Chere's Top 10 Ways to Savor the Season at Christmastime

Posted @ Dec. 23 2011 10:10AM by Susan - out-and-about

Easy, affordable, spontaneous activities to enjoy this week

By Chere Weiss

As Christmas week unfolds, dear readers; slow down, take a deep breath and make time to enjoy the wonderful opportunities that are outside your doorstep or inside your home. Here are my top 10 things to do this week right here in the Lower Columbia region to savor the season of Christmas time:
1. Walk Lake Sacajawea at night and enjoy the lights. Bundle up and hold hands with someone you love.
2. Put on Christmas music, build a fire in the fireplace, and turn off the lights except the ones on the tree. Sit and consider your many blessings. Breathe deeply. Toss in a sigh or two.
3. Make popcorn and watch your favorite corny Christmas movie. Try Red Box or the Block Buster kiosks at local grocery stores and get a movie for a buck! My "must sees" are “White Christmas,” “Elf,” and “Scrooged” and, of course “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
4. Do something random and generous, like pay for the person behind you in line at Starbuck’s. Watch their face light up.
5. Take a break from sugary sweets and fat-loaded munchies and make a crock pot of healthy soup. I make Turkey Meatball soup every year at Christmas. Take some to your neighbors.
6. Make a thermos of hot chocolate, pack some friends or family in the car and take a drive to find a street with the best Christmas lights. A good place to start is in the Old Westside of Longview.
7. Drag out an old board game, start a jig saw puzzle or play cards. A puzzle is a great way to stretch your brain and eye hand coordination and you can do it solo.
8. If you have pets, do a holiday photo shoot. I put Christmas hats on my dogs every year. They look humiliated, but I love it. (Pictured at left: Chere's border collie, Abby)
9. Call a friend you have lost touch with just to say "Howdy."
10. Give YOURSELF the gift of kindness. Take a hot bath with essential oils by candlelight, put on your favorite holiday tunes, or snuggle up with a good book.