The holiday season, while often filled with joy and celebration, can also come with long stretches of idle time. Once the festive meals have been enjoyed, gifts exchanged, and the holiday movies watched, you might find yourself wondering what else you can do to make the most of your downtime.
Whether you’re taking a break from work or school, hosting guests, or simply enjoying a few peaceful days at home, finding new and engaging ways to keep busy can help you savor the season even more. In this post, we’ll explore a range of activities—both traditional and novel—that can help you stay entertained, productive, and relaxed during the holidays. From baking sweet treats and diving into a new novel, to learning a craft or logging into a game of online Spades, there’s something here for everyone.
Bake a Batch of Festive Treats
The holidays are practically synonymous with delicious baked goods. Whether your family tradition involves decorating sugar cookies, baking a pie from scratch, or trying an experimental dessert, there’s something comforting about the aroma of baked treats wafting through the kitchen. Baking not only satisfies your sweet tooth; it can also be a fun and tactile way to spend an afternoon.
Kneading dough, measuring ingredients, and carefully frosting cupcakes or cookies can feel almost meditative. If you’re new to baking, the holiday season is a great time to start. Simple recipes like chocolate chip cookies or brownies are good confidence-builders. Once you’ve got those down, you can challenge yourself with more elaborate treats—think gingerbread houses, peppermint bark, or mincemeat pies. As a bonus, you’ll have a tasty reward at the end, perfect for sharing with family, friends, or neighbors.
Start or Join a Virtual Book Club
For many of us, the holidays bring a bit more free time than usual. If you’ve been meaning to catch up on your reading, now is the time. Pick out a bestseller you’ve had on your list all year, or choose a new release from an author you love. Reading can transport you to new worlds, offer fresh perspectives, and inspire you in unexpected ways.
To make it more social, consider starting or joining a virtual book club. With video conferencing tools and discussion forums readily available, it’s easy to gather friends, family, or even strangers who share your reading interests. Set a schedule for reading a few chapters a week and then meet online to discuss characters, themes, and plot twists. This not only keeps you engaged but also adds a communal element to what might otherwise be a solitary activity.
Learn a New Craft
The holiday break is the perfect time to pick up a new skill. Crafting is an excellent way to engage your creativity, work with your hands, and produce something tangible. Knitting, crocheting, embroidery, origami, or even simple DIY projects like candle-making or soap-making can be both relaxing and rewarding.
Start small: if you’re learning to knit, for instance, begin with a simple scarf rather than diving into a complex sweater pattern. If you’re into paper crafts, try making handmade greeting cards or festive ornaments to keep or give away. The internet is brimming with free tutorials and how-to videos, so you won’t be short on guidance. Before you know it, you may have honed a new skill that could turn into a lifelong hobby.
Get Active Indoors
When the weather outside is frightful, it might not feel all that delightful to go for a run or a long walk. But staying active is an essential way to keep busy and maintain mental well-being during the holidays. Consider trying a new indoor workout routine. Online fitness classes have exploded in popularity, and you can easily find free or low-cost options that guide you through yoga flows, Pilates sequences, or dance workouts. If you have exercise equipment at home—like resistance bands, light weights, or a stationary bike—dust them off and give them a try. Setting aside just 20-30 minutes each day to move your body can boost your mood, help counterbalance holiday indulgences, and give you a sense of accomplishment.
Play Online Games
When you’re looking to relax and have some fun, playing online games can be a wonderful escape. One particularly engaging option is the classic card game Spades, which is easy to learn yet offers strategic depth as you improve. Playing spades online allows you to sharpen your skills, test various strategies, and even engage with a community of players from around the world.
Because games can range from quick matches to more extended play sessions, it’s easy to fit in a few rounds during a quiet afternoon or late evening. The online element ensures you’re never short of opponents, and many platforms provide tutorials, ranking systems, and chat features that make the experience both social and competitive. Whether you’re a seasoned card shark or a total novice, online Spades is a low-pressure, high-fun way to fill your holiday hours.
Plan Your Goals for the Coming Year
The downtime during the holidays provides a rare chance to think ahead without the usual clamor of everyday responsibilities. Why not use some of this time to reflect on your goals and dreams for the upcoming year? You could list personal ambitions, professional aims, financial targets, or even something intangible like improving your communication skills or becoming more environmentally conscious.
Tools such as journaling, vision boards, or digital goal-setting apps can help you conceptualize and track these aspirations. While not as immediately “fun” as baking cookies or playing an online game, strategic reflection and planning can give you a sense of direction and purpose that lasts well beyond the holiday season.
Host a Virtual Game Night or Movie Marathon
If you can’t gather everyone under one roof this year, hosting a virtual get-together is a great alternative. With so many user-friendly conferencing tools available, it’s never been easier to connect with loved ones near and far. Try organizing a virtual game night, where everyone logs into the same online board game, trivia contest, or murder mystery adventure.
Or, plan a movie marathon using a streaming service’s watch party feature—just pick a trilogy or series of holiday classics and settle in. Being able to chat and laugh together, even if you’re not physically in the same space, can bring a sense of comfort and community that’s especially valuable during the holidays.
Declutter and Organize Your Living Space
While it might not seem like the most festive activity, using the holiday break to tackle some organizational tasks can leave you feeling surprisingly refreshed. Clutter can cause stress and reduce your ability to fully relax at home. Start small—perhaps focus on a single drawer, closet, or bookshelf. Sort items into “keep,” “donate,” and “discard” piles, and be honest with yourself about what you truly need.
If you have time, move on to more ambitious projects like reorganizing your pantry, digitizing old photos, or rearranging your furniture to create a cozier, more functional living space. By the time you’re done, you’ll have a cleaner, more tranquil environment to enjoy as you ease into the new year.
The holidays offer a rare gift: time. Time to rest, reflect, learn, create, play, and connect. Whether you choose to whip up a batch of cookies, pick up some knitting needles, try your hand at online Spades, or dive into a new hobby, the key is to approach this season with curiosity and openness. Think of it as a buffet of experiences waiting to be sampled. By exploring new activities and revisiting old favorites, you can ensure that your holiday downtime is not only restful but also deeply enriching. In the process, you just might discover a passion, spark a new tradition, or head into the new year feeling more fulfilled than ever before.