Spending December: A To-Do List For Adventuring Through Your Month.

It's the most magical month of the yearrrrrr! And there are 31 days of magic we get to choose how to spend. I have a few ideas of how you should spend them. 
1. Start an Advent calendar / reading plan. Yes, we're a few days late. Yes, you can still do it. 
2. Donate to those in need. There are most likely things in your kitchen that you could donate to a local food pantry and not miss at all, but they could make someone's whole holiday so much better. 
3. Make a playlist of your very favorite Christmas songs. Blast said playlist as often as possible. 
4. Decorate for Christmas! Whether you go all out or get a mini tree from the dollar store, do whatever makes you happy.
5. Watch Elf. Not in the Christmas spirit yet? We can fix that. 
6. Mail someone a Christmas card. Bonus points if it's someone who wouldn't expect one. 
7. Look up festive things happening in your town this month. 
8. Get some holiday coffee. Highly recommend the Archer Farms candy cane and gingerbread flavors, both at Target.
9. Declutter. Especially if you have a kid who will be receiving toys for Christmas. Toss/donate old toys.
10. Give someone a gift in secret. LOVE Secret Santa in real life. 
11. Bake Christmas treats. 
12. Watch your favorite Christmas movie.
13. Watch a Christmas movie you've never seen before. 
14. Go take Santa pics. Take your kid or your pet and then please share these pictures. I have two years of priceless Santa pics with Jack, really hoping for a third funny one. 
15. Get dressed up. There's just something about getting dressed up in December. You can get fancier than normal and it just feels right. 
16. If you live in driving distance of Orlando, go to Grinchmas at Universal! I mean, I personally think it's even worth getting on a plane for. It's my FAVORITE. 
17. Do something that has nothing to do with your to-do list. Take a break and check in with yourself. Don't get so busy doing all the things that you don't enjoy this season. 
18. Have a Christmas dinner party. Whether you invite over the whole neighborhood or just cook your favorite festive things and watch a movie, both are perfect. 
19. Make hot chocolate. Get fancy with it! 
20. What's the one thing that always makes it feel like Christmas to you? Do that one thing. 
21. Make your last-minute Christmas shopping a festive celebration. Last minute shopping used to stress me out to NO END. But the last few years, I've made it into a celebration...Christmas music, peppermint mochas, enjoying all the store's decorations. 
22. Go to a Christmas service. Regardless of your faith, there's something incredibly peaceful about Christmas services. 
23. Go look at Christmas lights. 
24. Celebrate Christmas Eve! My favorite day of the year! 
25. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Make it the best one ever! 
26. Have the MOST lazy day. Yesterday was probably crazy, take a break today! 
27. Spend some time reflecting on 2018. What do you hope to be different in 2019?
28. Write 2018 a letter. 
29. Write 2019 a letter. 
30. Set some goals! Whatcha gonna do with this new year headed your way?
31. Celebrate New Years! 
How will you be spending December?

Spending Your December: A To-Do List For Adventuring Through The Most Magical Month of The Year.

The most magical month of the entire year is here! We get 31 beautiful days this month and we get to choose how to spend them. Of course, I have some suggestions. 
1. Start an Advent calendar. 
2. Decorate your space for Christmas. 
3. Get your pet a Christmas sweater. This one lights up. You're welcome. 
4. Make hot chocolate. Not just from a packet, either. Get fancy with it.
5. Bake Christmas cookies. 
6. Watch Elf. 
7. Leave a secret Santa gift. 
8. Donate to a family in need. It doesn't have to be extravagant to help. Most of us probably have things in our pantry we could spare that a food bank would happily take.
9. Go through ____ in preparation of incoming gifts. Asking for clothes for Christmas? Get rid of the ones you don't wear anymore. Know your kid will get a bunch of toys? Throw out the broken ones, donate the ones she doesn't play with anymore. 
10. Watch a Christmas movie you've never seen. I will happily give you allll my recommendations.   11. Look up Christmas-y things in your town.
12. Listen to Christmas music by a fire. My personal definition of cozy.
13. Make a fun day out of Christmas shopping. Grab lunch somewhere fun, listen to Christmas music on the way, grab a peppermint mocha...'tis the season.
14. Decorate gingerbread houses.
15. Go look at Christmas lights.
16. Play Dirty Santa. Even if you have to throw a party of your own to make this happen. . .worth it.
17. Give someone a Christmas card that wouldn't expect it. A maintenance worker, your mail lady, the cashier at Publix. . .the possibilities are pretty endless with this one. 
18. Go see Santa. Borrow a child if you must.
19. Get Christmas PJs. 
20. Have a Christmas dinner party. Whether this means you invite all your friends over or just cook some festive things for yourself, do whatever you'll enjoy the most! 
21. Clean your house. Either you'll be happy to spend Christmas in a clean home, or you'll be happy to return to a clean home from wherever you spent Christmas.
22. Read the Christmas story.
23. Go to a Christmas service. No matter what your faith, there is something magical about attending a Christmas service.
24. Celebrate Christmas Eve. The best day! 
25. Celebrate Christmas! 
26. Be the laziest. Look, no one gets anything done the day after Christmas. Embrace it. 
27. Do something to avoid the post-holiday blues. Whether this means go to the gym or go to your favorite restaurant, do something that makes you happy! 
28. Exchange any gifts you need to. It's not fun, just get it over with.
29. Think about your goals for 2018.
30. Write 2017 a letter. A love letter, some hate mail, whatever you need to do.
31. Celebrate New Year's Eve!
How will you be spending your December?

A Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt.

One of my favorite things about Christmas is seeing the decorations everywhere I go. It's so much fun to see how some people decorate simply, some go all out, and some opt-out completely. I love walking around the mall and seeing the giant decorations, or driving down a street to see every single house lit up. It's just so festive!

I'm so excited to one day have our own house that we can decorate for Christmas, but until then, I make it a point to make a little date out of going for a drive and looking at all the houses around us. If you do something similar, but want to change it up a bit this year, grab some friends and go on a Christmas light scavenger hunt! Bundle up, grab some hot chocolate (or wine, you know, whatever), and head out for a night full of taking pictures and listening to Christmas music. Bonus points if you dress your dog up and bring him with you--that's my plan. 

Drive around until you find:

A house using only white lights.

A sleigh.

A nativity scene. 

A snow globe.

A snowman. 

Blinking Lights. 

Candy Canes.

Decorations that involve music. 

Decorations that have nothing to do with Christmas (You know, like the house that will decorate their entire yard with Mickey Mouse. Not Christmas Mickey, just Mickey).

Fake snow.

Lights Spelling out a word. 

An elf.

Rudolph and his buddies. 

Rooftop decorations. 

Santa. 

The nutcracker. 

Oversized gift boxes. 

A house where the lights are out.

Are you planning on going to look at Christmas lights this year?