My Christmas Playlist

'Tis the season for constant Christmas music. It's everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE. Guess what? It's here on my blog too! I've had my Christmas playlist on repeat on Spotify since Thanksgiving. Wanna know what I'm listening to? I'll tell you some of my favorite songs. You can listen to my full playlist here.

• White Christmas-Bing Crosby
• Greatest Time of Year-Aly & AJ
• Extraordinary Merry Christmas-Glee Cast
• Christmas in Heaven-Scotty McCreery
• All I Want For Christmas is You-Mariah Carey
• Five More Days 'Til Christmas-The Cheetah Girls
• The Christmas Can-Can-Straight No Chaser
• His Favorite Christmas Story-Capital Lights
• Mary, Did You Know?-Pentatonix
• Deck The Halls-Tenth Avenue North

A Must-Do Christmas List

As we all know, Christmas is about more than just presents. It's about spending time with family and friends, and, of course, the birth of Christ. Here are some of my favorite Christmas traditions that cost little to no money.

• Drive around and look at Christmas lights. Some places have special light shows, some don't, but most places at least have a neighborhood or two with some lights up. Gather the kids, get in the car, and go for a drive!
• Watch Christmas movies. There are a few ways you can go about this one. Some movie theaters and/or local churches/organizations host showings of holiday movies this time of year. Redbox also stocks Christmas movies, and not just brand new ones. Or you can watch movies you already own at home. 
• Drink hot cocoa. You don't need to go get the fancy Starbucks stuff. Just make the instant kind. You can get a box for only a few dollars at Walmart. There are also tons of homemade hot cocoa recipes on Pinterest!
• Make a gingerbread house. This can be done with a kit from the grocery store (they're generally not too expensive) or with some graham crackers, icing, and candy. 
• Bake cookies. If you're like me and don't necessarily have the time or energy to roll out cookie dough, cut, bake, and ice it, you can get a box of Pillsbury ones with designs already on them for roughly $3.
• Sit by the fire. This is easiest if you have a fireplace in your house. However, if you enjoy being outside in the freezing cold to do it, go for it!

These are only a few suggestions. There are tons of other things to do this time of year. Check online (or in the local paper if you're old school like that) for local events happening in your community.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Movies

Christmas is right around the corner. With just over a week left, it's time to snuggle up with some warm pj's, comfy blankets, and lots of Christmas movies and specials. Don't know which ones to watch? Well, here's a list of my favorites (and they're all family-friendly!).

• Elf
• The Polar Express
• Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Frosty The Snowman
• How The Grinch Stole Christmas
• Eloise at Christmastime
• Home Alone
• Olive The Other Reindeer
• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!
• White Christmas
• The Santa Clause
• The Santa Clause 2
• Santa Claus is Coming to Town
• A Christmas Carol

Have yourself a movie marathon and a very merry Christmas!