Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year, no doubt about it. It’s filled with so much magic, anticipation, festivity, and childlike wonder. I am definitely one of those people who can’t get enough of any and everything Christmas, and it’s officially the Christmas season now! As we all know, this year’s Christmas celebrations will look very different than they ever have before. While it definitely saddens me that so many of our beloved traditions won’t be happening and we won’t be gathering to celebrate the season with any of our friends… there are still many ways to celebrate the magic of the Christmas season. I also hope this Christmas season leaves me more margin to reflect and wonder at the true meaning of Christmas and to intentionally spend time slowing down and reflecting on Christ’s birth.

I have this things with season to-do lists, as you well know by now, and this Christmas is no exception (see past lists from 2019, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014, 2013)! This year, as only appropriate, I put together a Christmas bucket list for us, quarantine-edition. We are very much hoping to travel to Charlotte to see my family for Christmas (it’s been SO LONG since we’ve been together, and being together is the only thing I want for Christmas, besides everyone’s health and safety!), so Rob and I are self-quaranting for December in order to be as safe and healthy as possible before we’re together. As much as I’d love to be out and about & gathering with friends to celebrate the season, it is 100% worth it to be able to see our family for Christmas, if we’re able. We had to get really creative for our 2020 Christmas bucket list, but I am confident we’ll still be able to thoroughly enjoy this magical and merry season!

Our 2020 Christmas To-Do List, Quarantine Edition

• send out our Christmas cards, one of my favorite annual traditions (we ordered ours from Ivy + Linen Design, who is local to Raleigh, and I adore them)
• decorate our home as festively as possible for Christmas… we need as much Christmas cheer as we can get!
• enjoy the season with virtual concerts, ballets, and Christmas performances (Trans Siberian Orchestra, The Nutcracker, Josh Groban Christmas, Handel’s Messiah at Duke Chapel, etc)
• bake Christmas cookies and then drop them off on front porches for friends and neighbors all over town (plus create cute gift tags for them!)
• craft Christmas cocktails (eyeing a gingerbread old fashioned, cranberry gin fizz, and cinnamon rosemary old fashioned)
• enjoy lots of puzzles and board games together
• Night of Lights drive-through Christmas lights at Dorothea Dix Park in downtown Raleigh
• make hot chocolate and do a Christmas light walk in our neighborhood
• have a Christmas cocktail party at home for just the two of us: dress up, make festive appetizers, and craft cocktails together
• create Christmas movie bucket list and cozy up for lots of Christmas movies by the light of the tree (with stovetop popped popcorn and egg nog!)
• do an Advent Bible study/devotional with two of my dear friends (we’re doing this one from She Reads Truth)
• wear Christmas pajamas and fuzzy slippers
• watch Home Alone while eating a cheese pizza and drinking Coke (a la Kevin McCallister)
• build and decorate gingerbread houses virtually with our nephew and niece 
• bake and decorate sugar cookies for a virtual double date with my sister and brother-in-law
• celebrate this year (there still is a lot of good!) + look forward to 2021 with a fancy at-home Christmas date night with Rob
• have a cozy, Christmas-y Saturday morning with homemade cinnamon rolls, coffee, our record player, and time by the light of the tree
• find meaningful ways to give at Christmas
• have lots of fun (safely) spending Christmas in Charlotte with family, we deeply hope!
• joyfully and meaningfully celebrate Christ’s birth, the true reason for the season

I’m determind to make this Christmas season as joyful, meaningful, and memorable as possible, even if it’s lacking in the usual traditions and soirees that we’re so accustomed to. Afterall, Christmas isn’t about a busy schedule, nonstop parties, spending too much money, or feeling stressed and stretched too thin. It’s about our Savior’s birth and the wonder, the awe, and the hope that He brings.

Do you have any favorite Christmas traditions or anything new that you’re planning on doing this year? I’d love to hear what’s especially meaningful for you!