Second Cup: What's on your holiday fun list?

0:03 Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is to make your holiday fun list this week. This is a great time to think about any festivities you would like to experience between now and the new year. By making a list now, you will make a plan for the things you want to do and, just as important, know what doesn't really matter as much during what is often a busy season. I love the holidays. I love the festivities. Every year, I make a list of the things I want to experience and that my family wants to experience. I don't want to get to January and realize that we didn't do something that we would have

0:59 genuinely looked forward to. Of course, after 13 Christmases in the same location, I have found a lot of different activities and locations that are fun to visit. We know of about half a dozen holiday train exhibits. There are tons of Christmas shows and concerts and holiday light displays, too. We have sampled three different Breakfast with Santa options. The first few years, I made a holiday fun list to make sure we were making holiday memories. The past year or two, I've made a list mostly to winnow things down.

1:38 What do my kids actually care about doing? What do they not care quite so much about? When something makes it on the list, I will do my best to make it happen. I bought breakfast with Santa tickets for The Good One, the one my daughter really wants us to go to, back in October. Or this. It's a lot of bother to take seven people to the Rockettes in New York City. but the Christmas spectacular is indeed spectacular.

2:06 People said they wanted to go. So we will. But not all of the train displays are quite as exciting. Not all of the holiday light displays are worth driving an hour for if we've got a lot going on, which we will with everyone's holiday concerts and such. The upside of making a holiday fun list is that I don't feel bad about not going to a particular light display.

2:35 We have looked at all the things we would do and we have said, given that there are only three weekends in December before Christmas, that this didn't make the top dozen or so. It is okay to let it go. If you've got a lot of holiday options, I think making a holiday fun list can help you feel more organized.

2:56 You are not considering all the things in the world, every time you're looking for something to do on the weekend. You spend some time now, in mid-November, thinking about what you have liked over the past few years and what your family enjoyed, and you choose what you enjoy most. You can certainly do additional stuff as it comes up, if it makes sense, or if you get some great new opportunity. But the good stuff you know will happen.

3:26 So take some time this weekend to make a holiday fun list. Talk to the people in your life that you spend time with and ask what they most enjoyed over the past few holiday seasons. What was special? What was fun? What would they like to see repeated? You might start creating a rough plan for executing on this list.

3:48 Start with scheduling the things that only happen at a certain time. The Christmas Eve service only happens on December 24th. Our particular breakfast with Santa is only offered one time, so we have to build around that. But the Rockettes put on multiple shows a day through the holiday season. We will need to buy tickets and plan to go to New York, but we have lots of options. And then there are the things that can be more flexible, like baking cookies. That could happen during any open stretch of two hours or so. but it is good to know that you want to do it so you can slot it in. If you make a holiday fun list this week, I would love to hear what's on it.

4:36 You can let me know at laura at lauravandercam.com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening. And here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at laura at lauravandercam.com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Thank you.