It’s time in the Old Bohemian Christmas Plan to enjoy the rewards of your labor by spending time with friends and family while enjoying Christmas gatherings and activities. If you’ve kept up until now, you will have a clean home decorated for Christmas, outdoor lights and decorations in place, your Christmas cards and letters mailed, your gifts purchased and ready to wrap, a couple of meals stashed in the freezer for a busy night, pastry and cookie dough ready for baking, and your events and gatherings planned with any needed tickets purchased. With our fall cleaning completed, it’s time to add an inspirational activity (at the end of the post).

If you’re new or worried about being behind…

If you are just starting or a little behind on the plan, the Christmas catch-up plan has you covered. 

Peace on earth begins at home.

The Old Bohemian Homestead Christmas Plan

Enjoy Christmas Activities and Gatherings

Waiting until after Thanksgiving to put together my family’s Christmas always created time stress just when we were  supposed to be focusing on peace on Earth! I had a hard time slowing down enough to enjoy myself or feel any serenity with my shopping list overwhelming, guests about to discover my house a mess, and no idea what to make for Christmas dinner.

Shell-shocked is the way I would describe myself when going through holiday stress. I put together the Old Bohemian Christmas Plan to give myself and others a break from holiday drudgery and the tools to create something better. If you’ve followed along, I hope it’s helped you as much as it has me. 

Now it’s time to ease up and enjoy the Christmas gatherings and activities you’ve so carefully planned and prepared for! Here are some tips I’ve found helpful. They are meant to share my own experience for education and entertainment. Remember that your safety is in your hands.

Tips for Christmas Activities

If you plan to go on a Christmas lights or votive walk, remember to dress in layers, cover your head and hands, bring food and water, and bring a change of clothing for young children. Wear thick socks and appropriate boots or shoes with lots of traction, and watch for snow and ice. Any time you go for an extended outdoor walk, you should bring an emergency kit with you. Pay attention to your physical limits, and stop and rest or turn back, when you need to. Have blankets in the car and a thermos of something warm to drink for when you return.

When driving to look at lights, pay attention to safety. Watch for pedestrians and cars backing out of driveways, and never park where you know you shouldn’t or make sudden moves in traffic. It’s better to pull over in a safe parking spot to look at lights than to try to view them while driving. Before leaving home, stow food and water, an emergency kit, plus blankets in the car. Consider using chains or snow tires, if needed, and be careful where the road is snowy or icy.

Attending a Christmas play, ballet, or concert can be a lot of fun, but arriving late isn’t. Think about how much it costs for tickets and you’ll want to make sure you arrive early. Allow  more time than you think you’ll need to get ready, drive to your location, pay for parking, get into the building, take the inevitable restroom break, and find your seats before the lights go low. Otherwise, you may find yourself watching the first act from a tiny room while waiting for intermission to be seated.

One thing that I want to try to enhance the experience for my family is to wear clothing that hints at some element of the show. For instance, attending “A Christmas Carol” calls for clothing with a Victorian flare, maybe a shawl (now called a ‘blanket scarf’) and semi-formal dress with a slight train for a woman and a cravat or top hat for a man.

Tips for Christmas Gatherings

• Don’t fret over making your house absolutely perfect for Christmas gatherings. Just pay attention to basic sanitation, do whatever else you can, and then dim the lights.
• Your guests are coming to see you, not to make you slave in the kitchen while they enjoy the party. Make sure you prepare as much as you can ahead of time, and then ask for help if you need it.
• If you throw a party that only a few of the invited guests attend, treasure the ones who did come rather than fretting over those who didn’t.

CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS

• Wrap, package, and mail gifts for relatives you will not see in person this Christmas.

INSPIRATIONAL ACTIVITY

• Call an older relative or someone you know who lives alone and wish that person a Merry Christmas. This doesn’t really take that much effort and means a lot more than we sometimes realize.