Happy Holidays 2024!

Today we'll be spending time with family and taking time off of doing almost everything. I hope you have a great day, if you are celebrating anything, and if you aren't, I decided to bring you a round up of holiday stories.

If you're anything like me, you love learning new things about a lot of things, so here are some holiday tidbits for you:

12 Days of Christmas

1. Start now if you want to make a special Christmas cake for next year by soaking fruits in rum all of 2025. This is a traditional holiday cake from the Caribbean. 

2. We can't all get to Europe in December. That's okay, the U.S. has Christmas markets, too!

3. If you're looking for an untraditional winter getaway, find a dazzling wonderland at one of our nations best National Parks.

4. Is the story of Santa Claus a product of psychedelic hallucinogens? It's possible, as the story seems to pull from a lot of others, but also was maybe born of a reindeer herder. 

5. It's difficult to know where the first public Christmas tree debuted, but this city claims it with a large tree and a domed historic marker of the season.

6. I love traveling during the winter for warm weather, but there are actually some really cool festivals during the winter to travel for, like Pennsylvania's Fire and Ice Festival.

7. Why do the people of Saratoga Springs, NY smash a small peppermint pig after their holiday dinner?

8. The holidays aren't always a happy time and things don't have happy endings and every Christmas isn't "the best Christmas ever". Maybe this is why we love Christmas movies so much.

9. Santa doesn't always ride in a sleigh. He arrives by boat in these 9 seaside holiday destinations.

10. Have you heard of Jólakötturinn, the Yule Cat who prowls Iceland in search of children to eat who aren't wearing any of their new Christmas clothes?

11. In France, Santa has a sidekick. An unlikely one. A butcher and cannibal who carries a whip. Just, who is this Père Fouettard?

12. Looking to up your holiday cheer? Then you maybe want to plan a trip to one of these 12 small towns across America.

8 Nights of Hanukkah

1. People don't just travel for Christmas. People can travel for Hanukkah and here are 8 surprising places to go for it.

2. You have your own Hanukkah traditions, but here are 9 from around the world. 

3. Bring your own travel menorah when you travel and 4 other things to remember when you're away from home for the holiday.

4. Even in times of war, Jewish people found a way to celebrate Hanukkah. Here are some stories of finding the light, even during the darkest of times.

5. The dreidel is a fun game that combines gambling and chocolate, but where did it come from and why are we teaching kids to ante up?

6. If you aren't Jewish and don't know much about Hanukkah here are 19 cool facts, some of which you probably didn't know.

7. Looking to make your holiday more trendy and interesting? Here are some amazing decor for your home or to give as gifts to your favorite Jewish friends and family.

8. Menorahs come in all shapes and sizes. Check out these 14 public menorahs from around the world.

If you've ever traveled over the holidays, you know that Christmas gets most of the love, but that doesn't mean it's the only holiday. There are actually 11 holidays that are celebrated in the month of December, or 10 if you don't count New Year's Eve. We always love a Disney Christmas, but places like Paris and London have fantastic winter displays.

What are your favorite holiday destinations or traditions?

Last-Minute Travel Gifts & Stocking Stuffers

If you still haven't finished your holiday shopping or need a few small pieces, I've got some recommendations for you that will still come in time for Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. All under $30! 

I have most of these myself and have given some as gifts as well. All can be received overnight if you have Prime.

Power Bank with attached charging cords - $19.99-29.99 - 7 colors to choose from

Mini Bluetooth Speaker - $26.99 - it's waterproof and comes in 4 colors

Travel Anywhere - $12.95 - game and travel guide to make your trips more exciting

Travel Cards - $18.88 - game and conversation starter

4-in-1 Travel Fan, Charger, and Light - $15.99 - 10 colors to choose from

Laneige Mini Lip Masks - $21 - to keep your lips nice and soft wherever you/they go, set of 5 delicious flavors

Bluetooth Ear Pods - $22.99 - 16 colors/patterns

Bluetooth Sleep Headphones - $25.99 - Can be used as a sleep mask or while running. Eric wears these every night

Universal Phone Mount - $9.78 or $19.99 for set of 2 - 5 colors to choose from

Airplane Pockets - $19.99 - to stow everything you need on hand without utilizing the dirty seatback pocket

Ionic Travel Blow Dryer - $29.99 - with magnetic diffuser attachment

I hope this helps you finish off your holiday gift list and bring your giftee more convenient and comfortable travels. 

What are some of your favorite travel gifts you've given or received?

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I only recommend things I love. If you buy something through my site links, I might earn a commission. This allows me to bring you even more budget travel tips and is totally free to you.

An Awesome Birthday Week

As someone who has a December birthday, it can be hard to celebrate with people, but that's exactly what I did this past week. I did have to do quite a bit of work, but it was worth it and I had a great time. 

cheers to a great birthday!

I always kind of draw out my birthday, especially since it can be a pretty busy time of the year, so here's the bulk of how I spent my birthday week:

The Saturday of my actual birthday, I went to brunch with friends and then went home to make a bunch of foods for a Bridgerton party I was throwing. This is the first year in a while that we've not done some variation of a Harry Potter theme, because we skipped our annual Potter party, so my house was not already decorated with magical things. This made it easy to change out many of my photos for Regency-era and -inspired portraits and just add flowers to everything. 

Society papers and suspect bios

We ate tea sandwiches and drank prosecco and I adapted a Bridgerton mystery game into a non-interactive game that people could play or not play at their leisure. Many people don't like playing a character and often if you can get them to do one of these types of games, it's the whole party or not everyone shows up and it doesn't work correctly. Everyone said they thought it was really fun and would do another one. If this is something you think you'd like for a party, let me know if the comments.

On my actual birthday, we went out to dinner, like we do every year, except last year where we did a Santa brunch. It was very casual and I had a bourbon drink and Eric drove us home.

I also spent much of my week painting snowflakes for ornaments to go in swag bags for our annual fundraiser, the Yule Ball. This dance is our biggest fundraiser for the non-profit I'm now president of the board of. On Saturday, we all got to the venue bright and early to set up. This year I got a room in the hotel, so I didn't have to spend my free time driving home and back. Instead, I was able to eat lunch with some of our group, go up to my room and take a nap, not rush to get ready, and be back downstairs in time to make sure everything was working for when the raffle table opened.  

It's always a ton of work, but so worth it, especially when we're all done and are able to make a big donation to our chosen organization. This year we went with the Marie Equi Center, who aims to help the LGBTQ+ community develop a healthy life from medical to mental healthcare. We also had a whole table full of their reps, so they could partake in our feast and the good times people have raising money for them.

Even though we had fewer volunteers this year, the ones we did have were amazing and we all still had time to dance and have a good time in between working. 

What is your December looking like?