There always seems to be a lot going on before Christmas. Your stress level may be high and it may be difficult to get into the holiday spirit. I have found it important to remind myself that Christmas is a time to relax, enjoy and have fun! Here is a list of things that help me do just that.

1. Get yourself a children’s Christmas book to read over the holidays. Find one at the library or go to the bookstore and get into the holiday spirit. There are funny books (“The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”) or traditional books (“Twas the Night Before Christmas”). Read when you want, where you want. In fact, read what you want. Maybe you already have a favorite book. Read with someone or read alone. Maybe in a candlelit bathroom. I like to read aloud. This makes it more Christmassy. I do the vocals, which I feel like I’m pretty good at, but I’ve never asked anyone what they thought. Although I don’t normally wear slippers, this can also enhance the experience. No, not in the bathtub!
2. Get together with some friends or family (or both) and whip up a special recipe. It could be one that is completely new to all of you, or it could be one someone’s grandmother passed down to you. Choose the person with the best cooking and get everyone a copy of the recipe beforehand. After making sure you’re well organized with your ingredients and equipment, anticipate a morning or afternoon of fun followed by a taste test of the results. In the event of a disaster, “Plan P” should be kept in reserve: “Remember, we can always order pizza”! Sure, you want the recipe to turn out well, but at the same time, you don’t want too much pressure, either.
3. Plan your purchases of alcoholic beverages. I like to avoid the crowds and go well before Christmas Eve. Also consider the gift bottles for the hosts. I’m already impressed with myself, but I’m not sure everyone else is, so heck, I’ll see if a bottle of good wine will sway their opinion. But nothing more than $20. So I’m not sure it’s a strategy that works. Some like the lines that form outside liquor stores. It’s a chance to choose what you wear carefully, maybe try on a new festive lipstick, chat with a few people who, you never know, could be potential relationship material. Don’t forget that you can always chat with the store workers too. And (double bonus) isn’t there an employee discount or something? Er no, actually, I don’t think there is
4. Take a walk at night in a residential neighborhood. If your block doesn’t have many Christmas lights, then go to one that does and walk there. This is free entertainment. Try to go with a friend so you can discuss what you see: How Christmassy is the exhibit? Is it too flashy or too understated? It’s traditional? Or is it filled with air inflatables and animatronics? Which do you prefer and why? How many lights does the average house put out anyway? Are Christmas Displays Environmentally Friendly? Finish off with a hot drink at home before calling it a night and enjoying dreams filled with fuzzy colored lights.
5. Make a nursery using simple flour pasta figures. Google kid-friendly flour dough and choose from the list of recipes that appear. Most are primarily flour, salt, and water, and dry quickly overnight. Make figures of baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, lambs, other farm animals, visiting kings, the drummer, the list goes on. Yes, your hands will get gummy and caked with flour, but there’s a real visceral treat to it, too. The more abstract, the better. “Artistic” ability could even be detrimental in this exercise. I go “au natural” and don’t paint mine at all. Form the structure of the barn out of cardboard, wood, and aluminum foil, and don’t forget the crib of Jesus, for crying out loud!
6. Decorate your home with Christmas fruits. The tangerines, of course. But have you ever heard of the tradition of taking a regular orange, covering it completely with nails, and then hanging it on a ribbon? Gives your home a heady holiday aroma. Also, what about pears? Especially Bosch? Their reddish-tanned skin and pleasing shape are reminiscent of a famous song lyric and they look great in groups of two or three anywhere. A cloak, nestled next to some books, or heck, in a fruit bowl! Let me mention that you shouldn’t make this Christmas fruit decoration earlier than 7-10 days before December 25, or your fruit will become overripe and have those pesky fruit flies all over it. Also, remember to remove the fruit after Christmas is over. You don’t want to find a wilted old pear behind a book sometime in March. That would be gross.
7. Do some Christmas baking. It can be simple. A Pillsbury Dough biscuit roll cut up and thrown into the oven. It can be more complicated. A gingerbread house made from scratch. It really depends on what happens to you that year. The smell of cookies wafting through your house is simply unmatched. And of course, Santa likes to be left a pair. As you get older, Santa’s glass of milk might also include a shot of Bailey’s. I don’t think many people think of that, so Santa shouldn’t get too drunk to get back in his sleigh and continue his gift-giving ride!
8. Go to a Christmas craft fair. Some are free, others charge a nominal admission fee. The ones that do get paid tend to have more high-level craftsmen and it’s worth taking a look at what they’ve been up to in their studios. Any craft fair will give you a very Christmassy air. They are a wonderful place to get new ideas for your own crafting. Also, when you have someone on your list who is hard to shop for, a craft fair can sometimes be the perfect place to give them a gift. Just for fun, beware of the ladies who buy their entire outfits at craft fairs. They are quite a sight to behold: a unique skirt, unique boots, unique tunic, unique jewelry, unique scarf, unique hat, etc. It is conspicuous and inappropriate to wear more than one single item at a time. Fine, two. But no more than that.
9. Think about the lighting in your house. Setting a Christmas mood is quite easy. Consider having a string or two of lights strategically placed somewhere in your main living area. There’s nothing like turning off all the other lights and watching the little sparkles of Christmas lights. Even having them on during the day can be festive and relaxing. If you don’t have a Christmas tree, consider putting a string of lights on a larger houseplant. Or along the top of a mantel, piano, or bookcase. The candles are also important, but do not forget to control them. I know this sounds bossy, but really, do YOU ​​want to be the one whose box of Kleenex in the bathroom caught fire and caused the sprinkler system on your floor to go off? I guess the answer to that is a resounding “no”!
10. Watch a Christmas movie. You may want to see more than one. Up to you. It’s your Christmas. All this depends on you. You might want to watch a warmer comedy like “It’s a Wonderful Life” or “A Christmas Carol” or an adult comedy like “The Ref” or a family comedy like “Elf.” They will all put you in the Christmas spirit. There may be a movie you like to watch that doesn’t have any Christmas theme but makes you feel good.
11. Soak up the Christmas atmosphere while having a drink. You could go to one of the luxury hotels in the city and sit at the bar, nursing your expensive libation while enjoying their decorations. The hotels are a nice quiet break from the madness at the mall. If you go at the right time of day the music will be a live jazz trio or a pianist or something. It’s a splurge, but you’re worth it, right? Or cut your budget in half and go to a coffee shop and order one of their wintery Christmas concoctions, my favorite is the mint mocha. Here, you risk a table near a drafty door and water on the tile floor. You also get the benefits of hipper music, a livelier atmosphere, and shopping in the impulse buy section where you expect your fancy cafe to pop up. Of course, do you really need another cup of coffee? But it would look so cute packed with mini candy canes on your desk…
12. You have to sing during the holidays. You can sing with large choirs, smaller groups, as a family, in the crowd at a large mass, sing along with the symphony orchestra or simply sing along with the television. But you have to sing. Even if all you can handle is more like breathless singing off key. Or, if you’re opposed to even that, how about giving jingle bells a spin? Take part in this year’s family sing-along by contributing some well-placed jingles. Kids will be very impressed with this. In fact, you might just become a favorite aunt or uncle just by dint of having a percussion instrument available to play. Having two is even better. What about being able to play with spoons, using spoons straight from the table? But that takes planning, practice, and well, I’m straying. All I wanted to suggest is singing a little this Christmas.