Your December should be whatever you want it to be; but in years past, I have frequently found myself sitting around doing nothing, wishing that I made more of my holidays, did more holiday-y things, spent more time with loved ones, and filled myself with more Christmas Cheer!

Whether you’re dashing off to far flung places, sailing in to the sunset, spending time with family, or rocking out at home, there’s no question that the holidays are among us.

However, there’s a good chance that you don’t have plans until we get a little closer to Christmas, and the rest of December might seem to be overwhelming or gloomy, check out my last post on how to Staycay Away the December Blues, but that’s just the first five suggestions! This time, I’m sharing my most Christmas-y suggestions to bring all of the Christmas Cheer to your home. Turn up your holiday festivities with these Xmas Staycay ideas!

Staycay Activities to do in Your Home

Bake & Decorate Christmas Cookies. Keep in mind, while you do not typically need specialty equipment to bake cookies, the process can be made extremely easier and your cookies will taste better if you have a flour sifter, a stand mixer, & a bench scraper. No matter how you choose to mix, you’ll definitely need cookie sheets, cookie cutters, and piping bags+tips for decorating.

Decorate your house & Build (or add to) an Advent Calendar. Our tree is decorated with ornaments from our travels and each year we love adding new memories. There were so many things we wanted to do in Atlanta this year for the holidays, and also so much family that we wanted to visit, so we used this Advent Calendar to help ourselves destress and create a schedule for the holiday.

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Binge out on some Christmas Movies. Check out All of the Christmas Movies on Disney+ Right Now! Coming soon: the Ultimate Christmas Movie Binge day!

Curl up with a Blanket and a Good Book.

Enjoy Wrapping Presents. Some people find it super stressful (trust me, I know them, and that’s okay!), but my favorite Christmas tradition is wrapping presents! I love the structure, the routine, and getting to wrap up surprises for people! It’s almost as good as watching them open gifts!

Looking for gift ideas? Check out my Gift Guide for Globetrotting Girls!

Winter Themed Puzzles. Three years ago, I bought this pack of 4 Thomas Kinkade Winter Wonderland puzzles and left it in the basement of Kyle’s parents’ house. Every year, we pull out another one and spend the week working on it throughout the week. It’s a perfect activity to do while watching a Christmas movie, if you wake up before the rest of the family, or when it’s too chilly to go outside! These are also great to do with kids!

Throw A Holiday Party. We loved celebrating with our friends the year at Glitzmas, Kyle’s White Elephant Party with his co-workers, baking cookies, dinner paries, and we’re still looking forward to a sweater party at the end of the year! Check out 8 Types of Holiday Parties to Throw and get inspired to host your own!

Get Dressed Up. Sticking around the house can be very blah- sometimes I wonder why we ever put on more than pajamas over for the week between Christmas and New Year’s! So to make my holidays more magical, I’m determined to have my Christmas outfits be DisneyBounds or Harry Potter inspired! I’m working on creating a few of my own, but you should check out ColorMeMagic by ColorMeCourtney on Instagram or on her Blog for some great holiday outfits!

Turn Your Staycay into a Productive One. You should make your December whatever you want it to be, but, it can be super productive! I’ve put together 10 Ways to Make this the Most Productive Time of the Year.

Staycay with these Christmas-y Activities Around Town!

I’ve put together a list of all of the Staycay Activities to do Around Atlanta, I’ll be publishing it soon and will link it here when I do! In the meantime, you can view/follow #StaycayAtlanta on Instagram to see what we’ve been up to!

Volunteer. I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t done as much volunteering as I should, and that will be one of my New Year’s Resolutions: to volunteer at least 20 hours in 2020. I know that’s not a lot, but starting small is key! Something to keep in mind: this is the most popular time of year to volunteer, so while you definitely should if this is when you have time, remember that you can do good all year long. We’re going to try to get involved with a Habitat for Humanity build next year, and if you’re in the Atlanta Area, you can visit HandsOnAtlanta.org to find a volunteer opportunity that meets your schedule.

Find an Ice Skating Rink. After spending the afternoon on the rink with my nieces, I’m reminded of how much I absolutely love ice skating! I’m definitely going to be finding more rinks around Atlanta and am going to go skating! I’m also going to be incorporating ice skating in to my winter workout routine. I can’t wait to be back in Manhattan and to get back on the Central Park Rink!

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Find A Christmas Pop-Up Bar. In Atlanta, there are tons- I’m working on writing up a full review for you of the ones that I’ve experienced, but in the meantime, see if there’s a Miracle Pop-Up or Beachbum Berry’s Sippin’ Santa in your town or vacay destination. The W Hotels around Atlanta have all turned their bars into festive places to grab a cocktail, see if your local W has one too! Alternatively, you can make your own holiday-themed cocktails and enjoy at home!

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Check out your local arts! In Atlanta, you can watch holiday movies in concert or listen to a Christmas Concert with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra or see the Nutcracker Ballet at the Fox Theater.

See if your local amusement parks have holiday nights. Nearest to Atlanta is Six Flags over Georgia which hosts Holiday in the Park, with entertainment, snack specials, and more! It’s a great way to get into the holiday spirit and get your adrenaline pumping. (Find your local Six Flags here!)

Take a Painting With a Twist Class. It’s a super fun girls day, good activity to do with kids, with your family, or as a date night. It’s also a great way to create holiday decorations!

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Find Local Wonderlands. In Atlanta, there’s Santa’s Fantastical, an immersive wonderland for kids and adults (there’s even a themed speakeasy!)

Visit Light Spectaculars at your local Botanical Gardens. In years past, we’ve visited the botanical gardens in Nashville, which boasted phenomenal lights. Here in Atlanta, the gardens have stepped up their game this year! Check out the full Christmas in Atlanta Round-Up for more photos and videos of the garden lights.

Spending the day, or winter break, with kids? I was lucky enough to spend an entire day with my two nieces and we wrote up a whole itinerary of holiday fun-tivities for your inspiration!

A quick note: While many may be fortunate enough to spend Christmas (or Hanukkah, or any holiday) with loved ones, not everyone can be as fortunate, so remember to keep that in mind when discussing holiday plans with friends and coworkers, you don’t know why their plans are what they are, or what the story is behind it, just try to spread Christmas Cheer & make Buddy the Elf proud!