Christmas Movie Bucket List & Planner: Intentionally Enjoy the Season

I have really fond memories of Christmas from my childhood. My mother always put up an elaborate village, we had two Christmas trees, and Christmas break seemed to last forever. But as I’ve gotten older, there’s an ever-present longing for that magic and joy. It’s so easy to slip into routine. Holidays in our house tend to come and go without much fanfare. Things like “oh, is it 4th of July already?” get asked while chugging down a coffee and frantically getting ready. I’ve come to learn that the magic of the season doesn’t get delivered, perfectly packaged in glitter and baked goods, in adulthood. It makes me appreciate my parents all the more — the effort they must have gone to in our childhood to make every moment of the season feel positively enchanting.

Though it’s just the two of us, Jonathan and I have made a concentrated effort to establish traditions that make the holiday special. We always watch the two Home Alones on Christmas Eve with a delivery pizza. Then we tuck the gifts we’ve bought for one another under the tree, climb into bed, and wait til morning. But on Christmas day last year, we realized we hadn’t seen the majority of the Christmas movies that help us get into the festive spirit.

Those things take effort in adulthood. We don’t find ourselves with many spare moments, moments of boredom, to fill like we did as kids. It bummed me out, if I’m honest. My favorite time of year is the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I prefer that season even over Christmas Day itself. But without intentional thought and maybe even some planning, it’s easy to let that season slip by in a rush of deadlines and frantic shopping. I didn’t want that to happen again this year.

I’m the master of todo lists. It’s sad to say, but I’m so scatterbrained these days that unless I remind myself to do something, it probably won’t get done. And if I’m completely honest, whenever I find myself with a moment to spare, I typically turn to old favorites like FRIENDS or How I Met Your Mother rather than scrolling Netflix forever. So, I decided to take action and create a Christmas Movie Bucket List.

Honestly, I was just doing this for ourselves. Writing out a master list then scheduling them into our calendars to take the guess work out of everything. But when I confessed that I was doing this on Twitter, some asked for me to share. So that’s what I’m doing! You can download our Christmas Movie Bucket List and Planner below!