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Bucket List: ‘Tis the season

Part of enjoying life is living for the moment, so don’t wait until you’re on your deathbed before you make a list of what you should’ve done. Life is happening now, so start ticking things off that bucket list.

 

Everybody has a bucket list, whether it’s on an official, laminated document, or just a few ideas floating around. But at this time of the year, people have pretty specific things they’d like to do, so we’ve put together a festive themed bucket list comprised of things to accomplish during the Yuletide. Don’t panic, you don’t have to do them all this year – keep them in mind for future Christmases. Some of them are fun and others are for the good of humankind, so spread them out, but be sure to do a couple this year.

 

Make your own mince pies

One of the simple joys of Christmas is a cup of mulled wine and a mince pie. Sure, store-bought pies are acceptable, but imagine the delight of your friends and family if you welcomed them to your home with a warm, homemade mince pie. It may sound complicated, but it’s actually really simple. All you need to do is make the short crust pastry, use it to line a muffin tray, fill it with fruit mince (you could make this yourself too, but who has the time?) cover with pastry and bake.

 

Do some charity work

We have some ideas on how you can help the less fortunate over the Christmas season scattered throughout the magazine. For example, you could fill a shoebox with goodies for a child in need, which you can find out more about in our We Support feature on page 28. Or you could donate a few hours of your time by volunteering at a soup kitchen or hospital. And if you don’t have the time, you can always donate money to a cause you care about.

 

Have a white Christmas

For those in the Northern Hemisphere, having a white Christmas is rather common. However, there’s a whole other hemisphere full of people who celebrate Christmas in the sunshine. This is nice in it’s own way, but since the media mostly associates Christmas with snow and ridiculous woolly jumpers, summer Christmases just don’t feel like Christmas. So if you’re in the south, head north one Christmas and see why it’s possible to eat a real Christmas lunch there.

 

Learn a winter sport

If you’re going to make your way to snowy climes, you may as well make the most of it. How about learning to ski or snowboard? It’s great fun, and a good way to burn off extra calories from all those Christmas indulgences. And you get to go back to the lodge after a day on the slopes and sip something delicious, like a hot chocolate, or even a whiskey. And it doesn’t take long to learn. Get an instructor for the first day, and by the second day, swish, swish, swish.

 

Buy something extravagant

Imagine the look on your partner or child’s face if you splashed out on something really amazing one Christmas. We’re not recommending that you get yourself into debt over it, but if you can afford it, why not? The feeling you will get from their reaction will totally be worth the effort and money spent. Of course, extravagance is relative, so it could be anything from a romantic getaway for a weekend for you and your partner, or a car for your newly licenced teenage daughter.

 

Host the Christmas lunch

If you usually go to a family member or friend for Christmas lunch, why not have a go at hosting it yourself for a change? It can be a lot of fun, and if you go all out, there’s a great sense of accomplishment. Roast a turkey, make your own gravy and Yorkshire pudding, decorate your home in tinsel and lights and remember the festive place setting. And if you really feel up to it, we refer you to item number one.

 

Go to a Christmas Eve church service

With all the television adverts and shopping mall Santa Clauses, it’s easy to forget that Christmas is actually a Christian holiday. If you’re a practicing Christian, you probably go to a Christmas Eve service anyway, but if you’re an atheist who enjoys celebrating Christmas, find out about the service at your local church. It’s very festive, as well as being educational about the true meaning of Christmas if you don’t already know.

 

Make family Christmas cards

Cheesy as they may be, Christmas cards with a portrait of the whole family is something that all your friends and family will love. You can do it properly by going to a photographic studio and getting your family portrait taken professionally, or you can use a candid shot of your family and give it to a card making company. You can even do this online from the comfort of your own home and get the cards delivered right to your door. Remember to wear your Christmas jumper!

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