This year’s Christmas is most-likely different for all of us! I usually spend Christmas back home in London surrounded by my extended family and friends, and this year I’ll be staying in Dubai and spending the holidays here. I’ve been super nostalgic recently, remembering all the great Christmas memories from last year, and like most people at the moment, I’ve been struggling to make it feel festive. I wanted to write this guide to help you get in the Christmas spirit, even if you don’t feel very festive at the moment! Perhaps you can’t go home to for Christmas, you can’t spend it with your loved ones, or you’re understandably feeling a bit worried about the current situation, hopefully this hope will help inject some Christmas cheer into your life!
Start decorating!
One of my favorite parts of the festive season is decorating the house and the tree. I love that time of the evening when all the fairy lights are on and it just feels super festive! Your Christmas decor is the backdrop for the festive season, so I would stay that this is the first step to getting in the festive spirit. I have a few blog posts where I’ve shared some of my Christmas decorations incase you need some inspiration, you can find them here and here.
Set the soundtrack
In my opinion, one of the best parts of the holiday season is the music! There’s something about certain Christmas songs and carols that just take you to that festive state of mind or bring back special memories. We all have our favorite tunes, but I shared a few of mine in this old blog post.
Set your backgrounds
This isn’t as common as decorating your living space and playing Christmas music, but I would recommend changing your phone, laptop, or tablet backgrounds to something festive. If you’re looking at your devices all day like I do (just online school things!) having a festive backdrop can really put you in the mood. In this blog post I shared 15 festive Zoom backdrops, but they would also work as desktops! I also sell festive phone/Insta story wallpapers on my store here (they’re currently 20% off)
Festive food and drinks!
There are some foods like gingerbread that just scream Christmas to me! I’m personally going to bake a bunch of Christmas cookies this week to get in the festive spirit, and I know that if I go to a coffee shop and get a hot chocolate or some other festive drink it makes me feel much more Christmassy!
Christmas Scents
Speaking of foods that make you feel festive, is there anything better than a festive candle? I have to admit that I sometimes start lighting my Christmas candles in August because I love them so much. While I was studying for my finals last week I had a Christmas candle burning, some Christmas music on, and lots of fairy lights and I felt very festive!
Christmas Clothes
I remember back in elementary school we used to wear festive jumpers and socks on the last day of school before the break. While we don’t do that anymore, I find myself gravitating towards jumpers and warmer festive-colored clothing during this season (even though I live in an actual desert, and there’s no need to wear a sweater!) Oh and we can’t forget the Christmas pajamas! I’m definitely no fashion expert, but I would 100% say that dressing in festive clothes makes u feel a lot more Christmassy!
Connect with people, even if it’s virtually!
For me, Christmas is always about being surrounded by family and friends, and this year that will look a bit different for us! But I encourage you to take advantage of the virtual events. Whether it’s a virtual pantomime, choir concert, or tree lighting, I think everyone is doing their best to translate the festive events online this year. I also created a guide about how to host your own super festive virtual Christmas party which you can find here.
Watch a bunch of festive movies
On the topic of festive entertainment and events, one of my favorite things to do is watch Christmas films. For me, the more cheesy it is, the better! Maybe it’s because I’m at home a lot this year, or because I need the mental break, I’ve been making my way through all of the festive movies on Netflix. My two favorites have to be The Holiday and Love Actually!
I hope that some of these tips can help you feel a little more festive before Christmas, during this unique year! I feel as though Christmas has just crept up on us this year, and it’s so soon! Let me know in the comments what you do to get in the festive mood.
See you soon for more festive content!