The holiday season is in full swing! If you haven’t adopted a cheerful temperament yet and are still mumbling “bah humbug” under your breath every time Feliz Navidad comes on the radio, never fear! These 8 ways to get into the holiday spirit will have you grinning and wishing passersby well in no time. Most of the activities on our list are great for people of all faiths and backgrounds. Enjoy!
- Decorate
Nothing quite gets the whole family into the spirit of the season like decorating for the holidays! If your family celebrates Christmas, picking out a tree together is a great activity. Make the trimming a whole-family event complete with Christmas music, hot cocoa, and cookies.
- Bake Cookies
Who doesn’t like cookies around the holidays? Baking and decorating cookies is an activity that kids and adults alike can enjoy, and the best part is that cookies aren’t exclusive to any particular holiday—you can bake them all season long! Gingerbread houses are tons of fun, too.
- Attend a Religious Service
Whatever your family’s background, attending a service together celebrating your winter holiday is the perfect way to connect right to the true spirit of the season.
- Family Story Time
Whether you’re attending a winter folklore story afternoon at the local library or reading books together by the fire, now is the perfect time to pull out the Hannukah stories, Christmas and Kwaanza books, and winter folk tale stories.
- Neighborhood Lights Tour
Nothing cheers the spirit like a sparkling holiday light display. If you live somewhere snowy, this activity will be extra magical! Many local newspapers list the best neighborhoods to view lights so you can get the full Clark Griswold experience.
- Get in the Giving Spirit
Nearly every religious tradition’s winter holiday involved generosity of spirit and/or a tradition of exchanging gifts. As Scrooge learned in A Christmas Carol, generosity connects us to our hearts and brings joy year round if we choose to live in a giving way. Whether you choose to give time or money to charity, buy or make gifts for friends and family, or simply embody a manner of kindness, giving feels great.
- Host Friends
Despite the hustle and bustle the season brings, none of the dozens of items on our to-do lists would matter without good friends and family in our life. Take time to host friends and family through a cookie exchange, latke cooking, game night, white elephant gift party, potluck dinner, or traditional holiday party.
- Write Holiday Cards
Even if your list of who to purchase presents for is short, there’s no limit to how many people in your life you can send a card or write a short email or note to in order to express your appreciation of them and tidings of joy. If you’re sending out cards, many sites like Zazzle offer deep discounts on paper holiday cards during December, and sites like Jib Jab allow you to create hilarious e-cards to be passed around online.
Whatever your holiday tradition and whomever you celebrate with this season, we wish you the very best! Happy holidays from Worldwide Ticketcraft!