Start Something That Matters
It’s a great feeling inside when I know that all of the events booked through VenueAgent are because people want to celebrate something special. It may be a wedding, or a baby on the way, or an anniversary milestone. It gives me the warm and fuzzies when I think about all the memories being made, and that the VenueAgent team has a part in making those milestone celebrations unique. Today’s post is about this wonderful holiday season, and celebrating it. I am giving my top 10 suggestions for creating memories and starting traditions. Little activities that will certainly give you a happy heart. I suggest you round up your fiance, your hubby, your kids, friends, or any loved one, and start something that matters this season and keep it going for years to come!
1) Pick your signature bake good. Try to master making cake-pops and decorate them together, ask your parents for grandma’s ginger snap recipe and give it your best shot, or try to make a beautiful red velvet cake from scratch (icing and all!). Baking is a great way to start a tradition, have fun being silly in the kitchen, and keep messing it up and trying again. As the years progress you’ll be known for your signature baked good...and your technique will improve with time. 
2) Volunteer. Go online and search for something to do! Visit United Way to get an idea where you can start. This is a great time of year to start something that matters and continue to do it each year, or throughout the years to come. This kind of tradition will warm your heart and enrich your life in countless ways.
3) Have deep gratitude. Sit down and write down all the things you are thankful for. Instead of counting sheep, I actually think through all the things in life I a have deep gratitude for. After writing them down it’s easier to appreciate what you have and reflect on blessings, big and small. What a great nightly tradition to start!
4) Give. There are so many ways to give a little. Cash a $50 dollar bill to be sure you have cash every time you see the Salvation Army bell ringer outside a store. It feels really good to give, even if it’s only a few bucks each time. Another feel good tradition to start would be to go to your local Walmart or Kmart and pay off someones layaway. It is a very sad statistic of layaway's that never get picked up. Pay one down to about $2 bucks and have the clerk call the person it belongs to. This is a certain way to be sure that a family has a memorable Christmas morning that they may have not been able to have.
5) Christmas playlist. We all have those favorite songs from our childhood. They never change and never get old. Create a playlist of the combination of all your favorites, be sure that this is what is playing when you decorate your tree or start your new baked goods tradition! Don’t cheat and use Pandora (I am guilty of this this year, but I vow to do a playlist for next year), make something specific you can play every year so it is your go-to playlist for your traditional festivities!
6) Pajamas. Every Christmas Eve my Mom and Dad would bring me and my sister PJ’s at the end of the night, once all our other family and guests had gone home. Even now as adults we still get matching jammies, our husbands and kids included now too- of course! There is something very special (and funny) about everyone having coordinated Christmas lounge wear on Christmas morning for opening gifts. Go pick out something together and make it a yearly “pajama hunting outing”, it’s so festive and fun! Note: No online shopping either!
7) People watch. During the holidays, you may have come accross someone posting this video Love is all around. It’s true. I am a firm believer in focusing on the positive, and you see more positive. When you make an effort to focus on something (good or bad), you'll see more of it. Go somewhere together, hold hands, get some Starbucks, and enjoy the view.
8) Ice skate. Sounds like a no brainer, but have you went ice-skating this year? Ice skating has everything needed to feel young, silly and feel tons of holiday spirit. You laugh, you fall, you snuggle, hold hands, and then you have to warm up after it’s all over. Make time for this every year, this is worth the price of admission.
9) Create a christmas story scrapbook. Make a habit of compiling links to heartwarming stories in the month of December. Shoot for two stories a week, and then at the end of the month print them out, and make sure the dates are on all the copies. Plan to share them with each other (or the family) on Jan 1st. There is so much that happens in the world worth repeating, and it is a fun way to save stories over the years. This compilation of stories would be a very cool find for your future great-grandchildren when going through Grandma and Grandpa’s attic.
10) Start your own top ten list. When I sat down to write this list, I was surprised by how quickly and easily these came to me. These are things that I have done, already do, or plan to start doing. Find the things that matter to you, and make your own list. We all have causes that are close to our hearts, or things that we wish would made time for each year (actually Christmas cards should be on my list...I beat myself up for not sending them out!! Ok, that’s number 11 for me). Think about all that you and your family have to offer and how valuable your time together is. Now is the perfect time to make memories with those you love.
Happy Holiday's with all of my heart!
