Happy November! We made a Fall Bucket List — now it’s time for a Holiday Bucket List. :)
I used to be a No Christmas until after Thanksgiving person. No decorating, no Christmas music, no holly jolly until Black Friday. But that has changed as I’ve gotten older. I think this is partly because everyone is getting ready earlier these days. I saw stores with Christmas stuff in September, bloggers decorate their homes as soon as Halloween is over, and this year we actually have three end-of-year holiday parties on our calendar in November.
But even without the cultural pressures to celebrate earlier, I have come to appreciate a longer runway to Christmas. As an adult (and especially as a parent), there are so many things I want to prepare for, to buy, to pack into the last month of the year, that I find myself wanting to get a head start. Which is why I like to make a holiday bucket list to help savor the season and make the most of this wonderful, yet busy time of the year.
On one of my favorite podcasts, the Lazy Genius, Kendra talks about having opening and closing ceremonies for holidays to help you acknowledge when the holiday begins and ends. I love this concept. For us, our opening ceremony is the Raleigh Christmas Parade. It is always the week before Thanksgiving and kicks off the fun. Likewise, our closing ceremony for the holiday season is always brunch on New Year’s Day.
Here are the rest of the items on my holiday bucket list — I’d love to hear what you would add to your own list!
Holiday Bucket List
- Attend the Raleigh Christmas Parade
- Eat cinnamon rolls on Thanksgiving morning
- Go Black Friday shopping with my sisters
- Bake Christmas cookies
- Order holiday cards from Minted.com and send cards to our friends and family
- Read through this advent book and this family advent book *
- Wear pajamas and drive around to see Christmas lights
- Dance in the kitchen to Jingle Bell Rock and All I Want for Christmas is You
- Read Twas the Night Before Christmas
- Decorate a gingerbread house with my mother in-law
- Watch Elf
- Make or buy an ornament for the girls to represent the last year
- Hang a wreath on the front door
- Make paper snowflakes and hang them in the window
- Do a random act of kindness for a stranger
- Have a quiet week with nothing on the calendar between Christmas and New Year’s
*Does anyone have any children’s advent book recommendations? I’m considering the Advent Storybook or Ann Voskamp’s advent book. If you have any thoughts on either book, please let me know!
What items are you adding to your own holiday bucket list this year? I’d love to hear!
