31 Days of Fun in December

Happy Thursday! I apologize for getting this post up so late—internet troubles, ugh—but today I wanted to share a list of 31 activities to do this December. If you’ve been following me for a while, you may recall that my parents and I decided to do one fun thing each day in the month of May to lift our spirits during quarantine. Since more and more places are shutting down again, and ‘tis the season, I thought it would be fun to share some Christmas, holiday-themed, and random activities to keep you busy this December. I hope you enjoy!

1. Decorate your Christmas tree/house for the holidays as a family.

2. Get out all your bows, ribbon, and paper to have a gift wrapping “party”. My parents and I did this last night—I sat on one side of the couch and they sat on the other so we couldn’t see each other’s gifts. Of course, Christmas music was playing in the background!

3. Make your own holiday cards and send them to friends.

4. Have a Christmas music concert! My mom plays the piano, my dad plays the trumpet, and I sometimes-maybe-if-I’m-lucky can play one or two things on the guitar. We plan on picking a Christmas song, practicing it independently, and then playing it altogether for a “concert”.

5. Participate in the tradition of St. Nicholas Day. My best friend growing up and her family would do this every year—you leave your shoes in the foyer on the night of December 5^th in the hopes that St. Nicholas will fill your shoes with some coins or candy on his feast day, December 6^th. I think my parents and I might each get one little treat for each other and sneak it into our shoes at some point on the 5^th. It’s just something fun and unique to do!

6. Decorate cookies or a gingerbread house. If you’re gluten-free like me, a great alternative to store-bought gingerbread sets is using this cake pan to decorate your own gingerbread house cake instead.

7. Recreate a favorite childhood memory. One time my cousin babysat my brothers and me, and the four of us ate dinner under the kitchen table, using large utensils like a potato masher and a ladle as our silverware. It was quite the spectacle but something I’ve never forgotten! It would be fun to try again as adults, albeit space would be a little tighter under the table this time around.

8. Go on a night drive to see the light displays. Even though some walk-around light shows might be closed this year, a quick Google search will likely help you find out where the best decorated homes are in your area for a nighttime drive.

9. Play Minute to Win It games. There are tons of fun ideas on Pinterest if you need inspiration.

10. With a hot cocoa in hand, watch a holiday movie in the middle of the day. There’s nothing like watching a movie in the middle of the day to help you forget about your responsibilities for a while. We plan on watching The Polar Express and jumping around when the waiters do the hot-hot-hot hot chocolate dance. Popcorn included!

11. Randomly open a cookbook and make whatever recipe you land on.

12. Have a Zoom party with your relatives. My family did this for Thanksgiving and we ate “together”. We then played some jackbox.tv games, but there are tons of free online games to play as well. I recently tried skribbl.io, which is an online version of Pictionary.

13. Spend time researching religious/cultural holidays that are different from your own. Since we can’t learn about different cultures through the experience of travel this year, researching other traditions and even trying another culture’s recipe is a great alternative.

14. Dress up like each other. My brother and his fiancé did this last night and sent the before and after photos to us… They swapped outfits (my brother is about a foot taller than she is) and it was pretty disturbing… but hilarious. Good for a laugh if nothing else!

15. Start a new holiday tradition. I love this idea because the possibilities are endless.

16. Have a ‘no screen time’ day. Goodness knows we all need this after months of Zoom classes and meetings. Put away your phones, laptops, and even TVs for the day—and see how you fill your time! You could read, clean, paint, take a hot bath, the list goes on…

17. Make DIY ugly Christmas sweaters. Think pom poms, bells, and puffy paint. Doesn’t matter if you’re not crafty since they’re supposed to be ugly anyways!

18. Have a Christmas movie marathon. Good contenders include the Tim Allen Santa Clause movies and the Rankin & Bass animated Christmas specials (you know, “I’m Mr. Heat Miser, I’m Mr. Sun…”).

19. Dress up as an elf and find a good shelf to sit on. I’ve done this the past two years and it never seems to get old. The first year it happened by accident—I wore red basketball shorts, a green sweatshirt, and green knee-high socks as pajamas before realizing that I looked like an elf. So I sprawled out on top of our bookshelf with an elf hat on and had my mom take pictures of me. Last year I dressed in the same outfit and squeezed into a much tighter shelf space. Like I said, it never stops being funny.

20. Have a spa day. I think it’s safe to say we would all enjoy some unwinding and relaxation after this year. Doing a face mask, taking a hot bubble bath, and painting your nails might be the perfect way to do it.

21. Plan a future trip. It’s impossible to know what the immediate future will hold, but eventually, we’ll all be able to travel again—Where’s the first place you want to go?? You can research and design an itinerary, create a budget plan, and even brainstorm some cute outfits to wear at your destination.

22. Build a fort. Remember being a little kid and draping blankets over couches and chairs to create your own little oasis? Who says you’re too old for that?! Grab some snacks and your laptop and enjoy watching Netflix in your own little space.

23. Have a themed dinner night. This one is inspired by Tina Fey and her family’s themed dinners. You could have a medieval night complete with historically appropriate recipes, decorations, and maybe even costumes/hairstyles. Or you could do a Roaring 20s themed dinner? So many fun possibilities.

24. Do a Secret Santa gift exchange with your friends. This is kind of the perfect quarantine holiday activity. You could drive by your friends’ houses and sneakily drop off their gifts on their front porches,  or you could mail presents to them if they live far away.

25. Write thank you notes to all your loved ones for the gifts you received.

26. Cozy up in your PJs for some After-Christmas online shopping. If I do participate in Black Friday shopping, it’s always as gifts for other people rather than shopping for myself. After all, you don’t want  to accidentally buy something that someone else got you for Christmas! But the day-after-Christmas sales, on the other hand?? That’s a totally different story. Shopping on the 26th is when you can go crazy on pieces for yourself and buy all the things you didn’t get under the tree. Not to mention, the sales are sometimes better than during Black Friday.

27. Throw a fashion show. Each person could pick an outfit to fit three different themes, such as punk/rock n’ roll, period pieces, or couture. Set up some chairs for each other, pick a playlist to match each theme,  get creative with your outfits, and strut your stuff down the longest hallway in your house. It’s honestly SO fun pretending to be a model and walking down a catwalk—trust me, I would know.

28. Play in the snow! Snow ball fights, snow angels, snowmen, sledding… You name it. Now I’m just hoping we actually get some snow.

29. Brainstorm goals and aspirations for 2021. Whether you believe in New Year’s Resolutions or not, a better alternative is setting a few goals for things you want to accomplish the next year, including very specific steps and dates to help you get there. I love doing this in my Passion Planner because there are designated goal setting pages, but brainstorming new goals on a blank sheet of paper with colorful pens is just as fun. Or you could…

30. Make a vision board. I’ve never really been one to make vision boards, but lately I’ve been itching to do it. The start of a new year is the perfect time to get those creative juices flowing and envision what you want your future to look like. (Or even just what fashion/styles you want to try in the new year?)

31. Plan a New Year’s Eve movie marathon to help you stay awake until midnight.I almost never get invited to New Year’s Eve parties (*silently sheds a tear*), so my family usually has a movie marathon on the 31^st instead. In the past we’ve watched The Matrix trilogy, Lord of the Rings, the Die Hard series, and more. One time we even watched all eight Harry Potter movies in a single day, which required a very strict schedule and an early start. We haven’t picked this year’s marathon yet!

I know quite a few of these ideas are goofy or even—dare I say—lame, but sometimes those turn out to be the most fun during a time like this. I convinced my parents to do blind makeovers with me back in May and it turned out to be a blast! (You can check out my May Quarantivities blog post here.)

I hope you got some inspiration from this post and that you were inspired to do something fun or out of the ordinary to make the most of this unusual holiday season. Let me know if you plan on doing any of these activities, and be sure to tag me in your photos on social media so I can see!

 

Miles of smiles,

Grace

 

Beige Jacket: Francesca’s, $60, last worn here | Green Pleather Skirt: Francesca’s, $15, last worn here | Bedazzled Socks: Unknown | Brown Booties: DSW, $35, last worn here | Plaid Blanket Scarf: Gift, last worn here | Red Purse: Kate Spade New York, gift, last worn here