It’s finally the beginning of December, my favourite time of the of the year! Unfortunately as we get older, the festive season tends to lose it’s magic especially if you’re stressing about buying gifts, money or the overload of things you’ve got on your to do list. Luckily there are some things in fact 16 of them that you can do to bring the magic of Christmas back, if you are not feeling very festive this year.
16 things you can do to get yourself into the Christmas spirit:
- Watch a Christmas movie – Nothing like putting a good old school Christmas movie on, like Home Alone. Or if you’d rather see something new, Netflix has a rather impressive selection of very cheesy Christmas movies.
2. Listen to Christmas songs – Put Mariah Carey – All I want for Christmas is you on full blast and sing your heart out, if that doesn’t make you feel Christmassy then I don’t think anything else will.
3. Bake Christmas cookies – Baking isn’t my strong side so it’s not something I usually practise myself but it’s fun so you should give it a go and why the hell not, it’s Christmas.
4. Make a gingerbread house – Gingerbread houses originated in Germany during the 16th century, and to this day we practise the tradition of making them.
5. Go to Winter Wonderland – It really doesn’t get much more Christmassy than Winter Wonderland. Ice skating underneath the fairy lights, drinking some mulled wine and wandering round Christmas market stalls! Perfect for families, groups of friends or couples.
6. Do something kind for your family member/friend/neighbour – The festive season should be about more than just buying gifts but being kind to your loved ones, I know that it’s something that should be practised everyday of the year but we should especially remember about it at this time of the year; that family and friends are what really makes Christmas special.
7. Decorate your house with Christmas decorations – Christmas is a great excuse to put fairy lights everywhere, and then never take them down again.
8. Put the Christmas tree up – Decorating a Christmas tree with your family is a definitely bonding experience that will put you in the Christmas spirit.
9. Light up a Christmas scented candle – What’s the smell that reminds you of Christmas? Is it cinnamon? Or maybe ginger? Chances are that there’s a candle that smells like that.
10. Get an advent calendar – These days there are advent calendars with literally everything, gin, make-up, candles you name it! Choose your favourite one and the countdown to Christmas will much more pleasurable and exciting.
11. Go shopping for Christmas gifts – My favourite part of Christmas shopping is wrapping them up at the end, if that’s not your favourite part then fear not because I will be doing a post on how to wrap those presents perfectly. You’re welcome!
12. Send out Christmas cards to family members who live far away – It’s not always possible to be with loved ones during the festive time, but you can always send them a Christmas card to remind them that you are thinking about them.
13. Go through your clothes and donate to charity any unwanted items – Start the new year with a organized wardrobe, with clothes you actually only wear and then the rest donate to charity as a good Christmas deed.
14. Help out in a homeless shelter – Many people won’t have food or family to go to this Christmas, that’s why if you have some spare time you could help out in a homeless shelter, whether you have a skill you could share with others or you’re simply a good listener you could definitely volunteer for Crisis this Christmas in London.
15. Go to a Christmas market – Most towns and cities have Christmas markets now, which usually consist of food stalls, mulled wine and fun fair type of attractions, so it’s definitely worth checking your local Christmas market.
16. Donate to Crisis – If you don’t have the time to volunteer you could always donate and for just £28.18 you can help someone get company, a bed, a Christmas dinner and much more.
