Christmas Bucket List | Blogmas 2017 #11

Christmas is a time we’re always so busy. We’re bustling about in a bid to ensure we have everything we need for the big day. We’re so busy, in fact, that we forget to take time to ourselves and really be in the moment.

These aren’t ‘things’, nor are they non-stop adventures that I must complete by the end of the month. These are just some things that I would like to take the time to do, if I get the chance.

Take a Walk

This one may sound a little strange, after most of us walk everyday. However, what I want to do is take a walk around my neighbourhood and take in all the sights of everyone’s Christmas Lights. This would be a nice thing to do with a loved one, or on your own (of course, make sure you’re safe). 

The temperature is freezing outside, so make sure you wrap up warm – coat, gloves, scarf, hat. Take with you a festive hot drink in a throwaway cup, whether that be some sort of spiced coffee or gingerbread hot chocolate. Then take five to ten minutes to walk around your neighbourhood. Breathe in the ice cold air and allow yourself to be mesmerised by the twinkling lights and the intricate decoration. Could you imagine if it started lightly snowing? Again – I can’t stress this enough – make sure you’re safe. 

Bake

I don’t think I’ve ever baked anything around Christmas, and I honestly can’t promise that I will this year however, the idea has always enticed me. Whether you’re with friends or family and you enjoy the chaos that’s sure to ensue, or you prefer baking alone and find the process therapeutic, there’s so much joy in baking. From the process to enjoying the final product, or knowing it’s going to a loved one. There are virtually no limitations either. You can bake what you like, with whatever decoration you like and Christmas gives the perfect excuse to be that extra creative.

Write Christmas Cards…

…whilst listening to Christmas music. I don’t usually do this. I tend to just write out my cards when I have a spare ten to fifteen minutes (or about five minutes before I go to meet that person). However, Christmas songs are the perfect way to get into the festive spirit and a Christmas card, for me, is such a lovely thought and gesture so the two go perfectly. (Just don’t try to write the words you hear!)

Watch a Christmas Movie

Easy peasy lemon squeazy… except it’s the 11th December and I still haven’t watched even one Christmas movie. Perhaps at the weekend I’ll snuggle in and have a PJ day watching only Christmas movies. That sounds like a pretty fun day! Chances of that happening… we’ll see.

Hang out with friends

As I said at the beginning, everyone is so busy this time of year that you rarely get to see anyone. There’s a good chance that you’re thinking of your friends a lot, and they’re thinking about you, but the craziness of the season means that we forget to tell each other. Budgets are tight, but you don’t have to go out and get crazy. You can go simple, arrange to go round a friends house – each bring a small something to drink or eat and just have a catch up! If you’re reading this and you’re still in school, you’re lucky because there’s a good chance that (not counting for unforeseen circumstances) you see your friends day-in and day-out. Sometimes life gets in the way of hanging out with friends and so remember to make that a priority.

Read a Book

Or in my case 10.. maybe!

For anyone who watches my BookTube channel, you’ll know that I have exactly 10 books to read to hit my GoodReads challenge. It’s something that I want to do, and I’ll give a really good go to achieve however, if I don’t make it I won’t be too upset.. I already hit it once this year. In all honesty though reading is something that takes us out of reality for a while, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You don’t need to have anything bad going on in your life for that to be a good thing, sometimes (especially around this time of year) as I say, we get so caught up that allowing ourselves to be caught up in a book means that we finally have some time for ourselves, and that isn’t a bad thing.

Get Creative

You could make a Christmas card for a loved one. Take time to shoot good pictures and not just point, shoot and hope for the best. Create a collage of all your favourite wintery things / things you want to do this winter. Create a collage of all the things you love or all the people you love. Write a short story, write some fan fiction, create a blog, start outlining that novel you’ve been thinking about forever. Film, edit and upload a video about whatever you feel like creating that day. Play the piano, play the guitar, play the drums. Write a song or write a poem. Take a dance class (or choreograph a routine in your own bedroom). Test out different make-up routines or hairstyles, experiment a little. Get cooking or baking and create something in your very own kitchen. If it’s snowing, go make a snow angel or a snow man (or go straight into the snowball fight). If you like fashion, create a design for clothes or shoes that you would like to see either on the high street or on the catwalk. 

The options are endless and they’re all valid.

Give Back

This could be by donating money to charity, or perhaps some toys to a children’s hospital. Some non-perishable items into a food bank. Put in some time volunteering at a homeless shelter. A BookTuber by the name of Georgina Reads came up with the idea of doing a reverse advent calendar, which I think is such a cool idea! I’ve linked the video below so you hear in her own words the full idea.

So these are a few ideas of things which I think would be really cool to do around this time of year. This idea was inspired by Niomi Smart’s ’10 Things To Do Before 2018!’ which I have also linked below, for a few other ideas.

I hope you enjoyed this and hopefully it has given you a few ideas / inspiration of a few festive things to do to see of 2017!

What are some things you want to do this festive season?