{"id":464,"date":"2015-12-02T21:49:27","date_gmt":"2015-12-03T05:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cleverbloom.com\/staging\/4549\/?p=464"},"modified":"2017-04-19T16:36:10","modified_gmt":"2017-04-19T23:36:10","slug":"10-things-to-do-this-christmas-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cleverbloom.com\/staging\/4549\/10-things-to-do-this-christmas-season\/","title":{"rendered":"10 things to do this Christmas season"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ten<\/a><\/p>\n

If you’ve read my About page<\/a> you’ll see that Christmas is my favorite holiday.\u00a0 I can’t even list all of the reasons I love the Christmas season.\u00a0 Peppermint hot cocoa, Christmas trees, snow, lights everywhere, Christmas music, candy canes, plaid stuff…the list goes on and on.\u00a0 It seems like the holiday starts earlier and earlier every year.\u00a0 Stores start to fill the shelves with Christmas goodies before Halloween is even here!\u00a0 I don’t mind, I get so excited.\u00a0 It’s so easy to get caught up, so before it gets too crazy…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

…Here are 10 things to do this Christmas season<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u00a0Don’t forget to give.\u00a0 <\/strong>If you’re anything like us, you budget monthly and try really hard to stick to it.\u00a0 We don’t have much left over, if any, but because we do have left overs, we give.\u00a0 We give to our church and also have a few select charities we give to.\u00a0 I know it’s hard to give when you feel like you have nothing.\u00a0 I truly believe that since God provides for us, we must help provide for others.\u00a0 Even a little bit helps so find a charity or non-profit that you feel is a good fit for you.\u00a0 Right now $1.60 gives one person a hot meal at The Portland Rescue Mission<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  2. Volunteer your time.\u00a0 <\/strong>Giving your time is just as important, if not more important than giving money.\u00a0 There are so many ways to volunteer.\u00a0 We volunteer doing various things.\u00a0 If you’re having a hard time figuring out what to do through an organization, you can help a neighbor or a friend.\u00a0 So many people around you are in need of help.\u00a0 Search for it!<\/li>\n
  3. Tell you\u00a0children WHY you celebrate.\u00a0 <\/strong>We celebrate Christmas because it’s the birth of our Savior.\u00a0 We tell our\u00a0children because it’s important to us that they know.\u00a0 Whatever it is that YOUR family celebrates during this season needs to be\u00a0projected onto your children.\u00a0 Don’t let them miss out on the fun of leaving cookies for Santa or anything but make sure they know what’s important to you and what you believe.<\/li>\n
  4. Reflect.\u00a0 <\/strong>This is the perfect time of year for reflection.\u00a0 (Oh great, now I have the Supreme’s song stuck in my head).\u00a0 What things did you accomplish?\u00a0 What didn’t go as planned?\u00a0 What did you learn and what will you do differently in the coming year?<\/li>\n
  5. Spend intentional\u00a0time with your family and friends. <\/strong>Hopefully you get a little time off this time of year.\u00a0 Take some time to do something as a family.\u00a0 So often we go from this to that and the daily grind prevents us from getting that quality time we so desperately need.\u00a0 Do something like take the kids for hot cocoa and talk about your day.\u00a0 Go for a drive and look at Christmas lights.\u00a0 Go on a date to your favorite restaurant.\u00a0 Have a holiday open house.\u00a0 Spend a little extra time with your family to enjoy their company and just be grateful to have them.<\/li>\n
  6. Make a Christmas budget.<\/strong>\u00a0 Nobody actually wants to do this.\u00a0 But, budgeting is key to ensuring proper usage of money.\u00a0 You don’t want to start the new year off with a bunch of debt.\u00a0 It’s not fun and it will cause a lot of stress.\u00a0\u00a0You don’t have to spend a lot of money on presents.\u00a0 You can make gifts or do secret Santa’s if you have a large family.\u00a0 Be very clear about your budget and stick to it!\u00a0 Don’t forget there are lots of hidden expenses this time of year.<\/li>\n
  7. Do something festive.\u00a0 <\/strong>Get excited about the holiday!\u00a0 Get out and do something that can only be done this time of year.\u00a0\u00a0Go to the Zoo Lights, take the kids to visit Santa, or check out a Christmas musical or performance.<\/li>\n
  8. Decorate and listen to Christmas music.\u00a0 <\/strong>You don’t have to do much decorating to\u00a0get in the spirit.\u00a0 A little decorating can really brighten your day.\u00a0 Just do enough to make your house look different from the usual.\u00a0 And while you’re decorating, turn up the tunes!\u00a0 We mostly use the Pandora Christmas stations and it’s perfect!\u00a0 We get lots of different kinds of music.\u00a0 I hate to admit it but, the Christmas music started in October for us.<\/li>\n
  9. Bake.\u00a0 <\/strong>I don’t bake or cook very well at all.\u00a0 I get really intimidated by cooking terms.\u00a0 They really scare me.\u00a0 But, there’s just something about the smell of fresh baked cookies in your house.\u00a0 That’s why candle companies actually make baked cookie scented candles.\u00a0 You can even by pre-made dough at the store at top them with sprinkles.\u00a0 Super simple!\u00a0 And, it’s the perfect gift idea for your neighbors or coworkers.<\/li>\n
  10. Always wish people a Merry Christmas.\u00a0 <\/strong>Or happy holidays, whatever makes you comfortable.\u00a0 It’s amazing how wishing someone a Merry Christmas can change their day.\u00a0 Wish a stranger a Merry Christmas and watch the expression on their face!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Try doing some (if not all)\u00a0of these things this Christmas season and see if it makes your holiday happier.\u00a0 I know it does for me\u00a0so I had to share!\u00a0 Is there anything on this list that you already do?\u00a0 Is there anything you don’t do that you think you’ll start?<\/p>\n

    Thank you for visiting today.\u00a0 I hope you have a great holiday and a very merry Christmas!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If you’ve read my About page you’ll see that Christmas is my favorite holiday.\u00a0 I can’t even list all of the reasons I love the Christmas season.\u00a0 Peppermint hot cocoa, Christmas trees, snow, lights everywhere, Christmas music, candy canes, plaid stuff…the list goes on and on.\u00a0 It seems like the holiday starts earlier and earlier […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"yoast_head":"\n10 things to do this Christmas season - Clever Bloom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cleverbloom.com\/staging\/4549\/10-things-to-do-this-christmas-season\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 things to do this Christmas season - 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