Only 12 Days to Christmas

Can you believe there are only 12 days to go? What do you still need to prepare and get organised?

Here are some suggestions on things you can do, make a list and tick it off as you go. This way you will have more time to relax and enjoy your home and read that book that has been gathering dust!

Day 1 – Decorate
We all feel more festive with some added aesthetics, so set about getting your friends and family in gear by hanging a wreath on your door, or even on the back of your car! Use an indigenous tree, and let every family member customise their own bauble, add some mistletoe over the door (some ivy with a red ribbon is a good enough excuse!) and keep some candy canes by the door for visitors.

Day 2 – Homemade Christmas Cookies
Create your own tradition with making whatever biscuits you love most, adding some festive decor with green and red cherries, icing, and finishing it off by packaging them in cellophane or brown paper packets with a bow on. Distribute with random love to friends, neighbours, co-workers, and strangers.

Day 3 – Pay It Forward
Encourage ALL family members (not just the kids!) to make space for new presents by cleaning out their cupboards of at least three items to regift to charity.  These can either be donated directly to a charity shop, hospice, or you can repackage them and give them to less fortunate people you might know personally.

Day 4 – Get Personal
Make homemade gift tags for all presents.  Try include a genuinely thoughtful message on each, be it a verse that you love or a positive thought on the loved one you are gifting. Kids can do the front, and grown-ups can write the message.

Day 5 – Remember The Other People
Encourage all those around you to think of the people we interact with on a daily basis but tend to forget – office janitors, security guards, newspaper vendors... it is so easy to make a “care package”, adding in some homemade cookies, a book, maybe a shirt or some toiletries.  Encourage co-workers and neighbours to join in to make it go further – you don’t have to be rich to share the wealth!

Day 6 – Christmas Carols
Although in sunny South Africa we don’t go door-to-door, there are many charities (like the South African Lipizzaners or the Guide Dog Association) that host “carols by candlelight”.  A wonderful opportunity to get out at night with loved ones and dust off those vocal cords for a good cause!

Day 7 – Christmas Movie Night
Invite friends to your house, make a “Christmas bed” on the floor in front of the tv, and indulge in some heart-warming seasonal bliss.  We suggest a mix of such as “A Christmas Story,” “Love Actually,” and “Scrooged” to tickle everyone’s senses!  Make popcorn or popsicles (depending on the weather) and get into the spirit of things.

Day 8 – Get Traditional
Christmas stockings are easy to find and individualise with just a marker pen.  Give everyone in the house their own one for the end of the bed, and let the giving ensue!  Everyone else needs to sneak a small gift (put a limit on it) into each family member’s stocking. Sweets, lip balms, hair clips, socks, balls, bubbles, or similar small toys can be added.  These can be opened on Christmas Eve to keep the kids patient!

Day 9 – Secret Santa
Giving feels good, and it’s part of Christmas we need to get back to.  The whole point is to NOT get recognition for the giving, and it’s especially good for kids to learn.  You can leave a token gift, a card, or even a lottery ticket in someone’s mailbox, for example, or pay for the person’s coffee who is behind you in the queue.  The whole idea is just to spread a little goodwill and cheer.

Day 10 – Have A Silent Night
Have one day of quiet reflection before the festivities to come.  Everyone can read a book, write their cards, or just sit outside and enjoy some South African sunshine.  The new year is coming, so get everyone to think about what that means for them.

Day 11 – Be Thankful And Joyous
Use Christmas Eve as an opportunity to appreciate your loved ones and the year that is past.  Spend time either sharing photos, stories, anecdotes, and a meal as you tell the important people in your life what they have meant to you, and all the good things you have shared this year.  A nice idea is a “Gratitude Jar”, where everyone has to put a positive, fun note in, and it can be opened randomly through the year to come to cheer everyone up.

Day 12 – Christmas
Wether you celebrate on Christmas eve or Christmas day, use these two days for pure family fun!  Open the presents, laugh, eat, drink, be merry, and leave the dishes for tomorrow.  What could be better?! 

Wishing you a fun and festive last 12 days before Christmas from all of at Homes of Distinction