This Holiday season is definitely one that looks different for majority, if not all of us. For most of us, we won’t see our families in whole due to safety, we’re likely not rushing to the mall to enjoy the Christmas music and holiday shopping, nor are we able to celebrate the season in a normal fashion- for me, that usually meant Christmas time at Disneyland eating every gingerbread themed dessert they made up for the year, ice skating while holding hands with my husband, and parading around looking at Christmas lights with a car full of friends drinking hot cocoa.

Due to the ever existing pandemic, we’re being told (again) to hunker down and isolate. Being pregnant, I am basically already at the point where that’s a non-negotiable for me, pandemic or not. I’ve been put on bed rest and am no longer working, it’s pretty tough to walk around now, and getting up from sitting down is damn near impossible (ask Joey who has to holster me up from the couch every 20 minutes because I have to pee.) Also, thanks to this precious girl of ours, I’m getting quite a bit of pelvic pain ever since she “dropped” to ready herself for delivery. The pelvic pain is the absolute worst and literally stops me in my tracks and makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs. If that’s any indication of how labor will go, let me tell you- I’m even more pumped for that epidural!

Nonetheless, I have found that I am keeping my Christmas cheer up for the most part! I feel lucky to be home during this time where I can finally binge watch every Christmas movie that’s ever existed in it’s entirety while enjoying as much hot chocolate and gingerbread men humanly possible.

Here’s how I’m keeping the Holiday spirit up while staying home this year and how you can too!

+ Watch every Christmas/Holiday movie imaginable : So far I’ve watched all 3 of The Santa Clause movies, Elf, Four Christmases, The Family Stone, Love Actually, The Grinch, The Holiday, The Holidate, Office Christmas Party, The Night Before, Die Hard (doesn’t really count as a Christmas movie to me, but my husband insists that it counts), Fred Claus, Christmas with the Kranks, and Last Christmas. The Home Alone series is on deck, as is The Polar Express! Am I missing any good ones?

+ Keep Christmas music playing in the background : When I’m not watching a Christmas movie, say because I’m reading or browsing the internet as I lay on the couch, we play Christmas music throughout the house. I absolutely love holiday music and the Elvis Christmas Album is my all-time favorite!

+ Light as many pine tree scented candles as possible : After breakfast, I’ve been lighting a few of our pine scented candles to really get the house smelling like a Christmas tree farm! I keep the candles lit all day (as long as we don’t leave to go somewhere).

+ Build a gingerbread house : Joey bought us a little gingerbread house to make and I’m so excited to build it this weekend! You can easily get them at your local grocery store, Target, Trader Joes, etc. How fun for a little date night or funtivity to do with kids huddled around the kitchen table!

+ Decorate Holiday cookies : Since he knew we’d be home and I’d be having serious Holiday FOMO, Joey also bought a cookie decorating kit, which we’ll probably do on Christmas! You could also take it up a notch and bake your own cookies to decorate as well!

+ Get a tree & put up some lights : On my previous post, I showed our (very) minimal Christmas decor this year. If you don’t feel like decking the halls like you usually do, I’d at least suggest getting a little baby tree and putting up some lights around your TV set to enjoy while you binge watch your Christmas movies. It’s really helped my mood and helped me to still feel that holiday spirit!

+ Take a cute photo of your over-the-top hot chocolate : I LOVE making hot cocoa for snuggling up on the couch. And for whatever reason, I find that during the Christmas season, decorating even my hot cocoa has become a thing. I love finding cute snowman, peppermint, or Santa marshmallows to leave floating at the top of my mug, already adorned with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon!

+ Watch A Good Example Podcast Holiday episode : We decorated our set and talked Christmas traditions, fondest memories, and some good news going around this time of year! Give it a watch here and tell me what you think!

Well, what are you doing to keep your spirits bright this time of year??