Laughing Lindsay

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My Favorite Christmas Activities

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I previously posted about the best things to do in different seasons, but today I’m honing in on my favorite Christmas activities!

Favorite Christmas Activities

My Favorite Christmas Activities

I’ve now posted my favorite things to do in fall, spring, winter, and summer! However, I realized that the holidays are their own special time of the year. So, it deserves its own post!

List of Things to do at Christmas

  • Travel – I love to travel and see the holidays at different locations. My favorite place is probably Walt Disney World (shocker, I know). However, I’ve always enjoyed Christmas decor and lights. So, I enjoy seeing those just about anywhere.
  • Watch movies – I enjoy getting into the holiday spirit with a good Christmas movie! I have several movies that I have to re-watch every year, including A Christmas Story and Elf.
  • Bake – We started hosting the holidays back in 2019. So, I’m responsible for the vast majority of the holiday treats for my family. The good news is I enjoy researching new sweets and making old favorites every year. Nothing says Christmas Eve to me like baking!
  • Listen to music – I tend to resist listening to Christmas music until Thanksgiving. However, after that I will listen to it when I bake or get ready to go out. I still listen to rock/pop music when I workout though.
  • Decorate my house – Even before we hosted the holidays, we put up a tree and a few lights outside. However, now that we host, we tend to go all out. It takes us a few days to get everything set out, but it’s worth it.
  • Puzzles – In recent years, I’ve taken to completing at least one festive puzzle while watching a movie.
  • Wear holiday clothing – Yes, I probably seem insane. However, rotating my clothing for the seasons makes me happy. So, I do it.
  • Buy presents – I enjoy surprising my husband with the perfect gift. We use a gift list for everyone else. However, I do buy stocking stuffers to add some fun. I also may hit up deals to purchase stuff for myself. Haha!

What do you do to get in the spirit?

Is there something you enjoy doing around the holidays that I left off of my list?

My Favorite Summer Activities

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It’s hard to believe that yet another season is upon us. That means it’s time for my favorite summer activities post!

Favorite Summer Activities

I’ve now shared my favorite activities for each season: fall, winter, and spring! So, it seemed appropriate to kick-off the unofficial beginning of the hottest season with a list of my favorite things to do!

Favorite Summer Activities

  • Read – While it’s hot outside, I like to stay in the air conditioning with a good book. In fact, I love participating in the local library’s summer reading program for a chance to win prizes! It’s something I’ve done most summers since I was a child! I think most libraries host one.
  • Eat berries – I love strawberries and this tends to be the best season to enjoy them. Lots of restaurants will have seasonal berry treats this time of the year and I like trying as many as I can.
  • Sunflower festival – This is a relatively new one for me, but I enjoy visiting a local sunflower festival in the summer. There’s actually a couple here in Virginia. They are fun to photograph. Plus, it’s nice to take the time to appreciate the beauty of each individual flower.
  • BBQ – Who doesn’t love some BBQ?! I’m lucky enough to have a couple of good BBQ places where I live. We eat it year round but tend to gravitate towards it the most in the warmer months as it’s not heavy.
  • Ice cream – It’s wonderful to cool off with an ice cream or frozen yogurt with plenty of toppings!
  • Stay home – Given my propensity for travel, this probably comes as a surprise. However, I’ve taken to intentionally staying home during the hottest months of the year recently. I sweat too much to go too far in the heat.
  • Do a puzzle – A puzzle is the perfect indoor activity.
  • S’mores – We bought a firepit a few years back and love to make s’mores on Saturday nights.

Summertime Fun

I know lots of people like to take vacations to the beach or camp during this time of the year. What do you like to do in the heat of the summer?

My Favorite Spring Activities

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Happy first day of spring! I thought I would celebrate the new season with a list of my favorite spring activities!

Favorite Spring Activities

Favorite Spring Activities

I feel like I just shared my post with activities for winter, but today is the first day of spring! So, I thought I would share a new list of things that you can do to celebrate this season!

  • Decorate the house – I have a few spring and a few Easter specific decorations that I enjoy displaying during this time of the year.
  • Fun crafts – Over the past couple of years, I have gotten into painting some seasonal door hangers and knick-knacks to display. I painted some flowers this year and decorated a bunny cookie house I found at Target! You can see last year’s crafts in the Instagram post below!
  • Baking – I love to bake. I will be making a carrot cake here soon to celebrate my husband’s birthday (his request) and it feels downright springy! I also might try to make my grandma’s rhubarb pie again.
  • Make/color eggs – I’m too old to color eggs. However, I used to enjoy it as a kid. Now, I like to make peanut butter/chocolate and coconut/dark chocolate eggs to eat with family and friends!
  • Spring clean – I can’t stand a cluttered mess. Spring is the perfect time to get rid of stuff you don’t use and to get organized. I also don’t mind doing a little cleaning around the house.
  • Embrace pastels – I love changing up my clothing to match the holidays and seasons. So, it’s nice to begin thinking about wearing lighter clothes and brighter colors.
  • Travel – You have to research school/college calendars and avoid spring breaks to travel during this season. However, a late spring/early Summer trip after Easter and before Memorial Day is usually a good idea.

Spring Can Be Fun

I think spring is pretty with the pastels and flowers. However, you have to dodge the spring break crowds and deal with pollen. So, what are your favorite spring activities?

You can view my favorite summer, fall, and winter activities here.

My Favorite Winter Activities

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Now that the holidays are over, it’s officially wintertime! So, I thought I would share some of my favorite winter activities!

My Favorite Winter Activities

My Favorite Winter Activities

As most readers know by now, I live in southwestern Virginia. So, I get to fully experience all four seasons of the year! That’s actually one of the things I really like about living here. I love watching the seasons change, even spring when it brings all of the pollen. That being said, if you live somewhere warm, you might not be able to enjoy these things during the coldest months of the year.

I know that these cold months can drag by and be dreary. Hopefully, this will inspire someone out there to find something fun to do this season!

  • Watch it snow! Since we bought a house a few years ago, watching it snow has become one of my favorite things to do in winter! I love sitting at my kitchen table and looking out at our woods as the snow comes down. It’s so beautiful. I highly recommend everyone experiencing snow in the woods at some point. You could even book a trip to stay in a cabin somewhere where it snows!
  • Sip hot chocolate! Who doesn’t love hot chocolate? I really enjoy adding this to the bullet point above, but I will also drink it by itself. It’s a good way to warm up and enjoy something sweet.
  • Read a book. I love to read. Reading has been an escape for me for as long as I can remember. Curling up on the couch with a blanket and a book is the definition of winter comfort to me!
  • Watch a movie. Similar to reading on the couch, watching a movie underneath a blanket is also fun.
  • Make soup or a dessert. It’s great to warm up with a bowl of soup or chili. A warm cinnamon roll also hits the spot on a cold day.
  • Play in the snow. Am I an adult? Technically. However, nothing beats making snow angels after you shovel the stuff off of the porch.
  • Travel to someplace warm. In recent years, I discovered how pleasant the southern states can be in winter. I love visiting UO for Mardi Gras and Disney World for Festival of the Arts in winter.

What do you enjoy doing in the wintertime? You can view my favorite spring, summer, and fall activities here.

A Look Back at 2023: Year in Review

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It’s hard to believe, but another year is coming to a close! Just for fun, I thought I would do a little look back at 2023!

Look Back at 2023

Look Back at 2023

Maybe it’s just me, but the last few months have flown by! I can’t believe 2023 is almost over! The end of a year always makes me reflect on what I accomplished or what happened. It also makes me happy to look ahead to the new year. So, here’s a brief look at my 2023!

Return to Solo Travel

Prior to the pandemic, I would travel a couple of times a year by myself. However, that all stopped during the pandemic. In May of this year, I finally resumed my solo adventures! I visited Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm by myself! This felt like quite the accomplishment as I had to fly across the country and navigate things all by myself. I also wrote a post Solo Disneyland: Tips for Going Alone in case anyone else is interested in doing the same thing!

I wasn’t initially planning to visit Universal Orlando this fall. However, I ended up taking a bit of a last minute trip to see the Stranger Things house! Attending Halloween Horror Nights by myself feels like another accomplishment since their slogan is literally “Never go alone.” I also wrote Halloween Horror Nights Solo Tips for anyone considering taking the plunge to do HHN alone.

Visited Some New Places

I kicked off this year with my first visit to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. My mom and I visited the park for two days and enjoyed doing many of the Busch Gardens Tampa Animal Tours.

Then, in March my husband and I made a last minute trip to Colonial Williamsburg! It was his first time visiting and my second. Although, my first time was on a field trip in fourth grade and it’s a blur. I’m already discussing returning to Williamsburg for the food alone. You can read my Colonial Williamsburg Food Guide to see for yourself how good the food is!

In June I managed to book a weekend stay in Mt. Airy, North Carolina with my mom. You can read my Andy Griffith Homeplace Review to learn about our stay. I also wrote a Mt. Airy Food Guide for Mayberry North Carolina that has gotten several views.

Returned to Some Old Favorites

In February, I was happy to return to Universal Orlando for Mardi Gras! In fact, my mom and I did the Mardi Gras Float Ride and Dine and absolutely loved it! I was also tickled to visit my favorite festival at Epcot: Festival of the Arts! My Epcot Festival of the Arts 2023 Review details why I love it so much!

In September, my mom and I visited Disneyland for their Halloween festivities for the first time! You can read my Halloween 2023 at Disneyland Guide to see what I recommend. Suffice it to say that Oogie Boogie Bash is awesome!

Other Hobbies

In 2023, I also got into some other hobbies besides travel. I painted several door hangers and little home decor items. In addition to that, I also got better at baking. I made my first ganache for a chocolate peanut butter pie in September. In November, I made my first meringue for a pie for a family Thanksgiving get together. I realize these aren’t things most people would include in a post like this, but they are things I’m proud of.

Looking Ahead to 2024

You may have noticed a pattern in this year’s travels: I did several last minute trips. I prefer to have trips planned out in advance. However, that isn’t always possible. I’m not certain where I will end up next year, but I currently have one trip booked for 2024. I will be heading to UO for Mardi Gras and WDW for Festival of the Arts in February again! My mom and I are leaning towards canceling our UO passes and visiting some other places in 2024.

So, what was your 2023 like? Where did you go? Do you have trips planned for 2024?