Thank you to Trollbeads for sponsoring this post on 10 fun ways to embrace the spirit of Christmas! As always, all opinions are entirely my own.
Has the holiday season totally crept up on anyone else this year, or is it just me? It must be something about getting older, because I swear Christmas never used to come up this fast when I was a kid!
Being that this is our first year in our new house, I’ve been decorating early and trying to embrace the spirit of Christmas even more so than in previous years. I wasn’t really in the mood to celebrate last year (my dad was just finishing up his cancer treatments), so I definitely want to take advantage of the early snowfall this year and truly embrace the spirit of Christmas to the fullest this time around.
In an effort to go all out this holiday season, I’ve been rounding up a list of some fun holiday activities and holiday party ideas. It’s kind of like a holiday bucket list, because I’m going to try to complete all of these things before the season’s up. Check out some of my ideas below, and feel free to add your own traditions below in the comments!
10 Fun Ways to Embrace the Spirit of Christmas
1. Decorate Christmas Cookies
Decorating Christmas cookies is a classic holiday tradition. This year, I bought a bunch of cookie sets and gingerbread houses and I plan on having a few friends and family members over to help me decorate everything! I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, and it’s a great excuse to get everyone together and into the spirit of Christmas.
2. Have a Holiday Movie Marathon
Another one of my favorite ways to celebrate the holidays is by having a Christmas movie marathon. Not only is this activity free (other than your cable or Netflix bill, of course), but it’s easy enough that it requires little to no planning. I’ve noticed some really intriguing new holiday movies on Netflix this year too, so I’m definitely looking forward to having a girl’s night soon where we can binge watch them all.
3. Start Your Christmas Shopping
Nothing quite gets me in the mood for Christmas like a little holiday shopping. I love to treat my family to special gifts during the holidays, and I try to start my shopping early so I’m able to find something truly amazing without the added stress of a quick deadline.
I also start my Christmas shopping early because I’m a sucker for a good deal. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are my jam, and I’m obsessed with scoring the sale prices while they’re still around. For example, one of my favorite jewelry brands Trollbeads is actually having a major Black Friday sale going through this weekend, where you can score anywhere from 20-60% off.
Trollbeads also just released a new bead for Black Friday called the Snowflake Obsidian Bead. Snowflake Obsidian represents purity, and the stone helps you to keep focused in chaotic situations and remove negativity. Not to mention, it’s absolutely stunning. Definitely take advantage of the sales while you can, and grab yourself and your loved ones some special beads for the holidays while the gettin’ is good!
4. Host an Ugly Ornament Party
Everyone and their mother seems to be hosting ugly sweater parties these days, but my aunt and her friends do something unique each year that I think is absolutely genius…they have an ugly ornament party. Basically, everyone brings an ugly ornament to the party to decorate the tree, and the person who wins ugliest ornament hosts the brunch next year featuring all the previous years ugly ornaments on display. It’s a fun reason to get together, and something I had never heard of before!
5. Pump Up the Christmas Music
Looking for a surefire way to get into the spirit of Christmas, like yesterday? Just turn up the Christmas music. Spotify has tons of great holiday playlists, so there’s options for all tastes!
6. Drive Around and Look at the Christmas Lights
I always love driving around and looking at the Christmas lights this time of year. There’s a few houses in our area that are known for their crazy extensive setups, so it’s a lot of fun to hit up those areas. It’s cute because the homeowners are often outside if you’re visiting during a popular time, and you can tell that they are so proud of all their hard work on their decorations!
7. Participate in a Secret Santa Exchange
Secret Santa exchanges are so much fun. I love the mystery behind it, and it’s fun shopping for someone that I may not normally be buying a gift for otherwise.
8. Sponsor a Child in Need’s Christmas
The spirit of Christmas is so much more than just listening to holiday music and decorating a few cookies. It’s also a great time to give back to families in need, since this can be a difficult time for some people. My favorite thing to do to give back during the holidays is to sponsor a child’s Christmas. There’s tons of organizations you can do this through, so keep an eye out for drives going on throughout your community and don’t hesitate to get involved. It really does make all the difference!
9. Deck the Halls
I’m feeling a lot more in the holiday spirit this year, and I think a big part of that has to do with the fact that I’ve been decorating my house early this year. Since we finally have a place of our own, R. and I have been doing lots of shopping and decorating both the inside and outside of our home. It’s been a lot of fun so far, and I can’t wait to see what it’s going to look like when we get our tree soon!
10. Spend a Little Extra Time with Family
One last way to embrace the spirit of Christmas is simple. Spend a little extra time with family. After all, the holidays are about being around those that you love. So, appreciate the important people in your life and make a little more time to see everyone. It’s something you’ll never regret.
What’s your favorite way to get into holiday spirit? Are there any fun traditions your family has that you just can’t miss?
