In this episode, I share day three of the Cosy Christmas Plan-Along: make a Christmas playlist. You can listen to the episode below or keep scrolling to read the key takeaways from today.

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Day Five

Today we making a Christmas “playlist”. It is a list of all the ways you will have have fun this season. It’s a list of what you will be stitching, reading, playing, watching and listening to, bringing the plan-along together into one list you can refer back to over the season. Because sometimes we forget things when we’re busy … including the hobbies we wanted to get to.

You can get as detailed as you want. Make a list similar to mine or narrow it down a little and just write down what projects you are stitching and/or what books you will be reading. Just having something planned will mean you are more likely to find time to yourself to do the things on the list.

Stitching

You have probably already made this list but write the projects down again. Any that you are stitching over the season. And you can go one step further and link them to something else on your playlist. For example, you stitch a Christmas project when you are watching cheesey Christmas movies.

I will have a row of Christmas audio books to listen to when I’m stitching this season and my Coffee Shop project will be what I stitch for Friday Film Night.

Reading

You can split your books between ‘reading’ and ‘listening’ if you plan to listen to some on audio. Find some books now you will enjoy reading over the season.

And, again, take it a step further. Is there a particular book you will read at a particular time? For example, I am planning on reading ‘Once Upon a Wardrobe’ in paper back during my Saturday afternoon hobby sessions.

Playing

These are the other hobbies you have planned to do over the Christmas season. You can change the title to ‘baking’ or making’ depending on what hobbies you have chosen. Here are my examples:

• Lego – building Christmas set

• Dreamlight Valley on the Switch

• Colouring Christmas pages in my colouring in book

• Baking cranberry cookies

And if you can fit any of these hobbies into your sessions that you planned yesterday do that now, or let yourself see what you’re in the mood for that day. One of mine has a dedicated time but the others are ones I can pick up during different times.

Watching

 I pretty much watch only Christmas films during December if I’m turning the TV on. But it is good to have a list of your favourite films. And you can decide if any of them fit a particular project or hobby as I mentioned with my Christmas Coffee Shop project.

But I get even more specific here too and I watch Holidate when I’m baking cookies and Bad Moms Christmas when I’m wrapping presents. They’re like traditions just for myself.

There are so many films I forget about over Christmas so I’m excited to make my list this weekend.

Listening

 As I said above, you can put audiobooks here or anything else you might listen to – podcasts/music etc. I’m not massively into music but I do love a podcast.

I love listening ‘A Christmas Carol’ on Christmas Eve and some of the other free Christmas novellas on Audible are very good too so I recommend looking if you have an account.

Maybe you can find an audiobook to listen to when you are stitching a particular project or wreath making or baking, etc.

And that’s a wrap

I hope you have enjoyed this plan-along and it has helped you get excited for Christmas and any self-care time you will (might) get. I know some people will think this is an odd thing to do – plan your hobbies – but if you are a multi-passionate person it is needed sometimes so we don’t get overwhelmed by choice or decision fatigue.

I’ll see you for another challenge very soon. Happy planning!

Extra episodes and posts

• How to Make a Cross Stitch Routine
• How to have a Christmas Retreat Day
• How to Organise Your WIP Projects
• Why I wrote a cross stitch book
• Hobbies I’m Planning This Christmas