December has arrived and that means we can just move straight into Christmas world. It’s the season of sugar, holiday parties and lights everywhere. I think it’s great that there is a month dedicated to celebrations. 12 Days of Christmas is not my favorite Christmas song, but it does give me a good blog post to write about Christmas. Here are a few of my favorite Christmas things:
Movies
This flow chart is pretty amazing if you are trying to decide on a Christmas movie. I have a few favorites that I never miss. I love Home Alone because it gives me an excuse to order a cheese pizza (just for me.) Christmas Vacation is a classic. Really, there aren’t many Christmas movies I dislike. I don’t watch them until the month of December because it feels weird, so I love watching them all month long.
Cookies
My favorite cookies are the Russian Tea Cakes – aka balls of butter and powdered sugar. My other favorites are the green wreaths made with cornflakes. They are a disaster to make but I love them so much – even when my mouth is green and my fingers are sticky.
Spruce Scented Candles
This one is my favorite. We don’t usually have real trees, but we have had a small fake one. This Magnolia one is pretty awesome. With the fake tree, you still want the smell of the real tree, so we rely on candles for this. Works like a charm and doesn’t require cutting down a tree or needles all over the house.
New York City
We are heading back to New York City for a weekend of holiday magic and I am so excited. I shared my 10 favorite NYC things on the Nomad website today. The lights, the people, the decorations. I just have to make it through this week and then we are heading back to celebrate the holidays with some of our favorite people.
Cards
I love Christmas cards. I love sending them and getting them. I love thinking of ridiculous ways to send some love and hopefully some smiles. We’ve already gotten a few this year and it makes me happy to check the mail every day.
It’s the time of year for fun cocktails that are all Christmas inspired. We recently visited Miracle at Lawless Distillery last week for happy hour and enjoyed some amazing cocktails. If you are in the Twin Cities area, I would highly recommend a stop here during your Christmas season.
Hygge
This is a year round phenomenon, but winter seems to be the best time to really embrace it. I’ve written about it last year and back in 2015 too. I love the idea of it. You have to just take some time to embrace the tiny little details of cozy blankets, twinkling lights and good company.
Stuffing
Seriously, Thanksgiving does not provide me with enough stuffing. This is the recipe we used and it was just the best. I will probably make it on a random Wednesday soon.
Giving
This great article about stressing less about giving. This year, we are giving less to the people we know and giving more to those we don’t. We are working on being more thoughtful and intentional with gifting and giving. I’m a huge fan of the companies that give one when you buy one so you’re giving twice. I’ll share some of my favorites later this week because I have quite a collection now.
Nutcrackers
We don’t do many decorations but each year, we buy a Nutcracker. We have a surfer, a snowboarder, a basic blogger with a Starbucks cup. Searching for the right one every year is a date in itself for us. We have one for every year that we’ve been married and two of them are special gifts. We take them all out each year from their carefully wrapped storage box.
Music
Christmas music gets annoying after a few weeks, but I enjoy it at the beginning. We keep some of our favorites on a playlist, so I figured I would share it with you. Enjoy it while you can.
Lights
Last, but not least, the lights. I like to keep ours out all winter long because those short days can be a bust. Having candles and lights make everything feel so much more cozy and festive. Right now, the snow is falling outside, but having all the neighbor’s houses lit up makes it so much easier to deal with. As long as your lights aren’t Christmas themed, I think you leave them up until the end of March.
So what is your favorite part about Christmas? What songs or movies should I add to my list?
I definitely get into the hygge during December – I absolutely love the concept, and it's such a good time to get cozy and light some candles. I also really love your Santa pants mug! So cute!
We are definitely on the same page about leaving the lights up all winter long. Just so cozy!
Spending Christmas with family and loved ones makes it special. Being able to catchup and share stories around the dinner table makes the hectic preparation for Christmas lunch or dinner worthwhile.
Gretta Hewson
Spiritual Talk Show