100 Ways to Get in the Holiday Spirit

Looking for a list of 100 ways to get in the holiday spirit? Peruse these Christmassy ideas to start your countdown to Christmas day.

But first, don’t miss all of the articles in the Christmas Well-Being series:

  1. Say “Merry Christmas” generously and to as many people as you can
  2. Blend in with the frenzy of last minute holiday shoppers – it’s a blast, there’s a true feeling of electricity in the air
  3. Attend a night church service, they usually shut off all the lights and have only candles burning – it’s a very magical feeling
  4. Elf Yourself!
  5. Attend a high school holiday concert – even if you don’t have kids
  6. Say Merry Christmas to everyone after the church service
  7. Put yourself in Christmasy environments, like shopping malls
  8. Play out in the first snowfall of the season
  9. Visit your hometown on Christmas
  10. Shop local; shop at small stores full of history, like a long-time hardware store
  11. Give an unexpected large monetary tip to somone
  12. Adopt an elderly person from a local nursing home, send them cards
  13. Remove the Christmas pressure
  14. Try new things
  15. Don’t start the Christmas festivities too early
  16. Turn off the TV and social media – go into “radio silence” – it’s quiet magical
  17. Carry on your culture’s holiday traditions
  18. Start new traditions – I have a kids’ Christmas album from childhood with a cute song entitled “It’s the Day Before The Night Before Christmas” and play that on that day.
  19. Secretly decorate a Christmas tree out in the middle of nowhere
  20. Have lots of Christmas secrets and surprises!
  21. Leave surprise gifts on the neighbor’s door step
  22. Buy a nostalgic Christmas toy from your childhood
  23. Reach out to house-bound and elderly neighbors/relative at Christmas
  24. Surprise the postman with a thank you treat
  25. Dress of goofy for a holiday 5k
  26. Get a scented holiday wall plug-in with spices like cinnamon and fir tree
  27. Change up your Christmas music playlist
  28. Challenge yourself to wrap a gift in the most gorgeous or creative way possible; rinse and repeat
  29. Make a grown-up wishlist, for more nostalgia, better yet, write your list in crayon
  30. Reminisce – watch old family Christmas movies from the past, or look at family photo albums
  31. Slow Christmas down – limit gift buying, giving, extra events and commitments and focus on the reason for the season
  32. Shop online just so you can have packages delivered to your door – that’s always an exciting little boost!
  33. Be alone in the December night outside looking up at the stars
  34. Play Santa or Mrs. Claus
  35. Play Christmas trivia
  36. Borrow a kid and experience Christmas through their eyes
  37. Read Christmas stories you’ve never heard of before – YouTube has some old classics that people read from a book
  38. Buy a gift for yourself early in January and then forget about it only to re-discover it in December
  39. Wear Christmas clothing!
  40. Recreate a Christmas photo from when you were young
  41. Wear a silly Christmas hat: elf ears, reindeer antlers, santa hat
  42. Dress your pet up for Christmas
  43. Buy real Christmas evergreens packed with pine fragrance that wafts in the air
  44. Play records on old LP vinyls – magical!
  45. Go out and join some Christmas carolers
  46. Visit a Christmas pop-up shop
  47. Enjoy seasonal drinks, such special holiday coffee, cocktail, or a holiday-themed malt or shake
  48. Grab some friends and go on a self-appointed Christmas lights judging contest; make some awards and leave them on the doorstep
  49. Visit a holiday lights drive through event while listening to Christmas music and drinking a Xmas beverage like hot chocolate
  50. Get an Advent calendar, wine calendar, beer calendar, LEGO calendar, and start counting down until Christmas!
  51. Make Christmas crafts with friends
  52. Prank a Christmas tree –
  53. Get back to your family for Christmas, or join another family if living away from home
  54. Buy some Christmas-themed candy
  55. Expand your horizons – learn about how Christmas is celebrated around the world
  56. Do your Christmas shopping throughout the year, so you can actually focus on Christmas during the real holiday season
  57. Watch the Macy’s Day Parade on Thanksgiving Day
  58. Setup a daily countdown on your cell phone
  59. Watch vintage TV commercials – there is something about throwbacks that slows the insanity of the world down
  60. Listen to old time Christmas radio or vintage kids’ Christmas albums
  61. Stand next to someone who is over-the-top excited for Christmas, and through osmosis, absorb all of their Christmas energy
  62. Dance like no one is watching, have you seen The Brazilian Couple on Youtube? Their adorable!
  63. If you’re in an apartment, bake the most Christmassy aromatic recipes to drive your neighbors crazy
  64. Focus of on funny Christmas stuff: funny jokes, funny Christmas movies, funny Christmas gifts, and funny Christmas pranks
  65. Walk into Hallmark and read all of the funny Christmas cards and start to snickering to yourself and then get weird looks from the rest of the customers
  66. Throw an ugly Christmas party
  67. Move Christmas decorations around in your neighborhood
  68. Cut snowflakes out of coffee filters and hang them on the window
  69. Play the most seductive, danceable songs, Christmas-themed or not, like Solomon Burke ~ Cry To Me or slap on some Ramsey Louis Trio.
  70. Enjoy a real fire in a real fireplace
  71. Decorate for Christmas in stages, enjoying it
  72. Make a Christmas ornament from a kit
  73. Make snow angels – play in the snow
  74. Attend a holiday parade
  75. Bake Christmas treats for friends and neighbors
  76. Send Christmas cards to someone who otherwise might not get them
  77. Have a family game night
  78. Make cinnamon scented christmas decorations
  79. Participate in your church’s holidays programs
  80. Leave treats out for the delivery guy
  81. Make your family’s traditional foods at Christmas
  82. Hang Christmas lights up outside of your house
  83. Take a plate of goodies to a local nonprofit of you choice
  84. Have an electronics-free night
  85. Play Christmas music on a piano or other instrument
  86. Have a cookie decorating party
  87. Create a holiday playlist of your favorite songs.
  88. Go ice skating at a local rink.
  89. Decorate your front door for Christmas
  90. Ignore your to-do list in December
  91. Light Advent candles, one each week of the season (3 purple, one pink – the pink is for the second Sunday before Christmas)
  92. Watch a holiday-themed theater production
  93. Plan a holiday-themed scavenger hunt
  94. Wear Christmassy jewelry
  95. Buy a Christmas floral centerpiece for your table
  96. Turn all the lights on and listen to Christmas music while gazing at the Christmas tree, drinking hot chocolate, and chatting with loved ones
  97. Offer to hang up Christmas decorations for others, or your church
  98. Plan to capture a family photo and great memories during the season
  99. Babysit for parents so they can go holiday shopping
  100. Add some photo ornaments to the tree from Christmas past

I hope these 100 ways to get in the holiday spirit have opened your eyes to all the fun holiday possibilities. Merry Christmas!

Renee Cavvy
Renee Cavvy

Renee brings over 30 years of gift giving experience to holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, workplace and faith events. Every life moment is cause for celebration or those times in life when we need the "the gift of support". Her mission: Let's all be better in appreciating one another, put an end to meaningless gifts that clutter our lives, and give from a place of love and kindness. This midwest mom (and grandma) offers novel and creative ideas to do gift giving better!