole shin-dig, you can always volunteer to organize an office secret santa or white elephant, just to get people in the spirit! Other ideas for parties could be a holiday cookie exchange party or just a festive holiday cocktail party.
4. Take a Walk in the Woods
Ideally taken after the first snow, I love to take an outdoor walk in the woods in the winter. Though I am partial to walks in the woods year round, there can be something especially special experiencing the woods in the snow. So go out and go walking in a winter wonderland!
5. Have a Family Feast
Of course there will be your usual get together with family for the holidays, be it Christmas day, Christmas Eve, or whichever holiday you get together with family for, but here I'm actually suggesting something different in addition to the usual! I recently found this illustrator and Etsy seller Lindsey Pemberton, and she shared an instagram not too long ago about the 'Night Feast' she does with her immediate family. It's a private little feast with your immediate family eaten by candle light. She says that her girls love the tradition and get more excited about this than the 'santa lists'. It's all about highlighting time spent together over the more commercial side of the holidays.
So we decided to do our own recently. We made good comfort food family style and ate by candle light. There was something really magical about it. I'd love to continue this Night Feast tradition going forward!
6. Get a Festive Holiday Beverage & See the Lights
This one combines a couple of holiday traditions into one.
Step 1: go grab your favorite holiday beverage from your favorite coffee shop or make one up at home. Whether it's the Toasted White Chocolate Mocha that I got from Starbucks in these photos, or a hot chocolate you mix up on the stove with some festive marshmallows and a candy cane, let your favorite holiday beverage fill you up with warmth and good cheer!
Step 2: Take your yummy drink and go see all the festive lights in your community! If possible, take part in your local tree lighting ceremony. We missed ours, but I heard that they had hot cocoa and also an ice carving demonstration. What a great way to engage and celebrate with your community!
And if that isn't your thing, or you haven't had enough, you could drive around your neighborhood looking at everyone's holiday decor. My mom and I used to do this growing up, she would get me in the car and drive around and we would admire everybody's lights and decorations they put so much work into.
7. Don an Ugly Christmas Sweater
Last but certainly not least, get dressed up for the holidays! While you may go fancier for your day of celebrations, don't pass up the chance to wear a silly holiday sweater for a drink out with friends, or your family shopping outings!
Until Next Time,
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