photo credit: @sixteenmiles out via Unsplash.
California’s been dumped with rain (here) and snow (in the mountains) this week (hi atmospheric river!) and what better time to sit down and actually get into the holiday spirit than when it’s cold and rainy outside. Ahem. “So much to do, so little time” is my version of the holiday bucket list post. You must know by now, I am not a bucket-list-kind-of-person. I do write lists (and many of them), but bucket lists always feel dauting. Maybe it’s just semantics? Potayto, potahto!
Anyway. It’s the Christmas time, my favorite time of the year (although I’ve been slow to get into the spirit for a few seasons now). Here’s a list of things I need to get done and some things I’d like to (and already have) enjoy(ed) this holiday season.
★ Bake (more) Christmas Cookies. I already baked a batch, gave some away, ate some, and don’t know if the rest will last us through the holidays. How often do you bake through the holiday season? Just once, or do you have to get on it a second (or third) time?
★ Make hot chocolate. I mean, really make it from scratch. With real melted chocolate and milk slowly heated on the stove top.
★ Go to see the decorations in the neighborhood. Some people in our neighborhood go all out and it’s always fun to walk around and admire the effort they put into decorating their house. We’ll have to find a good time to do that though. We live in a neighborhood that has a HUGE influx of people around the holidays that come in to look at the (bigger) houses and fancy Christmas lights (we even have organized horse wagon rides going up and down some of the streets). It can be a circus here around the holidays.
★ Get our Holiday cards send out. As you know, I always do a Christmas card exchange and that means I send a lot of cards to a lot of people. I was a little late with the ordering process this year, but I hope to get them ready to mail this weekend.
★ Set up and decorate our Christmas tree. Accomplished last weekend and already enjoying the heck out of my little Christmas tree, which was hard fought for last year.
★ Watch some holiday movies. I need to get on that ASAP if I want to make it through my list. Have you watched some holiday movies already? (I know some of you start way early!) If you could only watch ONE holiday movie, which one would that be?
★ Finalize my Christmas gift list. I am almost done with my Christmas shopping (a few items that I order online are left) and I am pretty happy about it. I try to keep it light for the holidays, but I do love to pick out gifts for people, even if it’s just a small gesture of love and appreciation.
★ Get out and finish a puzzle. Maybe I’ll finally have the peace of mind to sit down and attempt a puzzle over the holiday break. I’ve been talking about it for ages.
★ Make some donations for a good cause. We do this throughout the year, but definitely make it a point around the holidays.
★ Post a review and round-up post about this year’s 6th annual Secret Santa Mug Swap. There were 13 participants in the US, Canada, and Germany this year and I can’t wait to share all about it.
★ Take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the season! I want for things to slow down (I know this is partly a mindset, so I am working on that!), and take the time to just marvel at the magic of the season! I am looking forward to drowning myself in Christmas coffee and tea, enjoying Christmas decorations, listening to Christmas music, cozying up by the (very fake TV) fireplace, and just enjoy some peace and quiet.
What’s on your ‘to-do’ (and ‘to-enjoy’!) list this next week?
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
December 15, 2021 at 12:07 pmIt was feeling very Christmasy here after we got 11″ of snow last week! But we are having a weird warming trend now and it will actually rain today so we lost a ton of that snow. It may all be gone in the next day or 2, and then it will get really cold, like high in the teens. Womp womp. I kind of wish the snow had stayed around but maybe we’ll get a bit more this week or enough will stick around to have a white Christmas.
We will drive around and look at lights one night soon. It gets dark here so early so we could do this right when we get home from daycare as it’s already dark! We did that last year but Paul’s fave house was the one with the inflated dinosaur with Santa on its back – which we drive by every day on the way to/from school! Besides that, I am taking him to an outdoor light display on Monday. We are going with another friend and her 2 sons. Hopefully the weather cooperates! I am actually not baking anything! I didn’t last year either. Phil’s mom will make some cookies and share some with Phil and Paul. I am watching what I eat right now so having a bunch of GF cookies around is too much of a temptation!
Elisabeth
December 15, 2021 at 3:53 pmI cannot believe we haven’t gone to look at Christmas lights yet! I usually start this a lot earlier in the season (back when the kids were in preschool I would pick them up after dark and we would go around a few local neighbourhoods every few days looking at lights). I have got to get on this.
Overall, I’m not feeling quite as festive as usual this year…but that’s okay. It will come, I’m sure.
I definitely do things in stages. I literally put up decorations over the course of a month. I find it overwhelming to do it all at once, so do little bits here and there over multiple weeks. Same with baking, though I’m not doing too much of that this year anyway.
If I had to only watch one Christmas movie it would be White Christmas just because it’s one of my favourite traditions since I always watch it with the same girlfriend each year and we have, purposely, hyped up it to be this big deal for both of us. The movie is just an excuse to enjoy this evening together and it’s very fun and makes me feel young at heart :)
All the best with your to-do list! Your card (from Canada) is in the mail; hope it gets to you before Christmas?! If not, it will be a fun arrival in the New Year.
NGS
December 15, 2021 at 6:32 pmI have some baking to do and I’m waiting on one more small package that I’ll have to wrap, but otherwise I think I’m done with busy things. Decorations are done, lights have been viewed, cards have been sent, and I’m going to get nine days in a row off from work soon. Yay!
Nicole MacPherson
December 16, 2021 at 3:47 amI’m in the midst of a very challenging Christmas puzzle! It’s taken over my life.
Christmas movies! This weekend the boys and I will watch Christmas Vacation. Usually we watch it on the last day of school, but they have some commitments on that day so we will watch it Saturday instead. My husband and I have been watching Succession, which is the opposite of a feel-good Christmas movie.
I saw some of those lights on your IG, and wow! How lovely to live in such a neighbourhood.
Stephany
December 21, 2021 at 7:20 amIf I could only watch one Christmas movie, it would be Elf! I just adore that movie so much. I usually watch it every Christmas Eve with all of the lights off and only the glow of my Christmas tree. It’s so cozy!
I’ve had a really good holiday season but I can already feel the Christmas gloomies heading my way. I always get so sad when the holiday season is over!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
December 30, 2021 at 5:14 amWell obviously its after the Holidays I read this so wihsihing you all the best to achieve all of it comes late. However I may add a movie suggestion that works also after the Holidays and that I enjoyed. It is a new one called “Silver <skates" and plays in St Petersburg around the turn of the century (1900) and I really enjoyed it for being a bit different. And it is all shot in snow and ice.
anne
January 3, 2022 at 4:13 pmWriting this so late, but I hope that you got to most of the items on your list! I would love to know how you make that hot chocolate – it sounds absolutely wonderful, and I can assure you I have NEVER had homemade hot chocolate made like that! Is it more common in Germany??