FINDING YOUR HOLIDAY SPIRIT — The Basic Bitch Blog

It’s really not a secret I’m no fan of winter, nor Christmas. Maybe the two go hand in hand? This is going to sound so “grinchy” but I just find the whole decorating, trying to find gifts, wrapping… to be such a chore. All that prep and it’s over in a day. I’m also personally offended, (lots of sarcasm on this one, and if you don’t know my dry humour by now you better move on to a more non-sarcastic blog. *insert laughing emoji face*), by how early and in your face society has made this holiday. Not to mention how I think it’s truly lost it’s simple appeal, if that makes sense. I was feeling defeated because I was thinking I had zero blog ideas to contribute to the holiday season, or I felt if I did try and capitalize on the season for blog appeal my posts would come off very forced. I shared this thought out loud to my best friend and she replied “Why not write a blog on how to get into the Christmas spirit. There are things you do enjoy about it, just not the same as other people.” She of course was right. There are things I do enjoy about the Christmas season, most of which are very simple or a tradition. So, maybe you’re feeling the same way as me? Not so into Christmas and it seems to get worse every year? Here are some of the things I do like to do for the holidays and will concentrate on fully this holiday season to help me be less of a Grinch!

Christmas Baking – This is probably the most obvious basic Christmas spirit choice, but I really do love to bake up treats for the holiday. This used to be a tradition my stepdaughter and I did every year since she was about 9 years old. It’s fun to go through all of our old faves and try out one or two new recipes every year. One of my fave, and super easy treats to make are the Mexican Wedding Cookie or “Snowball Cookies”. They taste like a yummy shortbread rolled into a ball with chopped pecans and then rolled in icing sugar. The recipe below is the one I make every Christmas, but I’m also going to try a vegan version this year! It’s a nice feeling to be able to take an array of home baked goodies to your holiday parties or family dinners.

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, divided
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped Pecans

Heat oven to 350°F.

Beat your butter, 1/2 cup of the icing sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with mixer. You want the dough to be light and fluffy. Gradually add your flour, beating on low speed after each addition of flour until well blended. Add nuts and mix them in with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Shape dough into (1-inch) balls. Place, 1-1/2 inches apart, on baking sheets.

Bake 14 to 15 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheets. Roll warm cookies, 1 at a time, in remaining icing sugar until evenly coated; place on wire racks to cool completely.

Holiday Fashion – It’s really no surprise I love getting dressed up and the holiday season is full of that! Parties, get togethers, dinners! I love all the red, sparkles, sequins, velvets, sheer materials, gold accessories and so on, that are available to wear around the holidays! It’s a great time to get creative with your outfits and totally glam it up! In my opinion you can never be overdressed at Christmas. You can also expect a much more detailed post on some holiday fashion fun from me!

Gift Wrapping Partner – Hands up if you HAAAATE wrapping? Also this meme is 100% true about me. I’ve never been able to wrap a gift in my life, I prefer gift bags for everything! Find yourself someone who likes to wrap, invite them over and supply them with wine and nibblies and have them help you wrap. No joke, my cousin came over one year and did this for me! I got to spend a lovely evening with her, we chatted and she wrapped most of my gifts for me! If you don’t have someone as awesome as my cousin to do this for you, make sure you set aside time with a family member you live with so you can wrap gifts together. I did this last year with my stepdaughter, and though my gifts still looked like the T-Rex wrapped them it was way more enjoyable because we chatted so much that I didn’t pay attention to how much I hate wrapping.

Christmas Stocking Stuffers – Forget gifts! I love coming up with stocking stuffer idea’s for family, though sometimes I can get out of hand price wise and the amount of stuff I buy. Honestly most years items are spilling out of the stockings! Again, I think it’s the simplicity of what you can put into someone’s Christmas stocking that I love. Toothbrushes, magazines, their favourite wine, ear buds, key chains, day planners, disposable razors, books, etc. Honestly the ideas for stocking stuffers are pretty endless, which is why it can be SO easy to get carried away with it all. Stocking stuffers are like personalized Fab, Fit, Fun boxes of stuff you need and love. You don’t know what you’ll be getting and every item you pull out of the sock is a surprise!

Christmas Get Togethers – Ok, this is kind of cheating because who doesn’t like drinks, food and time with friends. Attending a Christmas party is the perfect way to get less grinchy and more into the holiday spirit. I have one friend who hosts a Christmas shin dig every December and I also have a separate girls night with my two best friends every Christmas. I’ll bust out some festive coloured clothes, maybe a Santa hat or even an ugly sweater for the shin dig, and for our girls night we always exchange very small gifts and gorge on food we avoid most of the year. Being a part of both these get togethers really helps perk my holiday mode up. If you don’t have a party to attend around Christmas, maybe think about being the host. Hate hosting? Try organizing a small group to go out to a restaurant or bar. Spending quality time with friends around the holidays really helps you get back to the root of what this time of year really is.

Christmas Pajamas – Literally. That’s it. I’m a sucker for Christmas PJ’s. Last year I bought the 4 of us matching PJ’s. This year I probably won’t, only because I think it’s too late to find any, but I am on the hunt for a cute set for the babe to wear Christmas morning, and a new cute pair for myself! (Side note, I had no idea there were two spelling versions of pajamas. You can also spell them pyjamas. I’m so confused….)

Christmas Lights – This is a fine line, because if it hasn’t snowed and your lawn is just dead grass and mud outdoor Christmas lights, in my mind, aren’t very appealing. If there is snow on the ground and the Christmas lights are bouncing off of the white powder, it really is just so magical. There’s also something so romantic about the living room being lit up by the lights on the Christmas tree versus an all year round lamp. Lamps seem harsh in comparison to the light glow of your Christmas tree lights.

It’s a short and sweet list and maybe some of what I’ve listed seem so obvious to non-Grinche’s, but it can be hard to SEE what is enjoyable about Christmas when you are a hum-bug. If you are a hum-bug like me, I hope my list warms your frozen heart a bit. Helps open your eyes up to some of the things you truly enjoy about the holidays. We can get very lost in the way society makes gift giving, getting a deal, having the best decorated Christmas tree seem like the most important part of Christmas. Though I’m not saying having the best decorated tree or giving gifts isn’t something you shouldn’t love, or that it isn’t important. I’ve always said on my blog we are all different and therefore have differing opinions. I don’t want to make anyone feel what they love about the holiday isn’t important. It’s important to you and it’s important for a reason. I’d love to know what those reasons are and why those things are important to making your holiday. So, please, if you are a lover of Christmas or a hum-buggar, I’d love to know what gets you into the holiday spirit. Any of my reasons make your list?