For most people, starting the Christmas season at the end of October probably seems wrong. Halloween hasn’t even happened yet, there’s no snow on the ground and the temperature is just starting to drop below freezing. However, the up-and-coming holiday season is hard to ignore. There’s something about the lights, the colours and the smells of Christmas that make it one of the most anticipated holidays of the year. On top of that, Christmas definitely holds the title for the best holiday music.
So, why get ready for it so early? For me, Christmas has always been a source of comfort. My family has many different Christmas traditions that make the holiday memorable and special to me. So, when the weather starts to get cold and the countdown to December 25th gets increasingly shorter, the excitement for a Winter Wonderland becomes overwhelming.
I’m definitely someone who starts celebrating in the summertime (Christmas in July, anyone else?) so for me, October is already quite a significant wait. To help myself stay sane while I wait for the rest of my peers to be bitten by the Christmas bug, I give myself small festive activities that fill the Christmas void. These activities are things you can do with friends or on your own if those around you aren’t quite there yet. They are simple and give that extra boost of festive spirit you’ll need until the Christmas season begins.
Make a Budget
This doesn’t seem festive but honestly, but it’s worth doing. It’s so easy to go overboard with Christmas decor, gifts, meal prep, wrapping and the list goes on. Of course, you want everything to be perfect but you also need to make sure you aren’t tapping into your rent money to go gift shopping. Trust me, as fun as Christmas is, it’s not worth being unable to pay your rent!
Now’s the time to start going through your account and figuring out how much money you want to spend as well as how much money you (realistically) can spend. This is also a helpful way to determine how much you want to spend on other aspects of Christmas (like decor and food).
Start Planning Christmas Gifts
Giving gifts is one of the best parts of Christmas. So why not start planning gift ideas well in advance? Not only will you avoid the stress of Christmas Eve purchases (mind you, some people love that challenge and good for them), but you will give yourself more time to come up with ideas.
Buying gifts for people is hard. Once people become adults, the concept of a gift wish list seems to disappear. Now, that could very well be because people don’t know what they want anymore. But I think you’ll find if you give yourself a couple of months to really pay attention to what people are talking about, you’ll be able to find gift ideas with no problems.
Wrap Any Early Gift Purchases
There’s something special about carefully wrapping a present you know someone will love in festive paper. It just screams “Christmas”! So, if you’ve already gone ahead and bought some stocking stuffers (and I wouldn’t blame you for a moment), wrapping them up will definitely put you in the Christmas mood.
If you want to be extra festive, you can try and find wrapping paper (or cloth to be sustainable) that’s unique to each person in your family. Not only will this make gifts seem more personable but it’s going to help you remember whose gift is whose.
Make Your Christmas List
Remember when I mentioned that adults have stopped writing Christmas lists? Well, don’t let that stop you from writing one. Sure, not everything you write down will be purchased for you but you’ll have a much higher chance of getting things you actually want rather than things someone thinks you want.
You might even come up with ideas for others as well. It’s a two-for-one deal! Sitting down with a mug of hot cocoa, wrapped in a blanket and thinking about Christmas morning is definitely one of the most holiday-season activities I can think of.
Make a Movie Watchlist
While you may have been watching Christmas movies all year round, nothing feels the same as watching Christmas movies during the colder months of the year. Personally, my watchlist starts on November 25th and ends on December 25th (a whole month of Christmas). Nonetheless, I like figuring out what I’ll be watching ahead of time so I know I won’t miss anything.
I’d also like to point out, nothing says you can’t watch the movies on this list before the list “starts”. Sometimes, you need to make sure a movie is as good as you remember it before you add it to your list!
Prep Your Festive Baking Recipes
Open up Pinterest because we are creating a new board. If you’ve made festive treats before then you will understand why I’m so excited about this. If you haven’t, you’re in luck because I’m about to share with you your new favourite tradition: Christmas cookies.
Christmas cookies might just be the best-tasting treat in the world. If you don’t know where to go to find good recipes, I’d suggest Pinterest. It’s full of great cookie (and baked goods) ideas submitted by people around the world! And just like Christmas movies, I’d suggest trying a few beforehand just to make sure you like them!
Plan Your Christmas Cards
Christmas cards are a tradition that sadly seems to be disappearing. No one sends fun cards in the mail anymore, so the mantel seems empty during the holidays. It might be up to you to bring this tradition back into your family.
Shutterfly is going to be your best resource here. Most cards are around $1.75 a piece, thus a pack of 10 personalized cards is about $18 in total. While this may seem a bit much for some cards (and you absolutely don’t have to do this if you don’t want to), it really is a lot of fun to send out your own personal cards (just make sure you keep one for yourself)!
Figure Out Your Light Viewing Route
Christmas lights are often a forgotten tradition. Looking at Christmas lights is so much fun. Whether you’re walking or driving, you should absolutely plan some time during the Christmas season to go out and see the lights around your neighbourhood.
One thing I’d recommend, if possible, is to drive (or walk) around estate neighbourhoods. These neighbourhoods seem to have a variety of the best light displays. Some go all out with colourful lights and decorations while some keep it simple with pretty white lights and some even create radio stations for their light displays. Aside from focusing on estate neighbourhoods, driving (or walking) around your own neighbourhood will do the job just fine!
Make Your Own Christmas Playlist
While Apple Music and Spotify do have great pre-made Christmas playlists, there’s something personal about looking through all the Christmas songs, picking your favourites and making a Christmas playlist that’s tailored for you and your group of people.
This is definitely another excuse you can use for listening to Christmas music much earlier than others. However, it’s also going to save you from going through five different Apple Music playlists searching for that one good and underrated Christmas song everyone seems to forget about (Christmas is All Around by Billy Mack, anyone?)
Think About New Traditions
Maybe this is the year for your family or friends starts participating in Secret Santa or a White Elephant gift exchange. Maybe this is the year you get festive cloth wrapping paper you reuse for the years to come. Whatever new tradition you want to try, the earlier you figure it out, the more time you’re going to have to plan and organize it.
All of these points aside, Christmas shouldn’t be a stressful holiday for anyone. If you’re someone who likes to start getting ready early in the year, that’s great! And if you’re someone who prefers to wait until American Thanksgiving is over, that’s great too! If you try some of these fun little activities, I hope they bring you nothing but excitement and festive vibes!