10 Dec 2015

December is well and truly underway, which means it’s finally socially acceptable for me to be as excited about Christmas as I am all year round. My festivity officially starts as soon as the first advent calendars start to appear in the shops. And yes, I know this often happens in, like, September. I’m that person.

If you’re feeling a bit festively void this year, here’s a little guide to help you get into the spirit of things. You’ll be donning your elf shoes and decking the halls in no time.

1. Christmas music

The only way to start the festive season is to curate the perfect Christmas playlist (I’m particularly partial to Justin Bieber’s Under the Mistletoe album and you can never go wrong with a bit of Bublé). Or you could simply just put the greatest Christmas song of all time and arguably one of the best pop songs ever, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’, on repeat and have done with it.

2. Advent calendars

Why is the thought of opening a little cardboard door every day so exciting? Why is advent calendar chocolate just so much better than any other kind of chocolate? These are some of life’s unanswerable questions, but counting down the days until Christmas just keeps the childlike joy alive.

3. Decorations

Whether you go big or small on the home decorations, just looking at them is a reminder that the end of the year is coming to put a little spring in your step this month.

4. Christmas movies

There’s nothing like settling down on the couch in your shorts and t-shirt to watch a film where all the characters are rugged up in their winter woollies to get you in the spirit. From Home Alone to Elf, from Love Actually to Die Hard, when it comes to festive films, there’s something for everyone–even the Grinches.

5. Vlogmas

YouTube is amazing at Christmastime because there is festive content going up constantly. If the YouTubers you follow are doing Vlogmas, where they vlog every day in December leading up to Christmas, or any other kind of Christmas content, you can immerse yourself in another festive world for a couple of minutes every day. It’s just an exciting little burst of fun, and there’s just something about seeing other people celebrating that makes me so happy.

6. Buying presents

Buying presents for other people is one of my favourite things about Christmas. It’s so fun to pick and choose things that your friends and family will like and it gets you really excited for the celebration day when they’ll get to open them. Plus, wrapping them and then having them under the tree is always so satisfying.

7. Themed headwear

The silly season has so much to offer on the themed headwear front. Santa hats, elf ears, reindeer antlers, festive bows–the list goes on. They just make everything so much more fun, and there’s nothing more hilarious than putting a sparkly Santa hat on the head of someone who is clearly trying their best to be annoyed by it all. Nothing.