November has come to an end which means it is now officially the holiday season! This is the time where families come together to celebrate all the holidays December holds. This month there is Hanukkah, which started on December 2 and ended on December 10, Christmas which is on December 25 and Kwanzaa which starts on December 26 and ends on January 1.  December doesn’t just have to revolve around gifts and what to get someone. This is the perfect time to get together with friends and family and try out some of these holiday activities.

1. Go Ice Skating.
   • Ice skating is a fun activity that anyone can do! You can go to a local ice rink such as Ice Vault Arena in Wayne or take a trip to New York City and go skating at Rockefeller Center under the giant Christmas tree. Yes you might fall down, but at least you will have some people there to lift you back up.
2. Have a Gingerbread House Competition.
   • If you are feeling competitive this holiday season, consider having a gingerbread house competition. There are two ways you can do this. One way is buying gingerbread house kits at the store or you can try to make all the pieces from scratch. If you aren’t the best baker, I would suggest going to a store such as Walgreen’s to buy the kit.
3. Christmas Movie Marathon.
   • If you just want to have a lazy day, have a Christmas movie marathon. Grab some friends, wrap yourselves up in blankets, eat lots of junk food, and binge watch a ton of Christmas movies. Some movies I would suggest watching are Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Elf.
4. Bake Cookies.
   • If you are like me and love to eat and bake cookies this is the perfect idea for you. Go on to Google and look up new cookie recipes and try them out. If you are just starting out, try to start with chocolate chip cookies or snicker doodles.
5. Secret Santa.
   • Secret Santa is a great event to do with a small group of friends. If you don’t know what secret Santa is, it is an event where a group of friends pick names and get that person a gift. Usually there is a certain amount of money that can be spent on the gift. This event is great to do before Christmas and also will help with the stress of figuring out what to get your friends for Christmas.
6. Have a Snowball Fight.
   • This one you may or may not be able to do, but it is hard to tell since the weather has a mind of its own. If there is snow on the ground then having a snowball fight would be the perfect thing to do. Go down to a local park or even your own backyard, build a little fort, make snowballs, and begin to throw them at your enemies.
7. Donate food/goods to a local food bank and shelter.
   • If you want to up your good Samaritan points or you just want to be a good person, donating food is a great way to do that. Food banks and shelters are always looking for food/goods around this time of year. If you aren’t sure what to bring you can always call and ask.
8. Christmas Caroling.
   • As Buddy the elf would say, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” Even if you aren’t the best singer in the world this could still work for you. Just get a few people who would be willing to go out and go Christmas caroling. This will not only put you in the holiday mood, but will also put others in the holiday mood.