This post is sponsored by Basic Invite. All comments and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Laughing My Abs Off possible!
I’m so excited for this post. We’re doing something a little different today, something a little…crazy. I don’t know about you, but over the past few months as things have started to slowlyyyyy feel a little more normal and my social circle has begun to expand again, I’ve been thinking about how to make up for all the missed social opportunities in 2020.
So when Basic Invite reached out to me about partnering, I knew exactly what I would write about because this is an idea that I’ve had brewing in my mind for a while and their products are PERFECT for bringing what I had in mind to life.
You guys. We’re bringing Christmas…to JULY!
Yes, you read that right. And if you happen to not celebrate Christmas, then pick your favorite holiday that you couldn’t celebrate the way you’d wanted in 2020 and henceforth replace all mentions of Christmas in this post with that.
Now I don’t know about you all, but my 2020 Christmas was really quiet, and though nice in its own way, it lacked that jubilant, joyful, and carefree energy that normally characterizes this holiday for me. There were no Christmas parties with friends, no gift exchanges, no Christmas desserts to share with loved ones while Elf is playing on the TV and Mariah Carey is blasting on the radio.
I was thinking what a shame it is that things are finally starting to feel more safe and open, and yet the holidays most associated with coming together in joy are disproportionately stacked in the later months.
And while many of us have probably accepted back in Christmas 2020 that we’d just have to wait a year to celebrate the way we really wanted to (and are probably already wishing we were there now), I want to offer up a different approach, in the spirit of my last post.
Because the truth is, just because we as a society decided that those 2 weeks of December are “the most magical time of the year” doesn’t mean we can’t decide to bring that magic to any other time. All it takes is bending some rules that, when you really think about it, are really quite arbitrary 😉
Christmas In July
Send Christmas Cards to Friends & Loved Ones
Merry Christmas cards are such a cute and easy way to make someone’s day and show them you care. And yes, it might seem strange to send those when it’s not actually Christmas, but really, it’s an invitation and permission slip for those special people in your life to find or create some joy in their current circumstances, regardless of what the “rules” say. 😉
Make Yourself a Christmas-Worthy Brunch or Dessert
I don’t know about you but I know I have a few special recipes that I reserve ONLY for “special occasions.” Sometimes it’s because it does take some extra effort and time and it doesn’t feel “worth it” for a random day, and other times It’s because I just created this rule long ago that this breakfast/dessert was only for this specific time of year.
But that’s so ridiculous! Why wait for a specific CALENDAR DAY to serve as your sanctioned day of joyful indulgence? If you’re feeling like you’re missing that spark in your everyday, heck, make every day a holiday. And I personally find cooking or baking to be one of the easiest ways to special-ify any random day.
Here are some of my favorite Christmas-worthy treats:
Chocolate Chip Pancakes (with caramelized bananas and maple syrup)
The Ultimate Vegan Gingerbread
Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies
Have a Christmas Party
Your friends may think you’re crazy at first, but then they’ll realize you’re actually a genius, and this will henceforth be your favorite new friend group tradition.
Start by sending your Christmas dinner invitations, explaining your purpose of making up for Christmas 2020 and bringing some extra cheer to this time of year.
Once you have your friends all gathered up, do all your favorite Christmas-y activities. Watch Christmas movies, jam out to Christmas music, set up some karaoke (belting All I Want for Christmas Is You will truly make all your troubles melt away), and maybe even do a little low-key gift exchange before sitting down for a beautiful celebratory meal (any of these will not disappoint). Really, it’s all about celebrating that you are finally able to come together safely and also that life is finally starting to feel pretty magical again. 🙂
As you can see, there is no reason that we cannot bring the most joyful winter holidays to us right now. I think we all deserve some overdue celebration, and I love that Basic Invite is all about inspiring us to create and share joy, no matter the time of year.
Right now, you can use the code 15FF51 to get 15% off your order of custom-made invitations and holiday cards 2021.
And make sure to follow Basic Invite on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter to never miss their newest designs and to keep being inspired to create and share joy every day.
Thank you so much for reading, loves, and talk soon! xx
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