10 holiday activities to do with friends

It's official: the most wonderful time of the year is here!It's now socially acceptable to fully showcase your Christmas spirit and do all the cliché - and not so cliché - magical, Christmasy things this season has to offer. And is there anyone better to do them with than friends? I don't think so.

All friend groups are different and the beauty of this season is that you can find something that'll fit everyone: from holiday baking to ice-skating, from Christmas lights hunting to shopping around, you're sure to find something that'll fit you and your friends perfectly.

If you're having trouble coming up with ideas, though, I've prepared a list of 10 Christmas activities to do with new and old friends that you can follow or use as inspiration to come up with your own personalized ideas.

Take a walk under the light

There's no need for elaborate plans to enjoy your time together with friends.A walk is as great a plan as any, especially when it's under the beautiful Christmas lights that fill up the cities and towns, around this time. Grab your favorite coffee or hot chocolate to-go and look up! Have fun pointing out the different light designs you find, comment on your favorite displays, and just take this time to catch up and enjoy each other's company.

Decorate together

Is it really Christmas until everything is red, golden, and lit up?A great way to get in the spirit, celebrate the season, and bond with your friends, all at the same time, is to do Christmas decorations together. Invite your friends over, get everyone to bring their favorite snacks, get all the lights, balls, and garlands out of the boxes, and put them up around the house, together.This is also a great opportunity to test your DIY skills and craft your very own Christmas decorations. Build your own wreaths out of little branches, rope, and yarn, cut out your tree ornaments from toilet paper rolls or old boxes, or paint some pinecones and hang them on the tree or around the house. You can even have some extra fun and print some of your group photos and glue some Santa hats and beards on them!

Do some window shopping

I know... Christmas can sometimes become quite consumerist. But you can turn that around in a really fun way!Grab a friend (or more!), go to your favorite shopping street and appreciate the elaborate Christmas window displays. Along the way, hop into a couple of stores, build extravagant looks and have your very own glamorous photo shoot in the dressing rooms! All of the fun, none of the spending.

Get back in touch with old friends - and meet new ones!

Remember the people you used to hang out with in school? The ones that moved out of town and you haven't been in touch with as often? This is the perfect time to have a group call together and catch up on your lives. While you're at it, why not take advantage of the Christmas spirit and open up to new connections? Join one of the Jaumo audio rooms and meet new people around you. Who knows? You might very well find an extra friend to grab a hot chocolate or watch a Christmas movie with - and that's always a good thing.

Go Ice-Skating

Of course, there should always be space for a classic! Whether it gets snowy or not where you live, you're bound to find an ice skate ring somewhere not too far away.While most of us are not gifted with amazing balance and grace, the trips and slips only add to the fun, especially if you're with friends. After all, the best memories happen when you don't take yourself too seriously.

Christmas Baking

Is there anything better than Christmas food? Thinking of the Christmas table is bound to get anyone's mouth watering. But while you're waiting for that big moment, you can satisfy your Christmas hunger and bond with your friends at the same time by baking.Don't worry if your friend group's baking skills are not Michelin level, the learning and trying process is most of the fun, anyway! Worst case scenario, you end up with a house smelling like cinnamon and sugar, and an afternoon of laughs. And best case scenario? You and your friends have a tummy full of comforting pastries and cookies plus some to give away to your loved ones.

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Christmas Movie Marathon

This one can follow up immediately after your baking adventures.Grab your cookies, cakes, and sweets and sit on the couch with a nice cozy blanket, watching your favorite Christmas movies - or totally new ones!If you're having a hard time deciding which movie to choose, put all your options into a bag, shake it up, and draw randomly.Here are some of my favorites: How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Home Alone, The Princess Switch, and The Santa Clause.

Build a "Santa album"

Remember when I said "not so cliché"? If there's anything we learned from the Christmas classic Home Alone is that a little Christmas-time mischief is never a bad thing. So let the kid in you out, pay a visit to all the mall Santas, and get a group photo with each of them! Besides being completely free, it's a super fun activity that'll excite the whole friend group and give you lifelong memories that you can print and revisit in future years.

Have a sustainable Secret Santa

Showing love through gift-giving does not have to mean participating in the buying frenzy.For this year's gift exchange with your friends, have a sustainable Secret Santa! You can build your own gifts, re-gift something you haven't given proper use to but you think one of your friends will, or find something cool and original in a vintage or second-hand shop.What makes an amazing gift is not how much you spent on it, but how much thought you put into it.

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Do a group donation

Anytime is a great time to help others, but during Christmas, it becomes even more obvious how important it is to give back. A great way to do so while building memories with your friends is to put a donation box together, as a group. Rummage through your closets, the boxes you have put away, and just your houses in general, and identify the items that don't add to your life but would add to someone else's. These could be clothes you don't really wear, toys and plushies that have been forgotten in some box, games you no longer play, perfumes and beauty items you never opened, books, or house items like vases, paintings, blankets, and others. It feels great to spend time together with friends, but it means even more when you do so while helping others.

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Ready for some Christmas fun?

Grab your new and old friends and start scratching some of these items on the list!Remember, the best thing about Christmas time is enjoying it with your loved ones. Cliché as it sounds, the best gift really is having each other - and we're lucky to have that gift all year-round! Make sure to cherish it.

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