- Decorate your house. It’s been a lightning-fast year, and it's already time to bring a new level of excitement to your home. In addition to setting up a well-adorned tree, hang stockings, mistletoe, garland, and other festive décor. Even further, decorate the back porch / patio and make a cozy outdoor sitting area for you and the family to enjoy smore’s and holiday songs throughout the season.
- Decorate gingerbread houses. Buy pre-made gingerbread house kits from the local grocery store, purchase extra icing and candies for the sake of variety, plan out your space, and get creative.
- Bake and decorate Christmas cookies. Someone you know is bound to have a perfect recipe, but if you don’t want to spring for homemade, you’ll be pleased to know Betty Crocker has a sugar cookie dough mix that’s foolproof. You’ll need festive cookie cutters, icing and icing supplies, and sprinkles!
- Shop for presents. The holiday shopping is done mostly online these days, but it doesn’t really feel like Christmas time if you can’t get out in the cool weather, fight for a good parking spot, join the hustle and bustle of other shoppers, and drop coins in the red Salvation Army bucket. Despite the frustrations that come along with it, the sights and sounds of the shopping centers during the holidays is not to be missed! Dedicate at least a day to get out with the family to shop for gifts.
- “Elf” your favorite neighbors. Similar to the Halloween “Boo” game, you can “Elf” a neighbor by secretly leaving a basket of treats at his/her front door along with a sign and a poem explaining how the game goes. You’ll find more info via Google search, the but whole idea is for your neighbor to “elf” someone else, and so on.
- Host a Christmas movie night. They’re easy to host, as all you have to do is clean your home, decide on a few movies, and serve popcorn and hot chocolate. A few of our favorite movies of the season are Disney’s A Christmas Carol, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, The Polar Express, and The Star. For adults and teens, Little Women is a cozy feel-good favorite.
- Do 12-Day Advent Gift Boxes. Candy-filled advent calendars are fun, but our new favorite thing is filling 12-Day Advent Gift Boxes which the kids start opening 12 days before Christmas which is December 13. The Advent Gift Boxes from World Market provide 12 equally divided “cubbies” in one cardboard box, and the cubbies are large enough for you to put something of substance inside such as a bag of cookies, pair of fuzzy socks, and other useful things. Get creative as you want to be with filling up boxes for your kids or even your spouse. On each designated day, they’ll punch through the paper opening of the cubby and retrieve their gift.
- Send Christmas Cards. First, you have to figure out coordinating outfits for the family, THEN choose a location to take some photos (will they be fun / serious / a mixture of both?), then create cards (I use the templates at Walmart or CVS and print them for same-day pick-up, fact-check mailing addresses), then put them in the mail. It’s really a big deal, and you’ll need to plan this on your calendar if you ever want to succeed at getting it done!
- Make homemade hot chocolate. For once, don’t pull out those packets of Swiss Miss premade hot chocolate powder. Consult the Internet for a mouthwatering recipe that speaks to your soul – perhaps one with unsweetened cocoa powder, Ghirardelli chocolate chips, vanilla extract, and a hint of cinnamon or cayenne.
- Drive around looking at Christmas lights. Some of the best lighting displays can take a while to get through, so be prepared to drive slowly, have your homemade hot chocolate on hand (see #9), and enjoy the sights.
- Adopt a family for Christmas. Is there a neighbor, family member, friend, or a friend of a friend who is down on luck and could use some extra loving this season? Find out what the needs are (and obtain a wish list from any children in the family), and show the family how much you care by dropping off something awesome for Christmas – a meal, sweet treats, presents, and maybe even a new tree! An alternative to this idea is to participate in a holiday toy drive (such as Samaritan’s Purse “Operation Christmas Child” (the one with the shoeboxes), the Angel Tree Project, or dropping off toys at a Toys for Tots donation site.
- Sing Christmas carols. I use the Internet to print out all the lyrics to our favorite Christmas songs, make copies for everyone in the family (plus any guests), and have an evening sing-along around the fireplace. If your neighbors will welcome it, consider singing some of the songs outside for all to enjoy.
- Make a Christmas playlist. Come up with a list of all your family’s favorite versions of Christmas songs, and keep the list near your Amazon Echo all month long so everyone can easily recall the songs you want to tell “Alexa” to play. (Pentatonix’s version “O Come All Ye Faithful” is golden!)
- Take a vacation. Or a staycation. An overnight stay at Galveston’s Moody Garden Hotel, a night at The Woodlands Resort, or escape to San Antonio for a walk along the festive Riverwalk and a day of fun at Fiesta Texas for their “Holiday in the Park” might be just the escape you need.
- Read Christmas books. Picture books and short stories are good reads for all ages, including adults. Strew your favorites around the house so the kids can help themselves throughout the season, but also dedicate an afternoon that’s all about snuggling up and reading.
- Write letters to Santa. All ages can participate, even if it’s just for fun! Be sure to mail them off in time.
- Make ornaments. Some of our favorite ornaments over the years are the handprint ornaments we made at a friend’s home many years ago! Pick up simple supplies at Hobby Lobby or Michaels, think of a creative design, and don’t forget to include names and dates on each ornament. You’ll cherish them for years to come.
- Host a front porch gift exchange. Coordinate ahead of time (budgets, schedule, etc.) and have everyone drop off their wrapped gift at your home during a designated time window. Later, designate a new time window for everyone to show back up and grab a gift off your front porch. It’s always a good idea to furnish an extra wrapped gift or two so that the last person to arrive won’t end up taking his/her own gift back if that’s the only one left.
- Attend a Christmas concert or candlelight service at church. Most larger churches will have special celebrations this month, aside from their standard Christmas Eve services. Make plans to attend the one that will best suit your family.
- Watch a production of The Nutcracker. It's a Christmas tradition! You can find productions of this show being performed by our local dance schools, plus the Houston Ballet performs The Nutcracker at the Wortham Center each year.
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Record a reader’s theater / radio-theater Christmas show complete with sound effects. Find a free script online, assign parts, give everyone a bit of time (hours? days? a few minutes?) to rehearse, and then do a read-through with audio recording. I like using the voice memo app on my iPhone for this, but there are other apps that may be better suited for recording and editing audio. This activity is so much fun, and the final production can be shared with friends.
- Volunteer. Is there an organization who could use your family’s helping hands this season? Some companies have limited their in-person volunteer efforts due to Coronavirus, but there are still others out there who will need your help – serving in a soup kitchen, packaging meals, etc. Check with the Houston / Montgomery County Food Bank or the church nearest you, and find out how to get involved.
- Go ice skating. Let me be honest. I’m cold-natured, and going to do anything in an “icebox” type of room is not my idea of fun; however, visiting a rink with the family is a bucket list item we like checking off the list each year during this season.
- Have a Christmas party. It’s okay if you’re not feeling like hosting outsiders this season. A party can literally be just your family, even if it’s just a couple of you. It’s all in the attitude and planning! Think decorations, games, finger foods, and goody bags.
