Christmas is some months away at the time of this post, and yet, it will be here sooner than any of us know. There are many reasons to celebrate Christmas. Some consider it to be a holy religious day, some simply enjoy spending time with the family, while others use it as a benchmark to reflect on the year in good company. 

While presents and gifts are of course not the point of Christmas, they can be part of it. But when was the last time you gifted yourself? When did you last decide to use Christmas as a nice milestone for a treat that can propel you to the next stage of your life? Well, you needn’t think this as being so indulgent as to remove its effectiveness. In fact, doing this could give you the tools to feel much more excited as you go into 2020. Just think, your last memories of this decade could be spending time with your family, relaxing and looking forward to the new gift or experience you have arranged for yourself.

And of course, you now have a few months to plan this gift to yourself, to ensure it is extra special. Let our advice help you to that end:

A Better You in the New Year

With 2020 coming up, many of us are reflecting on the last decade and just how far we might have come. This can be an interesting and sometimes quite worrying inquiry to make, as it any time we deeply reflect on our actions or on the events we have been through. Most people will look back with some love, some sorrow, and think of both good and bad memories. It’s this texture that culminates in the way we live our lives, and the path we take. 

But looking back isn’t the end of the activity. Looking forward counts, too. As we said before, 2020 can be a great new means to dive into a new decade with care and attention, putting aside the past and opting for new opportunities, new growth, and new means of getting out of your comfort zone. This is what makes life worth living after all, and sometimes, it takes just that little push to remind yourself.

So, what might you like to achieve next year? Might you wish to renovate your home more thoroughly, crafting it closer and closer to that dream home you envisioned when purchasing this space? Or, perhaps you might wish to invest in your personal and professional development? You might decide to view Baylor University Online’s selection of incredible courses, consider applying life skills such as learning first aid, or even investing in something you have yet to achieve, such as getting your driving license. Bounding into the new year with new plans and a direction that will only help you in the long term can seem like a truly freeing enterprise. And why is that? Well, because it is.

A Dream Vacation

Not everyone enjoys travel. However, of that percentage of people who think like this, you can be certain that there is, at the least, one place they can go that they will be absolutely enthralled from start to finish. In fact, the hesitant traveler need only begin to travel, and they will start to experience a resurgence in their perspective on traveling. We come to realize that actually, travel is something that livens our spirit and helps us grow.

And in the spirit of Christmas – why not make this the excuse to head out with goodwill and a smile? In fact, Christmas vacations can be some of the best. We have this outdated idea of a vacation being the need to lay down near a hotel resort, or to go to a beach and play volleyball. Those are wonderful things, but unless you live in the Southern hemisphere, you’ll have to travel a ways to get there. No, why not take your family somewhere wonderful for Christmas? For example, you might decide to explore Disneyland during their Christmas celebrations with your children, or head on a skiing vacation, or simply head to somewhere quaint and gorgeous, such as a little French town as they decorate and sing ‘Joyeux Noel’ with enthusiasm.

We often think of Christmas as a time to sit down on the sofa with our family, snug and warm. But it can also be a great call to adventure. There’s no better time to travel than the period where everyone is filled with Christmas cheer and just that little bit more patient with one another. If you’ve been reading our content for some time, you know that Christmas adds just that little bit of magic to everything. And so, even those who once dismissed travel may now seek it with attention and care.

Reconnecting with Friends and Family

The flows and fluxes of life can lead us all in different directions. We all understand this. But that doesn’t mean you need to be at the mercy of life’s path forever, nor should you allow this to completely separate you from people you care about. Reconnecting can be a vital means back onto the path, helping you connect with that which is really important and see people you may not have seen for some time. 

Let us imagine that you live in the United States, perhaps in a Southern State. You came here for work, and raised your family thusly. You haven’t seen your parents, your siblings or your nephews and nieces for almost ten years, due to the heftiness of your working schedule, the distance between you and random acts of nature that got in the way. All of your family are on the West Coast. Why not make this Christmas the means in which you visit and surprise everyone? You might arrange staying with your brother over the Christmas time (with the agreement that you return the favor next year). Swearing him to silence, you do not tell anyone you’re coming past him and his partner. 

Then, on Christmas eve, you surprise everyone as they come to his home for a pre-Christmas meal. Now, doesn’t that sound lovely? It does. It will likely shock the socks off your parents, but that’s all in the name of good fun and cheer. Moreover, it might give your children the chance to connect with their family more appropriately. 

Of course, this is a highly specific example. It’s unlikely that you have this exact familial setup and sibling count. Yet it illustrates the wonder of heading home and meeting with family or friends you haven’t seen in some time. Of course, something of this nature requires planning and care. You cannot simply turn up and expect people to cater for you. It might be that staying in hotels is necessary, and as it’s Christmas, you wish to stay in a nice few suites with your family. So, thankfully you have a number of months to preemptively plan this as you can. To us, that sounds like a wonderful scenario to look forward to.

Treat Yourself with an Indulgence 

Christmas is not about the gifts and presents that you receive, of course. If anything, it’s better to give than to take. However, that shouldn’t mean you feel bad about doing so, about treating yourself to something truly indulgent. In fact, Christmas can be a great time to purchase something for yourself or others that you may not have justified at any other time of year. And again, with months until the big day comes, you have time to save and plan your finances around said indulgence.

But what might be the indulgence you hope to gain? It could be that you save up for a limited edition electric guitar you’ve had your eye on for some time. Maybe bringing a piano into your study could be a great means of rekindling your old love and passion. For the nerdy among us, building our own computer with top-of-the-line components could help us play video games in 4K resolutions in 2020, jumping into the next decade of digital titles in style.

Perhaps you will finally spend this time renovating your basement in order to achieve that perfect media centre you’ve had your heart set on for some time, adding new visual and auditory dimensions to your movie-going experience. Most people can appreciate going the whole hog for movie-going, as it’s an experience that many of us relate to and enjoy. 

What matters is not the dollar amount you lay down for this indulgence, but how it might improve your life, and how it might be a great treat to yourself. You may not do this every Christmas, but once in a while can be fine. After all, you’ve made it through the last decade, for better or worse. To us, that signifies the need for a treat. Consider this permission to do so.

With these tips, we hope you can plan your Christmas treat efficiently and effectively, with some time to spare. Christmas needn’t need terms to get excited for, but with this effort, you’ll have one more reason, out of many, to do so.