What to do in December

Photo Courtesy of www.partycity.com

Thanksgiving is finally behind us, so it’s officially time for Christmas. It’s now acceptable to have your Christmas tree up, lights on your house and yes, listening to Mariah Carey on repeat all day long is OK. During the holiday season, however, it always feels like there is a big build up then, once Christmas is over, the holiday cheer dies so quickly. There needs to be a strategy, a method to the Christmas magic. Lucky for you, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. A week by week planner to know what is acceptable, and how soon you can start really getting into the Christmas spirit in order to have the best Christmas yet. 
 

DECEMBER 1-7

This is the time to start decorating. Of course you can decorate the days between Thanksgiving and December 1, but this is the best time in order to maximize your Christmas experience. Go ahead, get the tree up, get the stockings hung because it’s now Christmas time. 

DECEMBER 8-14

Well if you go to school here at Ottawa University, then you would know this week is finals week. If you’re following the rules, then your Christmas decorations are all set up, therefore this week is for studying. You have to ace those exams to keep those happy spirits up when you’re around that aunt asking about that significant other you still do not have. This week is a week for school and stress, don’t let it seep into the next couple weeks when you’re at home. 

DECEMBER 15-21

You may be wondering why your tree looks a little barren. Here’s why; the presents aren’t underneath the tree yet. Duh. This week is the official week that it is acceptable to put those wrapped goodies underneath the tree. If you put the presents underneath too soon, you crowd your living space and you give yourself too much time to figure out what they could possibly be which in turn would ruin the fun of opening those presents on Christmas Day. This is the most exciting week, Christmas week eve. 

DECEMBER 22-28

It’s Christmas week, the busiest week of the year. You now have your decorations ready, the presents under the tree and now family is getting together to celebrate. This week is pretty simple except for one major rule; unless you have travel complications or work you must do on Christmas Day, open the presents on Christmas Day. Not on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Christmas Day only. Once the 25 is done and over with, the days after Christmas and before New Year’s Eve you have to start putting away the decorations now or else they will never come down. It’s very important to have them down before New Year, as that is a whole other celebration, one that brings us into the next year. Therefore you need to be ready to move on and start the next year without a Christmas tree oddly sitting in your living room. 

These few guidelines for each week will help maximize your Christmas season experience the best one yet. I’m sure some of these sounds a bit harsh, but it has to be scheduled out to really get that feel of build up in the most wonderful time of the year.