1. Attend a holiday home tour. Many communities hold holiday home tours around mid-December — search online or in your local paper to find one in your area. This can be a fun opportunity to peek inside grand homes, all decked out in their holiday finest. Other seasonal events — local productions of plays, The Nutcracker ballet and handmade markets — are in full swing this weekend too, so get out there and explore what your community has to offer!
7 Salem Homes Say ‘Happy Holidays’ With Floral Splendor
7 Salem Homes Say ‘Happy Holidays’ With Floral Splendor
2. Prepare for power outages (and other snafus). Be equipped for whatever (mis)adventures the holidays may bring with well-stocked first-aid and emergency kits, a fire extinguisher within reach of the stove and a plan for coping with a loss of power.
How to Prepare for and Live With a Power Outage
How to Prepare for and Live With a Power Outage
3. Celebrate Hanukkah. Hanukkah begins Tuesday, Dec. 12. Celebrate with a big party or an intimate family-only gathering. Still looking for a menorah you love? Give tradition a twist with a modern DIY menorah using recycled bottles.
How 3 Families Celebrate Hanukkah at Home
How 3 Families Celebrate Hanukkah at Home
4. Finish up gift shopping and making. If you’re searching for stocking stuffers or last-minute Hanukkah gifts, this weekend is a good time to check those stragglers off your list. Haven’t started shopping yet? No worries. Brainstorm ideas for each person, and hit the stores (or the online shopping cart) with a budget to avoid overspending. And if you’re still planning to make a DIY gift, get going this weekend to avoid last-minute crafting stress!
Holiday DIY: Handmade Ring Holder and Pompom-Embellished Stocking
Holiday DIY: Handmade Ring Holder and Pompom-Embellished Stocking
5. Cut some branches to bring indoors. Red berries and garlands of greenery make beautiful, natural holiday decor. If you have red berry bushes or evergreens in your yard, trim some and bring them in. If not, look for bundles of berry branches and garlands of greenery at your local grocery store.
If you have kids (or curious pets) in the house, be sure to check in advance whether any holiday plants you’re bringing in are poisonous — poinsettia, for instance, as well as many red winter berries, are poisonous to pets and people.
6 Rockin’ Red Plants for Winter Gardens
If you have kids (or curious pets) in the house, be sure to check in advance whether any holiday plants you’re bringing in are poisonous — poinsettia, for instance, as well as many red winter berries, are poisonous to pets and people.
6 Rockin’ Red Plants for Winter Gardens
6. Commune with Dickens. The first London house of Charles Dickens is preserved as theCharles Dickens Museum, and if you’re lucky enough to find yourself in London over the holidays, a visit to the museum will find the home decked out for Christmas.
If you’re in Northern California, however, you’re still in luck: TheGreat Dickens Christmas Fair is going on through Sunday, Dec. 17. And if you prefer to channel Dickens from the comfort of your own home, curl up with one of the author’s classic works — or pick up a copy of Mr. Dickens and His Carol, a recently released novel by Samantha Silva rich with historical detail that would make an atmospheric winter read.
See the Home Where Charles Dickens Wrote Some of His Classic Stories
If you’re in Northern California, however, you’re still in luck: TheGreat Dickens Christmas Fair is going on through Sunday, Dec. 17. And if you prefer to channel Dickens from the comfort of your own home, curl up with one of the author’s classic works — or pick up a copy of Mr. Dickens and His Carol, a recently released novel by Samantha Silva rich with historical detail that would make an atmospheric winter read.
See the Home Where Charles Dickens Wrote Some of His Classic Stories
7. Get cozy. Take time out to relax and enjoy your home at some point this weekend. Make yourself your favorite hot drink, put on music you love, light a fire in the fireplace (or plug in the twinkle lights) and put up your feet — comfy socks and flannel pajamas optional (but highly recommended).
Tell us: What are you looking forward to this weekend? Let us know in the Comments.
Tell us: What are you looking forward to this weekend? Let us know in the Comments.
