Being You: Tips for girls (:

Things to Do on Christmas Day (after the present unwrapping)

1.) Take a hike. If the weather is tolerable, pack up the whole gang and head somewhere hikable. It doesn’t have to be a mountain–maybe just a hill. Live in the city? Well then, take a walk. Getting outside and taking on a challenge will feel good. Remember that whole thing about endorphins making you happy?

2.) Play flag football. Again, totally depends on the weather but why not head to the park and get the whole family involved in a fun game of football?

3.) Ice Blocking. For those of us who don’t have a snowy slope–make one! You have to go grab a few ice blocks from the grocery store (sold by the…uh, ice). Wear warm clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. Now, here’s the important part: you need to find a slope. Preferably grassy and/or covered in leaves.

Go to the top of the hill. Sit on the ice block. Slide down. OMG! So much fun!! We used to do this in college at night and it was always a blast. You can lay on your belly or get a chain and then everyone kind of flies all over the place. It’s way fun

4.) Play a game. Beyond your regular board game, here are a few other games to get the whole family involved.

Spoons. This game can be a lot more physical than just a card game if you set the spoons across the room and have to race to them!

B.S. or “Doubt It.” This game is so much fun. It’s all about trickery and reading people. 

Sock wrestle. This is a fun one for all ages–trust me. You need to clear a wide space, take off shoes, and match two people. The object of the game is get the other person’s socks off. It’s pretty dang hilarious–you should totally film it.

5.) Put on a show. Think of this activity in terms of future blackmail/awesome home videos. All you need are a few willing souls and a video camera.

Have the whole family reenact the Nativity while someone reads the story from the Bible. If you think about it, this could be both really special and really fun. Let some of the little kids be different animals, a little girl be Mary. Have grandma be an angel, and grandpa be a shepherd. You can either make this really intricate and elaborate, or simple and easy. The idea is to get everyone involved by playing in the story.

Have someone play the guitar or piano and lead the family in Christmas carols and hymns.

Play Christmas charades and film it!

6.) Christmas Photo Booth. How fun would it be to get pictures with grandma and grandpa goofing off? Paper a wall with wrapping paper, or hang up a festive curtain.

7.) Connect with long-distance family and friends. Set up a Skype date or a Google hangout with relatives and friends you cannot be with on Christmas. Schedule it in advance, maybe during dessert, or after everyone’s opened gifts. Just because they’re not physically there doesn’t mean they can’t virtually be there.