I love the holidays!  Christmas has always been a special time of year for me and I look forward to it every year.  Even in my 30s, I still find something so magical about the holidays…maybe it’s the Norman Rockwell-esque fantasies that play through my head!  I find that the holidays are a great way to reconnect with friends we haven’t seen in awhile – after all, everyone wants to get together ‘because it’s the holidays’, which is as good of a reason as any!

We’re staying in for the first time in years and I couldn’t be more excited!  Here is my list of fun things that I can’t wait to do this December as well as things that I love about the holidays.  I hope that it inspires you to take time to make some holiday memories of your own.

1. Ice Skating: Both my husband and I play hockey, but it is always fun to go to an outdoor rink for a skating date.  This year, we plan to go to an outdoor rink that is downtown in our city called “Olympic Plaza” – I can’t wait!
2. Sledding: I’ve always loved going tobogganing.  Every time I see a wooden toboggan, I think of the Christmas morning that I woke up, came out of my bedroom and saw a big shiny toboggan on the couch in our living room.  This memory is implanted in my brain and it always makes me smile.
3. Christmas Trees: This year we are going to cut down our own Christmas tree!  This is something we did the year that we got married and it was so much fun.  I can’t wait to do it again.
4. Lights: I love grabbing a hot chocolate (with Baileys, of course!) and wandering through the neighbourhood to look at all of the light displays.  Our pup, Hattie (shown above), loves looking at lights, too!
5. Egg Nog: Every year on Christmas Eve my Dad makes homemade egg nog.  It’s the only stuff I’ll drink and I only drink one glass a year!
6. Holiday Specials: I love watching holiday specials on TV (even though I have them all on DVD because I love them so much).  My favorites (in order) are: Charlie Brown, The Grinch, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  Oh, and who can forget the SNL Christmas Special!
7. Holiday Movies: It’s a ton of fun to get in your pjs and watch some holiday favorites.  My list includes: Elf, Home Alone, Love Actually and White Christmas.
8. Christmas Music: Something that I love about the holidays is the music everywhere.  I love the classic carols, but also the jazz and more modern renditions.  I listen to it all through December.
9. Wrapping Gifts: Wrapping gifts is something I have always loved to do – so much so that people have paid me to wrap for them!  I find it relaxing…
10. Christmas Parties: I don’t get many opportunities to get dressed up and go out (especially since I work from home!), so going to holiday parties is something I love doing each year.  It’s also a great way to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones, too!
11. Baking: I don’t do alot of baking throughout the year, but I try to go all out for the holidays.  My favorites to make are: Butter Tarts, Gingerbread Cookies, Shortbread and Savory Gruyere Crackers.
12. World Junior Hockey Tournament: This starts on Boxing Day (December 26th for you non-Canadians) and runs into the new year.  It is so much fun to watch the up and coming hockey players!  Watching Canada play in this tournament has been a tradition of ours for years.