50 Things I Want To Do This Christmas

The Christmas count down has officially begun, and I couldn't be more excited!

As you've probably noticed by now, Christmas is my favourite time of year, and I love to fill December with as many festive activities as I can. There are so many things I want and need to do between now and the 25th, from decorating my home for Christmas to making this year's Christmas crackers, so I thought I'd kick off Blogmas by talking about my goals for the festive season and hopefully motivate myself to get things done in the process.

Here are 50+ things I want to do this Christmas...

1. Go to my town's Christmas lights switch-on. (I haven't gone in a few years, and I genuinely miss it).

2. Go to Bourton-on-the-Water's Christmas lights switch-on. (It's a beautiful Cotswold town with a river running right through the middle of the town centre, and it's a gorgeous setting to get in to the Christmas spirit. Their street fair is really tasteful, but super festive, and their tree sits in the river, so the fairy lights twinkle on the water. It's magical).

3. Drive around to look at Christmas lights.

4. Make some new Christmas playlists. (Almost finished!)

5, Listen to lots of Christmas tunes. (You know I've started already!)

6, Buy a little Christmas tree for my bedroom. 

7, Buy new white fairy lights for my tree. (I used colourful lights last year, but I realised they're not as relaxing in the bedroom as white lights are, so I'm going to go back to white lights this year).

8. Decorate my bedroom for Christmas. (I spend a lot of time resting in bed due to chronic pain, so I like to turn my bedroom in to a Winter Wonderland so I can still enjoy the festivities while I'm laid up in bed).

9. Decorate the tree and the rest of my house with my family. (One of my fave parts of Christmas!)

10. Cut down fir branches from the garden and decorate the mantle with natural decorations. (I've lost count of how many years I've been doing this now).

11. Finish my pom pom Christmas pudding wreath. (I just need to buy a pretty ribbon for it, and then it's officially done!)

12. Make my felt floral Christmas wreaths. 

13. Write and send my Christmas cards this week, instead of leaving them 'til the last minute. 

14. Go Christmas shopping to soak up the festive atmosphere.

15. Finish my Christmas shopping. (I started earlier in the year but somehow I still have loads left to get).

16. Have a clear out to make some last minute Christmas cash.

17. Up my survey-answering game to earn some last minute Christmas money. (If you want to know how to earn money by taking surveys, you can read all my tips and helpful knowledge about the subject here).

18. Wrap the rest of the Christmas presents. (I've actually wrapped most of what I've bought so for- I started early to stagger the work load, and be kinder to my back in the long run)!

19. Send a parcel of goodies up to my best friend and her little boy.

20. Put together a Christmas gift box for the homeless. (My Mum did one last year, and filled it with things a homeless person might need and enjoy like a new hat and gloves, toothpaste, shower gel, and chocolate, and she's inspired me to put one together myself this year. (I couldn't afford to last year). It breaks my heart to think about people living outside on the streets, especially in the cold winter months, and even though it's just a small gesture, I think something like this could make a huge difference to someone on the streets this Christmas).

21. Do lots of Christmas cross stitching. (I've made a few small pieces already!)

22. Make all of the Christmas cross stitch cards in my sewing box. (I think I have about twelve cards still to make).

23. Make some new Christmas fabric hoop art.

24. Make a Christmas hoop art wall feature. (I'd love to make a feature wall display out of all of the festive hoop art I've made over the last few years. I just need to buy some command strips to hang them with).

25. Give my wooden nail polish house shelf a festive make over, with Christmas backgrounds, for the holidays. (Like I did with this Advent house I made last year).

26. Make my own Christmas crackers. (I'll be blogging about this soon!)

27. Make Christmas table favours for my family to enjoy during Christmas dinner.

28. Finish last year's gingerbread man garland. 

29. Make the snow-globe my sister gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago. (It's about time I got round to it!)

30. Make Christmas bandannas for my dog, Rosie. (She's gotta look her best, after all!)

31. Make the needle felted Christmas decorations I bought from Hobbycraft. (Also learn how to needle felt).

32. Put together a Christmas Eve box of treats to enjoy on Christmas Eve. (I'm hoping to blog about this soon, too).

33. Write and schedule as many festive blog posts as possible, so I can be present and enjoy the festivities. (I've scheduled a few already, so I'm doing well so far).

34. Take the rest of the photos needed for my Christmas blog posts. (I actually began taking photos for Christmas posts in October, so I'm already better organised than previous Blogmases).

35. Fill my Instagram feed with festive photos. (Just 'cause looking back through them makes me happy).

36. Instagram what I find in my OPI and Selfridges Advent calendars daily. (If you'd like to follow along, you can find me on Instagram here).

37. Have lots of Christmas movie marathons. (You'd better believe I've had a few of these already! Haha!)

38. Watch a new-to-me Christmas film. (I really want to see The Nutcracker but I find sitting in the cinema too painful, so that one will have to wait 'til next year when it's out on DVD / available to download).

39. Watch It's A Wonderful Life for the first time. (I bought the DVD a few years ago, but I haven't got around to watching it yet. I must make the time this Christmas).

40. Read A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens. (I've read A Christmas Carol multiple times, but I haven't read all the other Christmas stories in my clothbound copy, so this year I intend to).

41. Re-read Little Women by Louisa May Allcott. (It's one of my favourite books, and perfectly Christmassy).

42. Read a new to me festive novel. (Any suggestions?)

43. Buy a new pair of Christmas PJs to wear on Christmas Eve.

44. Buy a new dress to wear on Christmas Day.

45. Wear the shit out of my Erstwilder Christmas brooches.

46. Do some baking on Christmas Eve.

47. Make my blackberry and apple trifle on Christmas Eve. (I've been making it every Christmas for over a decade now, and it's delicious, if I do say so myself).

48. Bake and ice Christmas cookies. (I don't think I've ever done this before, even as a child, but I've always wanted to).

49. Make a yule log. (I haven't made one since I was a kid).

50. Make a new dessert for over Christmas. (Maybe something out of my Serendipity 3's dessert cookbook I bought in New York in 2011, and still haven't used).

51. Make homemade Christmas dog treats for Rosie.

52. Enjoy Christmas dinner with my family. (Another of my favourite parts of the festive season).

53. Play board games with my family over Christmas. (I know I'm a loser, but hey, it's fun).

54. Spend quality time with my family.

55. And probably most importantly, give myself plenty of rest. (I always over-do it in December trying to do a million festive things and keep up with pre-chronic-illness me, but I need to make sure I listen to my body, and stop when I need to so I don't run myself in to the ground).

Well, those are some of the things I want or need to do this December...

What are your goals for the month?

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