15 Ways to Beat the Christmas Blues

This year Christmas just hasn't felt Christmas-sy. Now with just a few days to go, you're feeling the Christmas blues. What's a person to do? Here are 15 things anyone can do to invite a Christmas spirit into your home WITHOUT dragging out all the decorations or spending hundreds of dollars at the mall.

1. Waft in the smells of the season with Wassail. Wassail is just a fancy name for juice heated up with some delicious spices. Mix together some apple juice, orange juice, cinnamon, cloves, and a tiny bit of nutmeg. Add in a little bit of pineapple juice if you have it, and simmer on your stovetop until the smell is in the air. Wassail is great for sniffles and will create an inviting scent of Christmas in your home.
2. Turn on the music. Plug in your Ipod or your stereo, or even your radio, and play some low-key or upbeat Christmas music. Whether its jazz, or gospel, or even muzak, just choose the music that gets you in the mood. Turn it on in the car and in the kitchen, and sing along!
3. Bake something that means Christmas to you. Baking is relatively inexpensive and a holiday tradition you can do in one afternoon. Does your family usually make fudge or gingerbread or pound cake? Or do you have some other holiday recipe you enjoy making? Baking will fill your home with the scents and memories of pleasant Christmases past. If you're not in the mood to go all Martha, then use a box mix, or even buy the item at the grocery store and put it on a plate with some tisssue paper under it to dress it up.
4. Pop some popcorn and have a Christmas movie night. Watch the Charlie Brown Christmas movie or It's a Wonderful Life, or A Christmas Story. Choose your holiday favorite, and if you have children, be sure to snuggle together and turn off all your other electronic devices!
5. Send out a Christmas letter online this year. Don't worry about addressing Christmas cards and sending them through snail mail. Use your favorite digital images from this year, and be sure to include a link to your Hubpages account! You can also upload your Christmas photos to a blog account, a gmail group, or a Smilebox or Picasaweb book. There are so many choices--pick one and focus on the positive memories you want to share with your friends and family.
6. Look at the lights. Pack up your family and take a drive to look at everyone else's Christmas decorations. Enjoy the fruits of other people's labor. We took a drive around our neighborhood and discovered a hand-made sign for a Christmas Village Exhibit. We followed the signs to a fantastic Christmas village display in a stranger's garage. We were one of hundreds of people who viewed this magical creation including an elaborate Christmas village with hundreds of houses and other miniature figurines with moving mechanical parts, lights, and fake snow. The person who designed this wonderful display said she worked every day since October for 4 hours a day to set it up. And all we had to do was get in the car! Who knows what treasures you will find in your neck of the woods! In some areas, Christmas light displays are put on by parks, colleges, or museums.
7. Play in the snow. If you are fortunate enough to live in an area destined for a white Christmas, strap on your boots, overcoat, and mittens and get outside. You can sled, build a snowman, or throw snowballs at your friends or family. When you're finished, go inside and drink some hot cocoa and eat a cookie, or have a warm cup of chicken soup.
8. Go to a free Christmas concert. During the holiday season, free concerts are just everywhere. Whether your aunt's niece is going to be playing clarinet in the high school band or the Philharmonic is playing a free concert at the town center, go and be with others who are enjoying the music, and try to really appreciate the performers' efforts.
9. Attend a religious service. Do you find the commercial focus of Christmas is contributing to your down mood? Religious services have a way of focusing on the symbolic and sacred parts of Christmas, and create a spirit of reverence and appreciation in those that attend.
10. Perform a small act of service for someone less fortunate. There is nothing quite so effective as putting your focus on the problems of others and putting their needs before your own when you are feeling the Christmas blues. Purchase a small gift for a child on an angel tree in the mall or at your church, shovel the snow from an elderly neighbor's sidewalk, or write a letter of appreciation or put together a care package to a military service member who is far away from home and family this Christmas season. No matter that it is going to arrive late, they will still appreciate the sentiment.
11. Reconnect with old friends. Pick up the phone and call a friend you've been thinking about, but haven't had time to catch up with. Focus on what is happening in their life instead of yours and express how much you appreciate their friendship. Your friend will be delighted to be the center of attention and you will end your phone call with a feeling of peace and satisfaction.
12. Play with the toys. Get down on the floor with your children and give them a full two-hours of your time this Christmas morning. Set up the castle or the train set, or play blocks or Monopoly with your kids.
13. Create a worry-free zone. Commit just for one day not to worry about the problems that are plaguing you. Set your worries aside, knowing that you can return to them tomorrow. Everyone else is taking a holiday, give yourself permission to enjoy yours.
14. Decorate one tiny room in your house--The hall entry way or the front door or even the bathroom. Buy a great-smelling Christmas-scented candle or a silly dancing Christmas toy and enjoy it for a day or two.
15. Watch this maudlin Christmas cartoon, laugh out loud, then count your blessings! Christmas comes but once a year, now it's here tra la la la la!