For the Reader

Young Adult Author Michele Kwasniewski Shares Her Top Ten Tips To Help You Get Into The Christmas Spirit

Losing my mom on Thanksgiving Day two years ago has made getting into the holiday spirit more of a challenge the past few years. If you’re feeling a bit grinchy as the holidays roll in, you’re not alone. Maybe these seasonal suggestions will put the jingle back in our sleigh bell

#1 Decorating– My mom decorated for every holiday and Christmas was her favorite one of all. As soon as the Thanksgiving leftovers are put away, I start hauling out twinkle lights and garland, and drape them over anything standing still. It is a good way to honor my mom and share my favorite holiday memories with my husband and son at the same time.

  • #2 Christmas Music– Even though radio stations start playing Christmas carols on November 2nd, I have a hard and fast rule that no broadcast yuletide cheer will touch my ears until the day after Thanksgiving. After that, it’s twenty-four hours a day until New Year’s Day! If you haven’t heard these Christmas songs, take a listen – I’m sure they’ll earn a spot on your holiday playlist.

AND

  • #3 Advent Calendar â€“ Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been a sucker for an advent calendar. Whether it’s filled with chocolate, Star Wars socks or holiday pictures, I love peeking behind those tiny cardboard doors to see what surprise awaits me every morning as I countdown to Christmas.
  • #4 Christmas Movies & TV Shows â€“ SO many amazing movies guaranteed to fling me full-force into the holiday spirit. Elf, Christmas Vacation, Krampus, The Bishop’s Wife, Home Alone, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Frosty The Snowman, Charlie Brown Christmasjust to name a few. And yes, Krampus is on my list. I was raised fearing the Christmas ghost (no joke!) and that ghoul scared the beejezus out of me and my siblings every Christmas. 
  • #4 Christmas Cookies & Beverages– It’s all I can do not to wear elastic pants during the holiday season. SO many tasty treats to choose from like gingerbread cookies, egg nog meltaways, frosted sugar cookies linzersandwichcookies – I’m getting hungry just listing them all. Nothing tastes better after a long day of shopping or decorating the Christmas tree.
  1. Pair that with a little mulled wine or peppermint schnapps cocoa and my yuletide treat would be complete!
  • #5 Elf Of The Shelf  â€“People are split on this holiday tradition but I love this creepy little guy! For one thing he’s kept our son in line during the holiday season for so many years I owe our elf a debt of gratitude. Plus I love the challenge of finding new places to hide our elf. If it’s four pm and our son still hasn’t found him I call that a victory.
  • #6 Christmas Books– Our son’s too old to read many of our favorite Christmas books,but that doesn’t make me love them any less. We had a stack of Christmas books we’d haul out just after Thanksgiving and read through the new year. We still look through thembut with lots of eye-rolling and heavy sighing from our son. I also get a kick out of Christmas stories for adults – A Christmas Carol, The Christmas Chronicles, The Santa Suit, So, This Is Christmas. I agree that they are pretty much the literary equivalent of reading a hallmark movie script but at this time of year, I am completely OK with that. Sometimes it’s OK for the grumpy curmudgeon to have a heart of gold, the single guy or girl to fall in love at the most inconvenient of times and to discover that true Christmas magic can solve any problem.
  • #7 Cold Weather–Even though the thermometer was in the high eighties last week here in Southern California, a blast of cold air (that is low sixties for us) is a surefire way to get me in the Christmas spirit. It’s not the same as waking up to the world blanketed in snow, but seeing moms drop their kids off in knit beanies, shorts and Ugg boots is a sure sign that Christmas is close at hand where I live.
  • #8 The Christmas Good Deed Angel – This is a tradition in our house. On December 1st, I cut out a paper angel for our son. Every time he does a good deed, he puts a button on the angel. There’s no prize or payoff, but it’s a nice reminder for us all that we can take the time to do a little extra at this time of year. Adding buttons to his angel so far seems to be motivation enough to do good deeds at this time of year. The angel makes a great holiday decorations when you’re finished and I now have  an army of angels decorating our house. And yes, some apparently look like vampires…
  • #9 Christmas Legos & Decorative Houses – I don’t know how we started this tradition, but we’ve been collecting little Christmas scenes and houses for several years. Now we have enough to make a village, which sits in our entryway. We all get a setting up the village and our son changes it throughout the season, adding Hot Wheels cars, army men and random Lego creations.

Hope one or all of these items helps you find your holiday spirit if it evades you.

Happy Tuesday!🎄

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