Even though Christmas is a very cheery time of year, we can start to dread it coming round each December. After all, it’s a very expensive event, and the lead up to it can get pretty annoying with all the music and the supermarket shelves being lined with Christmas items months ahead of time!
However, Christmas is a huge family event, and having the best day possible with your loved ones, even if you argue over a game or can’t decide what Christmas TV to watch, is what Christmas is all about. And when you’re a kid, Christmas is always an exciting time, but we can lose that magic as an adult, and Christmas tends to become just another day.
So what can you do, to really make Christmas a good one this year? You’ve not really been getting into the spirit the past couple years, and you want this one to be different. You want to recreate some of that Christmas spirit that made it such a big day when you were young, and with a few ideas on your mind, you might just be able to manage that this year!
Visit a Christmas Market
Christmas markets are always popular, and in going along to one, you’ll open yourself up to a whole host of Christmas activities. Thye make a lot of money for the local area, and they allow local vendors to show off their Christmas wares, and they’re simply a lot of fun for the family as well!
You can buy a lot of novelty Christmas items that you’ll treasure for years to come, dig into some lovely Christmas desserts, and get a lovely glass of mulled wine to enjoy as you waltz along. And usually, you’ll see a lot of fairground rides set up for the kids to scream and laugh on, and you can capture some wonderful memories by filming them having a great time, as well as take plenty of pictures of the great Christmas scenery that’s been set up as well. A Christmas market is always special, and visiting one this year could make a real festive change in your household.
Go for an Illuminated Walk
Illuminated light walks are a great festive event to book your family in for. Plenty of forests and commercial woods get dressed up in the most enormous and decadent light displays at this time of year, and you can take a stroll through it all!
Walk around during the evening, dressed up in bobble hats and scarves, and sip a hot chocolate as you go – what could be better for getting you into the Christmas mood! Take your time, take the dog along with you if you’ve got a beloved pet to treat this Christmas as well, and make sure you get plenty of shots of the display – you won’t see another like it.
Think About Your Gift Giving Power
Would you consider yourself a good gift giver? Maybe you always hit the mark with presents? Or maybe you’re always a bit confused about what you should get your loved ones? Either way, one of the best ways to make this Christmas extra special is by buying people what they really want!
Of course, this is easier said than done. Some people don’t know what they want, some people want something that’s too expensive, and sometimes the present has already gone out of stock before you had the chance to buy it. Which is why it’s a very good idea to start shopping now for gifts, as you’ll give yourself plenty of time, and items are always much cheaper before the festive season properly hits!
Start with the people who are hardest to buy for, a.k.a., anyone who isn’t a child! For example, it can be hard to get your parents something they really want, because they can just buy their own things, and hey, they’ve usually already got everything. So in this scenario, you’re going to want to look into options like personalized Christmas gifts – gifting something totally unique, and a little bit sentimental, is always a good way to make your parents feel special on Christmas day!
Make Your Own Tree Decorations
Making your own decorations might take some time, but it’ll definitely save you some money on dressing up the tree this year! Seeing as you’ve already spent upwards of $80 on the tree alone, you’ll be wanting to dial back in the decorations department, and if the baubles you’ve stored in the loft are on their last legs, now’s the time to get making and baking and creating.
It can be a lot of fun to make your own tree decorations, and the kids will love being able to help out and hang their own biscuits and drape homemade tinsel over the branches. It’ll certainly beat boredom in the run up to Christmas, when the kids are off school and the days get dark at 4pm!
But we need some inspiration here, if you don’t already have ideas of your own. Make your own Christmas biscuits that can be easily hung with ribbon, or make papier mache baubles that you can paint in any way you like. Use paper chains to hang around the ceiling, and make your own fake snow that you can have fake snowball fights with, or even to use as a base for the little Christmas model village you like to set up.
Christmas Baking is Always a Win!
Following on from this point, it’s not just Christmas biscuits you can make this festive season – there are plenty of Christmas recipes out there that are easy to follow and super fun to make, and kids always love getting to eat something tasty after putting in a lot of hard work! And if you don’t already have a big book of Christmas recipes that you love to whip up this time of year, we’ve got you covered.
A Yule Log is always going to be a popular hit, especially if you’re having a little party this Christmas with a bunch of friends and relatives coming round. Similarly, you can also make a traditional Stollen Cake and cut it into bite size squares or bars for a lovely snack, and you can even make some very festively themed cupcakes, with Reindeers or Snowmen on top. Lay out a festive spread like this and this Christmas is always going to be remembered as a tasty turning point in your household.
Read Some Christmas Tales/Watch Some Festive Movies
Christmas always inspires some festive media, and if you remember sitting in front of the TV as a kid, you’ll definitely have some Christmas-y stories tucked away in your memory bank. A Christmas Carol, Home Alone, Elf, It’s a Wonderful Life, etc., are all big hitters in the Christmas movie Hall of Fame, and you should sit down to watch them all again with the kids this year.
Get some popcorn, turn the lights down while leaving the fairy lights on, and you’ll create a little Santa’s Grotto of your own that’s filled with Christmas cheer. It might just get you and your partner into the Christmas spirit more than ever before.
Similarly, if the kids have never heard The Night Before Christmas before, why not read it to them this Christmas Eve? Hearing such a wonderful and exciting story the literal night before Christmas can form a magical moment, and it’ll certainly create a sense of wonder for you as an adult as well. If the kids are happy, you’re definitely going to be happy!
Sing Carols Together
Does anyone in your family sing? Perhaps you or your partner sing badly in the shower? Maybe the kids love to sing when they’re in the car? Either way, this could be a great year for trying out a few carols as a family.
Christmas carols always put you in a festive mood, and they’re great for bringing a bit of Christmas cheer into the house when you’ve not really gotten into the mood so far. And even if you’re not really a carol kind of person, people have loved carols for hundreds of years, and for very good reason!
You don’t necessarily have to go out caroling, or join a carol singing group, but you can put on a few traditional songs and sing along at home together. Dim the lights, put the music on, even get up and dance and laugh as you do so – it’s a great family activity, and the kids will always remember the fun they had doing it.
Has Christmas felt like it’s been missing its cheer for you? Why not go the extra mile this Christmas and make sure the day has as much magic and festive spirit as it did when you were a kid? It can be easy to inspire a bit more festivity in your household, and with the points above, we hope we helped you do just that.
Leave A Comment