Top 5 Holiday Must Haves

Happy Wednesday! Can you believe we are only 2.5 weeks away from Christmas? This has beyond a shadow of a doubt been one of those times where I’m not sure if I should say “it’s only 2.5 weeks away” or “why is it still 2.5 weeks away?” Its like this year has both drug on endlessly and flown by at the speed of light all at the same time.

While there are so very many things this year that are looking different when it comes to how we are all spending the holidays there are a few things that I just have to have if I’m going to feel like its really the Christmas/New Year season. So here are my top 5 holiday must haves:

1) Twinkle Lights.

Who doesn’t love a few well placed twinkle lights? One of my very favorite things to do this time of year is sit on my couch either early in the morning before everyone is awake or in the evening after all the chores are done and we are gearing up for bed and just relax in the soft glow of the lights on the tree and around the rest of the living room. Sometimes we will have the TV going, sometimes I will be reading aloud to the family, and sometimes I’m just sitting alone in the quiet enjoying the peace that comes with the season. There is just something settling about the soft glow of the lights, even when they are the fun colored ones.

2) A Muppets Christmas Carol

I love the Dickens story “A Christmas Carol.” It has always been one of my favorite classics. The funny thing is the only film version that I really like is the Muppets version. I’m not sure if its the songs, the casting, or what in particular that draws me to it but that film version is my absolute favorite and I tend to watch it through at least once very early on in the holiday season. The best part is I have gotten Dusty onto my love of that version so he has been known to be the first one to get it started on occasion. We had it playing while we ate dinner just a few nights ago so I have already had my first fix of that particular film.

3) Gingerbread Cookies

There are very few things that I say are for the holiday season only but gingerbread is certainly one of them. I think in part because good gingerbread cookies tend to be a pain in the butt to make so I only make them once a year (except for the times I have been pregnant where ginger was the only thing that curbed the nausea..but that is a story for another day.) Gingerbread cookies and house just scream holiday season to me so I always feel like something is missing if I don’t have any. We will be making our gingerbread cookies next week as part of our advent activity calendar. 🙂

4) Peppermint Tea

I love tea. That is not any big secret around here. And I really like a good mint tea. However, I try to reserve my use of peppermint specifically for the holidays, unless I have a cold. Again, like my love of gingerbread there is just something about peppermint that says “Christmas season” to me. Maybe its the red and white swirls or maybe its because you can only find true peppermint candy canes (or any kind of candy cane for that matter) at Christmas time but that is just one of the scents and flavors of the season that I try save for just the right time.

5) Charlie Brown

I love the peanuts gang. I think they are one of the cutest cartoons that was ever created and I love that they tackled a lot of harder subjects, especially around the holidays. I have always looked forward to watching all the fun Charlie Brown specials that aired starting with Halloween. I was really sad when the decision was made to not air those on television this year and I think I will be doing my research in purchasing those on DVD so that we can have them to play during the holidays from now on.

So there they are. Those are the top 5 things I have to have to make it feel more like the holiday season for me. The best part is that all the things I really look forward to when it comes to the holidays are relatively cheap and they also help to bring smiles to my family’s faces as well as my own.

What about you? What are some ‘must haves’ to make the holiday season just feel “right?” Let me know in the comments. I can’t wait to read them!