Whether you went too hard, too soon or never quite got there at all, it's likely that more than a few of you have found yourselves right around the corner from the Big Day and slightly lacking in the festive cheer department. If this is the case then do not fret, meine lieblings, for I am here to swoop in with some tips on how to harness that last minute Christmas spirit.
1. Get everything non-festive out of the way. Whether you need to clean your room, wash the dishes or read something for school, get it done. Once you commence Operation Yuletide Wonderment this kind of normalcy will have no place.
2. Make it cosy. Refer to this post from Madvent Day 12 for tips.
3. Buy into consumerism. Buy into it hard. If what you need to flick that little switch in your brain is a grande soy Christmas Cookie latte in a red-ass disposable cup then that is what you shall have.
4. Wrap something. Anything. Find something in your room that you haven't used yet. Buy an extra present for someone on the way home. Just wrap something and wrap it well.
5. Play Christmas music out loud. If you have access to any kind of speakers that are not attached to your laptop or phone, use them. Properly filling the room/apartment/house with jingly jamz is a surefire way to create a festive atmosphere. I would personally currently recommend The First Noel by Josh Groban and Faith Hill for that extra oomph.
6. Give yourself an early present. If you can't/don't want to buy something, go around your house and find something that you've either been saving or just haven't used yet - something that's basically new to you - and be like "oh wow what a thrill what a joy such a special occasion" in your mind. Embrace it. Fear it.
7. Movie marathon. But do it properly. Watch Christmas movies on your TV (as opposed to laptop/ipad/watev) if possible, and make an event out of it. Make the kind of snacks that make you feel joyous on the inside, and actually concentrate on the movie. I'm personally very shit at not checking my phone every three seconds, but once you get into the habit of actually watching the movie you don't even notice, and the more into the movie you are the more it will rub off on you.
8. Childlike wonder. What comes to the front of your mind when you think about Christmas when you were hella tiny? Use that. For example, some of the things I'd think about are The Santa Clause and gingerbread and the actual book of The Polar Express, so I would watch/eat/read those. If you always watched a certain Christmas special, try and find it online. If you used to have any kind of achievable traditions, get on it. Just figure out what you associate most strongly with the magic of Christmas and try and use it.
9. Read something festive. Watching Christmas movies is fantastic, but I find reading something is even more involving because while you're doing it that book/story/article/fanfic is the only thing you can concentrate on.
10. Look at a bunch of festive photos on tumblr. Self explanatory. Expose yourself to other people's Christmas spirit and hope it rubs off. Got a snowy pine forest open in the other tab as we speak.
11. Do not psych yourself out. If you're not feeling as festive as you think you should be, do not be an idiot and make it worse by freaking out. If you start thinking you've lost your childlike wonder and the magic of Christmas is gone forever then yeah it's going to be a shit-to-mediocre time, but tbh regardless of how you feel right now anything is possible if you just do as Josh Groban says and Believe.
12. Fake it til you make it. Force yourself to act so Christmassy that there's no way you won't eventually start to feel the magic. It's all about the attitude.
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