Holiday Fun is Shaping Up!
Here’s what we have on the docket each weekend and day off between now and . . . 2026.
This weekend: close fam friend bat mitzvah (during day) and date night (finally – it has been forever!). Note: previously mentioned dress is en route. Fingers crossed.
Thanksgiving weekend:
- traditional Miami Beach Thanksgiving. (Will be making ~6 key lime pies, 3 for the event itself). I use this recipe. The link points to site I put together in 2005 — I started a cooking spinoff and abandoned it when I recognized I was not destined to become a food blogger. I feel like it’s kind of wild that it still exists without any action on my part!? THE INTERNET NEVER FORGETS.
- Black Friday currently is . . . blank. I think we will do a lot of online Hanukkah shopping (and don’t forget G’s bday conveniently timed 3 days before) and see Wicked, if that hasn’t already happened. (Or see it again.)
- Saturday is our somewhat traditional Friendsgiving! I think we will meet in a park first or do something to get outside.
Weekend of Dec 6-7:
- Miami Heat game (I plan to go with Josh – he’s taken the kids a bunch and it’s my turn I think).
- Barnes & Noble night (Friday), a tradition I both love and hate (G’s school with a million kids running around the store. We always buy some books though!)
- Something to celebrate Josh’s bday!
Weekend of Dec 13-14:
- G’s bday party! (At a “paint your own pottery” place and invites already sent, so I really only have to procure food/cake)
- Josh’s work holiday party
- Hanukkah starts on Sunday night, plus Josh is on call that day. I need to come up with something though C may have flag football.
Weekend of Dec 20-21:
- My work holiday party
- Saturday Nutcracker matinee! Likely with a couple of A’s friends and their moms.
- Sunday family Hanukkah party (kids get gifts and adults are doing a book exchange this year that I just set in motion)
After that:
- MONTANA. I could not be more excited for this. This is our fourth trip (2022, March 2024, Dec 2024). (This is probably obvious, but I have no affiliation with Big Sky or any travel venue. I just love it, obviously hence the repeat trips!)
Other things I want to do not mentioned above:
- Watch Elf
- Watch Home Alone
- Watch the new Dance Moms + Emily In Paris
- Listen to all of my fave holiday music
- Watch some other sappy holiday movies (what am I missing here?)
- Figure out something fun to do for New Year’s even though Josh is on call
- Figure out exactly when I will do my sacred 2026 Planner Filling In ritual (not really sacred but I look forward to it!!!)
- Figure out SOMETHING to do even small to celebrate my book launch even though I’m on call the week it comes out (but I’m off over the weekend, thanks to coverage I volunteered for over the summer. Which was . . . the best gift past me has ever given future me!)
- Find some social and fun things to do week of the 29th — Josh will be at work. I want to do some organizing but know that is not going to take up the week! I am OFF from work, kids will be OFF from school, and I would like to use those days well. We’ll probably spend the Monday recovering / unpacking / etc, but that leaves Tuesday through Sunday for family fun.
- Set up my podcast recording schedule to support a longer winter break! (I have to anyway — the sound / audio processing team deserves time off, too!)
Well! That felt kind of therapeutic. I feel like it looks like a lot but I honestly see a lot of wide open space in my planner, too!
8 Comments
That pic of G with her hot cocoa is so adorable! Love it!
During our Patreon BOBW meet up, I made a list of things to do. We kick things off with seeing the grinch at the children’s theater this Saturday. Will’s bday is 12/3 so his party is at our house on 12/6. He invited 5 boys. It will be loud and overwhelming but it’s only 2 hours so hopefully it will be fine – and then Phil and I have a double date that night at the restaurant we go to for special occasions (we went there the night we got engaged). I’m also excited for the Christmas concert at our church on 12/14. There are 500 people that sing the final piece (which is Peace, Peace). It’s so gorgeous! I took Paul last year. This year I might go alone… we will see if Paul wants to come again or not. And lastly, I went to have Paul learn one of the Christmas songs duets so we can play something together! Which is like a dream experience for me since I love playing piano!
oooooh that all sounds so nice! and gah for the family bdays – how dare they be born in December 🙂 🙂 jk!! the party sounds like it will be fun!
This sounds great! I’m really into celebrations/reflection season this year! We also have things every weekend from now until end of the year: this weekend Nov 21-23 Eleanor’s Scouts camp, a date night, and Owens 5th party at a trampoline place this weekend (gotta love an outsourced party!). Next weekend 29th Nov is E’s end of year school concert, and some work drinks. Dec 6 is a movie night fundraiser for Scouts, and would love to go to a Christmas Carols by Candlelight event that weekend. Dec 12th is last day of school for the year, and then Dec 15 we fly to Melbourne for a week to see my family and friends, and the following week is Christmas with my hubby’s family. Also want to watch Christmas movies (Home Alone, Elf, Life of Brian, Love Actually), and see lots of Christmas lights in our local neighbourhood. Can’t wait!
You have a lot of fun stuff coming up!!! You must be happy about that, because I know you were trying to make weekends more fun.
I see you have December birthdays as well- BOTH my kids have December birthdays (WHAT WAS I THINKING.) But it sounds like you have a good grip on all the important things.
Hope you find a time for your 2026 planner ritual- I thought about setting mine up today but then I realized, I’m having enough trouble just getting through November- I’m not ready to start thinking about 2026 quite yet.
Curious what Xmas music you’re into this year. Last year we thoroughly enjoyed the Kacy Musgraves Xmas album which you recommended, and I was hoping for some more like that. 😉
Last year we watched Die Hard over Xmas and thoroughly enjoyed it. We also watched Love Actually, which was enjoyable, but also horrifyingly sexist by today’s standards (I also don’t particularly approve of people calling women with a normal body size “fat” but maybe that’s just me).
We are having T-day over at our friend’s house, which we have done for several years in a row and is a lovely tradition. Also a bunch of holiday and birthday parties, which… TY for the reminder, I have to figure out which are worth going to and put them on my calendar.
We will be doing… a bunch of dog agility over both holidays, lol. Thanksgiving weekend will be spent in Lansing (they also have a dog show and expo, and it was super fun last year to wander around between runs looking at all the puppies). Between Xmas and NYE we are thinking of going to Midland again. Last year was fun and we got to hang out with some friends of my husband after the trial! Major downsides were that the venue was like a Faraday box (i.e., no Wi-Fi *at all*) and there were some rude people.
I should put a call out for recs! I LOVE that Kacey album. It is probably my favorite and I need some new ones too. From this list: https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-christmas-albums-new-holiday-music/michael-buble-christmas-2011/ I would probably like Ariana Grande, the Sufjan Stevens, She & Him, John Legend . . I mean maybe i’ll just make a giant playlist with all of them. Ha.
I have never seen Die Hard! It might be time?
Tgiving plans sound great!!
oh, and I have not watched Love Actually in so many years. Kind of forgot about it – did not stand test of time for me like Home Alone and Elf 🙂 But does not sound like I am missing anything!
Honestly, it does sound like a lot but it’s also a great list and I am a little jealous. We don’t have much on the calendar and I’ll have some busy work weeks ahead (catching up from the furlough).
I am very much looking forward to watching Christmas movies.