With Christmas quickly approaching, students and graduates are getting ready to head home for the holiday season. Some people haven’t seen family and friends for months and this is the perfect opportunity to catch up with loved ones. As you get older, the spirit and joy you felt around the holiday’s starts to fade. Well this year, I have a few steps to avoid that feeling. No one wants to be a Grinch and here’s my game plan to spread Christmas cheer loud enough for all to hear.
1. Blast Christmas music
Living far away from home – I am given the opportunity to listen to plenty of Christmas music on my venture home. Four and a half hours to be exact. But that Christmas playlist is definitely going to get me excited to walk into my winter wonderland decorated home. Throw a little eggnog in there and you got yourself a party. Something about Christmas music definitely brings back some nostalgia. Bing Crosby will forever remind me of making Christmas cookies for all my teachers back in elementary school. Dancing around my kitchen using a wooden spoon covered in batter as my microphone. Music can trigger memories and feelings and for me, holiday music brings back the child in me. It’s as if for that two and a half minute song, I’m not an adult living in Manhattan working 65 hours a week, I’m 8 years old trying to behave so Santa still brings me exactly what I want.
2. Spend an entire day in pj’s
If you don’t love hanging out in your jammies, you’re lying. This year, I plan on spending an entire day cozied up by my fire place under a big warm blanket watching movies. We all need a break every now and then, and nothing says relaxation like being home. Lazy isn’t always a bad thing if it isn’t an everyday thing. No harm in unplugging from the world and doing something for yourself. I know that a day in sweats will do me good.
3. Watch your favorite Christmas movies
Who doesn’t love a movie marathon!? This is something you can do while still bundled up in your pj’s. My top favorites include, “Elf”, “Home Alone Two: Lost in New York”, and “Year without a Santa Clause.” Again this is something that reminds me of when I was little. Being able to stay up later on a school night because abc family did not start movies until 8:00pm was always a treat. My dad used to set a rule in my house that in December, my family and I had to play a board game every night, and the only television we could watch were Christmas Specials. My dad also did not realize that the 24 Days of Christmas meant that there was a Christmas special on every night. But regardless, it definitely got me in the spirit and looking forward to counting down the days until Christmas.
4. Go Sledding
I don’t care how old you are, you’re never too old for sledding. Find that giant hill in your neighborhood or back yard and dress warm, because nothing says it’s the holiday season like playing in the snow. It brings back those childhood memories you made with siblings and neighbors. I remember spending hours around my block playing in the snow and building forts and staying outside for what felt like days. It was always great coming back inside to my mom’s hot chocolate. I’d have bright pink and rosy cheeks and would sit at the kitchen table sipping on the chocolatey goodness. Our secret ingredient was always a spoonful of fluff. Forget marshmallows, fluff was the best addition to some hot cocoa. Coming off that sugar high, nothing better than sitting by the tree admiring the scenery outside. I love the ways that the snow sits on top of the evergreens, and waking up knowing you had a snow day was the best feeling ever.
5. Refer back to family traditions
Every family has their Christmas traditions. For me, we always go to a Saturday mass at 4pm, then rush over to my aunt’s house. She hosts a Christmas Eve party where we spend time and drink and enjoy each other’s company. We then zip over to my grandmothers on my mom’s side of the family for a late night Christmas Eve tradition. We open presents and watch “A Christmas Story.” Waking up on Christmas day is always the most exciting. Santa comes and my family gives thanks that we have one another. Later that morning – we all put on our best Christmas pj’s and head to my grandmothers where everyone is also in their pj’s. After a big breakfast we all go home and sleep. Later that night, my family hosts a Christmas party. This includes family, friends, neighbors, and anyone who doesn’t have plans the night of Christmas. It’s one of my favorite days of the year. I get to spend time with loved ones and people I rarely get to see. This year, that feeling won’t change, if anything I’ll cherish seeing them that much more because of the fact I have moved away. Traditions are traditions for a reason, and they definitely bring back some holiday spirit.
