These are a few of my favorite [holiday] things

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! There is nothing like seeing the snow fall outside of your window (if you’re not in the Midwest, where it usually symbolizes the start of hail, ice, and daily blizzards), lighting up the tree, singing holiday carols, and getting the band back together. In honor of the holiday season and the fact that there are only 14 DAYS until 2023 (HOW?!?!), here are my top five FAVORITE things to do/recommendations for fun holiday activities:

1.) Baking fun, simple recipes like these while blasting Christmas music (or the Adam Sandler Hanukkah song)

· Poor Man’s Toffee: https://www.lanascooking.com/toffee-bars-a-k-a-redneck-toffee/

While this has a million names, like Christmas crack or holiday bark, whatever you call it, it is INCREDIBLE. You can vary the ingredients to your liking, replacing the saltines for pretzels or the walnuts for rolos/sea salt/etc. But basically it is brown sugar and butter melted over crackers with chocolate chips over it and hardened in the fridge.

· Oreo Truffles: https://www.cookingclassy.com/oreo-truffles-two-ways/

Just look at those beautiful balls. HA okay this is a family-friendly blog, but I mean these are incredibly easy and one of the best things to bring to a forgotten family gathering or for your kid’s bake sale that they told you about 12 hours before. 12/10 recommend.

· French Hot Chocolate: https://www.wellplated.com/french-hot-chocolate/

All I can say is that while I’m as lazy as the rest of us, this is no Swiss Miss instant hot chocolate. Don’t get me wrong that is great and all (as long as you NEVER add water to your hot cocoa because that is a CRIME), but this is hot chocolate to the next level. Modeled after the rich European style cocoa, this comes out like a chocolate ganache that will have you cozied up and happy.

· Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cookies: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/iced-pumpkin-cookies/

Before I get eaten alive for this being a fall recipe, I’d like to state my case that these delicious cookies are worth it all year long. They’re also relatively simple and shoutout to my friend Bailey for this recipe because they are so soft, crumbly, and perfectly sweet. Okay, case made.

· Sharlotka: Easy Apple Cake Recipe (VIDEO) - NatashasKitchen.com

If you are going to ask what a Sharlotka is, then look no further than the next sentence. This famous “Russian apple cake” is moist (ew), crumbly, tart, and yet full of delicious holiday spices. Fun fact: this used to be one of the only things I could cook and so every holiday season, I would make this and pretend I was Gordon Ramsey and possessed unparallel baking skills. But regardless, its easy, it’s delicious, and it WILL make your entire house smell like magic.

2.) Go Ice Skating!

I feel like it is a given, but even for those of us who can’t skate without falling on our faces (but don’t worry because that is the first thing they teach you in ice skating classes), are the holidays really here if you’re not skating in a cool, lit-up ice skating rink? Actually me and my best friend are planning a trip in January to Leavensworth, a cute little town east of Seattle (don’t worry because I will post a full blog then), but what’s really unique is that they have a natural ice rink that is totally free to skate in. While I am petrified that that means falling through the ice is a possibility, I will hands-down be doing it because it is a MUST in December-January.

3.) Go to Chriskindlemarket, Winter Wonderland, or whatever other bogus celebration your city does

London has winter wonderland in Hyde Park, Chicago has Chriskindlemarket (which if you can’t tell, I have no idea how to spell) , and every city has a little market or celebration in honor of the holidays. So go grab hot cocoa, mulled wine, roasted nuts, a soft pretzel and whatever else and go wild.

4.) Watch all the Hallmark/Holiday Movies

Elf, Home Alone, Diehard (it IS a Christmas movie), A Christmas Carol- the list goes on and on. Or…you can be like me, and choose to spend December engrossed in the BEST kind of movie, a Hallmark movie. I have a plan to rank Hallmark movies at some point, but believe me: I am the expert. Me and my old roommate even did the “30 days of Hallmark movies” plan where we watched a different hallmark movie every day while we were at school last year. But “A Princess for Christmas”, “A Castle for Christmas", “On the 2nd Day of Christmas”, and “A Christmas Prince” are all great. The cringier it sounds, the better it is! A colorblind person meets an eye doctor who brings color into his life again, allowing him to regain the Christmas spirit after not being able to see red and green? Fantastic. And before you roll your eyes and say that sounds stupid, “The Most Colorful Time of the Year” is coming out this week😊

5.) Ring in the New Year with your Loved Ones

I was recently watching the Harry and Megan Netflix documentary (speaking of which, please let me know if you want me to review those episodes on this blog because I would love to share my two cents), and in the last episode, Megan says that her friend has a tradition where you share at the dinner table on New Year’s Eve what your “word of the following year” is going to be. Basically, instead of a resolution, you create a word that encompasses not just what you’re hoping for, but what you will focus your plans around in the new year. My word is confidence, as become a staple in Seattle and find out what lies ahead for me. What is your word going to be? And who will you be ringing 2023 in with?

That’s all for this entry, and also all for 2022. I have really enjoyed this first year of blogging, as I started almost exactly a year ago. 2022 has been exciting, hard, impulsive, and memorable. It has been filled to the brim with unnerving surprises, radical challenges, genuine friendships, and blessed opportunities. And wherever 2023 takes me, I hope I can keep sharing it with you- the people who read this, supporting me as friends, family, and loved ones. Wishing you and your families who celebrate a happy Hannukah, a merry Christmas, and a joyous holiday season. And here's to closing out this year with nothing but happy anticipation for 2023. Love you all!

For one last time this year-