I’m currently 23 years old, I just finished my second-to-last semester of college, and as I prepare to enter both the business world and my final semester of college in January, I am soaking in every drop of free time I can get this winter break. Oddly enough, without school, I tend to feel quite bored. So keeping myself busy might be a more accurate description, contrary to “soaking in every drop of free time.”
Either way, the holidays are a great time to make the most of fun desserts, drinks, and activities with friends and family. I consider myself somewhat of a holiday activity connoisseur, which is why I’m here to tell you all about my favorite holiday activities that I’ve participated in over the years.
Gift Tag Making
My mom has always been incredibly artsy, so growing up, I’ve always enjoyed a good craft. A couple of years ago, my mom and I decided to make our own gift tags for everyone’s Christmas presents. We used napkins printed with mistletoe, candy cane patches, Santa Claus construction paper, Christmas tree ribbons, and anything that could be categorized as holly and jolly to create personalized gift tags.
As our family grew, we were able to invite more people into our gift tag making, and now it’s an annual girls’ night that marks the beginning of the holidays. We’ve started incorporating elaborate brunches and drinks, and we’ve even begun turning the tags into tree ornaments as a way to remember our fun traditions.
DIY Christmas Village
Like I said, my family is pretty crafty. We discovered that Michaels sells wooden Christmas houses that you can paint. And I don’t just paint them. I glue on mini wreaths, bows, lights, and add lots of glitter. A brand-new Christmas village can be a bit pricey, so we decided to paint a new house every year. We realized it’s a great alternative to a big investment, and in just a few years, we’ll have a whole new Christmas village.
This is another girls’ night activity we love, where we all bring snacks and drinks and create our houses together. I really enjoy doing this instead of buying, not just for budgeting reasons, but because you can customize your entire village exactly how you want it. And it seems like I’m not the only one, because I’ve seen this DIY go viral on social media, with others turning it into a girls’ night activity too.
Cookie Exchange
Let the diet wait until New Year’s. A cookie exchange is a yummy and budget-friendly activity for a big group of friends. Everyone brings different cookies to the event and trades them with each other. For a cookie exchange to be successful, everyone has to stray away from basic chocolate chip cookies. Otherwise, you’ll end up with eight trays of the same thing. I wouldn’t complain, but it definitely defeats the purpose of a cookie exchange.
Personally, my family has a cookie recipe that’s been passed down for a long time. It’s a unique cookie but always ends up being a party favorite. It’s chocolatey, butterscotchy, crunchy, and delicious. That’s the cookie I’ll be bringing this year.