12 days of Christmas

The month of December is one of my favorite months, and I have a feeling the posts on the holidays will be a major trend here in La Caffeinista. I loved a post over at the fabulous Polished Chaos discussing 25 Christmas to-dos. It made me excited for the holiday season and gave me inspiration to write this post; my top holiday to-dos; the 12 days of Christmas, to give it a name.

1. Donate to a food bank - I love working for a company that takes community service/giving back to others seriously, so I plan on donating food to a local food bank. We've having an inter-office competition and its so much fun, but all for a good cause!
2. Play in the snow - I'm hoping by the time I'm back at my parent's house for Christmas there will be snow; there's nothing better than a white Christmas.
3. Find my parent's the ultimate Christmas gift - My brother and I are working hard to find our parents something amazing to show them just how much we appreciate all they've done for us. They're hard to buy for, so I've been scouring the internet. No luck yet!
4. Bake holiday cookies
5. Watch Elf, Love Actually, the Santa Clause and Home Alone. Also, watch A Christmas Story on Christmas Eve- it's a family tradition!
6. Decorate your tree; reminisce about the ornament/where they came from.
7. Drive around and look at Christmas lights. Back at my parents home, there's an amazing drive through Christmas light show. It's beautiful. 
8. Go look at the White House Christmas tree - I think when my brother visits in a few weeks, we'll go check it out!
9. Make a Gingerbread House - I'm thinking of inviting some friends over to make them. It's so much fun.
10. Be thankful for what you have, and spend time with family  and friends- I have close to 50 family members who will be at my house on Christmas eve. Its the best day the year, and it's not about the presents. Its about all of us being together (and of course the delicious food!)
11. Listen to Christmas music until you can't take it anymore - I've been jamming to my Glee Holiday music Pandora playlist at work; it really cheers me up!
12. Get at least one drink in Starbuck's holiday cup- already achieved this a long time ago, but it equals the holidays are here!

Okay, so technically this makes it 13, but I feel like this is a separate one all on its own.

1. Remember what the holidays are about - family, friends, and giving back to others. Such a special time of the year to be thankful for everything you have.