Hey friends! Erin from artsocial here. I’m SO excited to share with you my 10 very favorite things about the holidays… let’s jump right in, shall we?

1. Christmas trees: the wonderful piney smell, the soft glow of the lights at night, the gifts that slowly accumulate underneath it – Christmas trees are the best.

2. Hot chocolate: peppermint hot chocolate is my all-time holiday fave… oh. so. good. However, this lavender hot chocolate recipe popped up on Pinterest a few weeks ago and I can’t wait to try it.

3. Sledding: it’s a family tradition, it’s awesome… nuff said.

4. The prezzies: giving, receiving – all of it is magical. Etsy has been my favorite place to find gifts this year… this shop has the cutest little gifts and ornaments.

5. Baking cookies: it’s the season for treats, so baking cookies is a must. A must, I tell you. Maybe if I’m feeling adventurous, I’ll try making these this year…

6. Snow: Living in Colorado means I definitely feel the seasons change. Basically after (and sometimes before) Halloween, it could snow at any moment. I always keep my fingers crossed for a white Christmas.

7. Holiday parties: It’s so much fun to dress up, get sparkly, and visit with friends and family. For my holiday party uniform this year, I’m keeping it simple, but with a pop of sparkle.

8. Wrapping presents: when I was little, I’d spend hours wrapping tiny “presents” to put under my barbies’ Christmas tree… wrapping (real) presents is still one of my favorite things to do. I love these simple & creative gift-wrapping ideas.

9. Christmas lights: while people can definitely go overboard on the lights, I LOVE the simple white lights on the trees around my neighborhood. They really make it feel like Christmas.

10. Taking pictures: I don’t know about you, but I definitely take more pictures around the holidays… there are so many picture-worthy (aka instagram-worthy) moments! I love the idea of using StickyGram to turn some of my favorite ‘grams into magnets… and then giving them as gifts to everyone.

Now tell me, what are some of your favorite things about the holidays?

10 favorite things about the holidays with monica from finer feelings

1. The parties. Whether tacky sweater, ornament exchanges, or a small family gathering, few things
get me in the Christmas spirit more than spending a night out celebrating the season.

2. Lighting candles that smell of cinnamon, evergreen, and vanilla.

3. Watching Christmas Vacation at least five times. Why’s the carpet all wet Todd?!

4. Gingerbread lattes. Need I say more?

5. Giving gift cards or extra big tips in the spirit of the holidays.

6. Emptying stockings on Christmas morning with family and a glass of champagne within reach.

7. Elvis Christmas on repeat, with a few Michael Buble tracks sprinkled in between.

8. Wrapping gifts in brown kraft paper and string.

9. The Plaza lights.

10. Ear muffs, scarves, gloves for texting, furry boots, thick socks, and puffy coats.

10 favorite things about the holidays with kaley from k photo

1. The winter look – I am a sucker for apparel and I love everything about winter clothes – mostly boots, scarves, and coats. I get told that I have too many coats and boots, but you need to have a variety because there are so many different occasions that one can wear those to. One of my favorite winter coats is my jcrew camel capella wool coat that I purchased last year.

2. Holiday Drinks! For instance, peppermint mochas and soy chai latte’s. I can’t resist a hot drink. Especially a nice cup of hot cocoa. It’s my favorite!

3. Colored tights. I have really been getting into colored tights this year. American Apparel always has a great selection and so does Urban Outfitters. American Apparel also has a pair of leggings called “winter leggings” that will honestly save your life. Check them out!

4. I love going to a tree farm and picking out the perfect tree. This is a new tradition that I started this year with my boyfriend, Clay – plus I secretly love love love the smell of pine so I have to have a real tree. Also, my heart is so happy whenever I see trees strapped on top of cars. It makes me so giddy for Christmas. I think it’s very important to carry on traditions whether big or small. I can count my family traditions on one hand, so I just want to make sure I create them with the ones I love.

5. Family and close friends – more so, around a big table. I had a chance to experience this when I had dinner with the Parsons + a bunch of our friends. This was one of the best nights of my life. I loved the ambiance, the conversation, and the fact that I could take to some strangers and feel like they were family in a very short amount of time. The whole experience was enchanting. I want to keep the whole “family dinner” tradition alive whenever I have a family of my own.

6. Local, local, local. I have definitely shied away from corporate places and have enjoyed spending my time and money at local establishments. Want to try something new? Check these places out, be it for the holidays or just for fun! Some of my favorite places/shops are Westside Local, Acme Gift, Howard’s Organic Fare & Vegetable Patch, Sporting KC, Blue Dandelion, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, and many more! The Pitch published their Best of KC issue weeks ago, if you have a chance, check it out!

7. Pinecones and other christmas decor. I’m a pinecone fanatic. I think they are so festive and there’s so much that can be done with them. My favorite pinecones of the season are dipped in paint.

8. Checking out my favorite blogs to scope out holiday gift ideas, just inspiration in general. A post that caught my eye recently was one put up by the lovely, Bri Emery of designlovefest. She put up a make it – blog post about leather keychains. I think this is such a cute little gift idea. I love that leather is coming back in style and what a great little stocking stuffer or gift for a friend.

9. Ice Skating at Crown Center. Sadly, this is something I have yet to do there, but I hear about it every year. Crown Center is amazing in general! Who doesn’t like to fall in front of their loved ones? I kid. I do like the fact that you can take your significant other to do this and hold hands and stay warm together. It’s such a great date idea!

10. Bringing everyone closer – the holiday’s always bring everybody closer. I see it every day. At Starbucks, the person in front of you in the drive-thru buying your coffee, the joy of spending your hard earned money on someone you love, seeing their face light up as they open their gifts. The holiday’s always bring a smile to my face. Gathering around the fireplace, sipping cocoa, seeing loved ones near and far – having snow ball fights, sledding – I need to make sure I have time to do all those silly things we used to do as kids.

10 favorite things about the holidays with jordan from create like crazy

1. Going crazy with decorations! I’m never really finished adding to my Christmas decor.

2. Finding the perfect gifts for everyone on my list… and making a few!

3. Reflecting on the past year and making plans for the future .

4. Snuggling up with my mister in a big cozy blanket.

5. Getting creative with gift wrapping! I might actually be obsessed. ;)

6. Celebrating Jesus’ birth and remembering why He came.

7. Simply enjoying a good cup of coffee.

8. Eating a ridiculous amount of dessert.

9. Taking time to rest. This one is very hard for me but is SO needed.

10. And of course… spending lots of time with family and friends!

10 favorite things about the holidays with kate from katelyn brooke

1. Gathering with family: there’s nothing better than getting to see your family around the holidays!

2. Christmas cards: giving or receiving, it doesn’t matter- Christmas cards are one of my favorite things about the season!

3. Christmas music: I recently discovered Spotify (I know- I’m so behind!) and it’s been really awesome since I don’t have a very good collection of Christmas music on actual CDs.

4. Christmas movies: I just love Christmas movies. Some of my must-sees include It’s a Wonderful Life and Muppet Christmas Carol.

5. Christmas cookies: I love baking and decorating sugar cookies, but of course my favorite part is eating them.

6. Sitting in front of the Christmas tree: I have good memories of sneaking downstairs and sitting in front of the Christmas tree at late at night- there’s nothing more peaceful than just sitting in the glow of the tree.

7. Stockings: a lot of times my favorite gifts come in my stocking. I just love all those fun little extras!

8. Lights: I love checking out Christmas lights- there is a street near where I grow up that always has a really fun collection!

9. Shopping: I know that presents aren’t the whole point of Christmas, but I really love Christmas shopping in small doses. I love the decorations and being out with all the other shoppers it makes me feel festive!

10. Gift guides: I don’t normally put together one of these, but I sure love reading them! I especially loved the To & From gift guide this year.

10 favorite things about the holidays with emily from the object enthusiast

1. Handmade is always a goal of mine. I strive for quality handmade gifts with quality handmade wrapping. Here I used an inside-out grocery sack, circles cut from an Anthropologie catalog and glued into a strip around the box, then I topped it off with a natural hemp string and a little ‘Merry Christmas’ gift tag. It feels good to give a gift that had thought put into every single aspect of it.

2. I believe in twinkling lights and evergreen scented candles year ’round. But they sure make things feel extra festive around the holidays, don’t they?

3. My grandmother’s homemade hot cocoa mix is a very meaningful part of my holiday. During the holidays she would always bring us a vintage Christmas tin full of her homemade cocoa mix. It was a race to get to it, because it was so good it didn’t last too long in our house. It’s delicious, and you can find the recipe for the cocoa on my blog, right here!

4. Pinecones are my go-to holiday decoration. They’re easy to find and they’re free! I like to scatter them about for a touch of winter in my home. My decorations are pretty minimal this year!

5. It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone are my two favorite holiday movies. No Christmas season is complete without snuggling up on the couch and watching these movies.

6. It is also my favorite time to pull out my flannel pj’s and wool socks! Fuzzy blankets decked in reindeer and warm snowflake socks are necessities for getting myself in the wintery Christmas mood.

7. My family is known for our sweets around Christmas. Everyone looks forward to the treats that the Reinhardt’s bring to gatherings. Chocolate covered peanut butter balls, sugar cookies, toffee, blueberry coffeecakes, and I think this year we’re even making a chocolate trifle!

8. Seeing our family and our beloved friends is another favorite of mine. No holiday is complete without spending time with the ones you love! Last Christmas my boyfriend and I parted ways and stayed with our own families. This year we’re staying together and visiting both our families, and I am beyond happy to get to spend the holiday with so many wonderful people.

9. Traditions are something that really matter to me. This is the first year I will be breaking tradition, and won’t be with my parents and sisters on Christmas morning. It’s hard to stomach, but traveling to be with the one I love feels pretty important too.

10. Live Christmas trees. My family strongly believes in a live tree each year. There is nothing better than that evergreen smell in the living room.

10 favorite things about the holidays with susan from fleurishing

1. freshly cut christmas trees

2. seasonal music-mostly classics

3. holiday festivities, aka PARTIES!

4. the feeling of community

5. gift giving and beautiful wrapping

6. comfort food + cookie pants

7. decorating at home

8. time with family + friends

9. a white christmas (when it happens…fingers crossed)!

10. traditions old + new