The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
by Ali Youel
It’s December, the month where it is socially acceptable to blare “All I Want for Christmas Is You” at crazy high volumes from your car. Even in San Diego, where we have minimal seasons, the holidays is a wonderful time of the year. Here are some activities you can do in San Diego to put you in the holiday spirit.
Ice Skating
Always a fun way to pretend that actual winter occurs in San Diego; ice skating. It’s fun, it’s a good workout, and can be a great comedic relief to watch your friends fall on their butts. You can go to UTC in La Jolla and ice skate, as well as get some holiday shopping done, or you can go down to Coronado and skate at the Hotel Del Coronado. Also, opening on December 15th, there will be an ice rink at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
Road Trip!
If you want to experience a more typical winter season, you can drive up to Julian. In Julian, they get snow (but not every day, so make sure to check the weather before you head up). You can go sledding, make snow angels, and possibly even a snowman.
Shopping
Since it’s the holidays, you might need to get some shopping done for friends or family. You can go to the Forum in Carlsbad, UTC in La Jolla, or Fashion Valley. While Christmas music is playing from all the stores, you can pick out those perfect presents.
Getting Together With Friends
Grab a group of friends and have a movie marathon. You can watch Elf, A Christmas Carol, Love Actually, Home Alone, and so many more. Or, my personal favorite, you could also bake lots of cookies and make hot cocoa in your pajamas. A fun christmas playlist would complete this wonderful, seasonal gathering with your friends. You could also do a Secret Santa or White Elephant gift exchange. For Secret Santa, everyone throws their name in a hat and you draw a name (that isn’t yours) and buy that person a gift—without letting everyone know who got who, of course. Set a budget beforehand (they tend to be around twenty to thirty dollars). Then, when you exchange gifts, you can try to guess who your Secret Santa is! For a White Elephant gift exchange, everyone buys a small, funny gift, no more than fifteen dollars' worth. Each person wraps theirs individually and then puts them all in one pile. Have everyone draw a number, with number one going first. That person picks a present and opens it to show the crowd what it is. The following participants can either choose to steal a gift from previous people or pick a new one from the pile.
I hope these ideas have inspired you to get in the holiday spirit and have fun with friends. Take these tips and ideas and go make a batch of gingerbread cookies, watch Home Alone, and cuddle up with your best friends with mugs of hot cocoa and comfy pajamas. Happy Holidays, CCA!
