Friday Favorites: Holiday 2021 Edition

“I love the excitement, the childlike spirit of innocence and just about everything that goes along with Christmas.” ~ Hillary Scott

This post contains affiliate links where I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you, but it does help support this blog and my coffee addiction. Thank you for your support! <3

December

Friends we are at the LAST Friday Favorites in December! How I have no idea I feel like 2021 equally flew by and dragged on. It is crazy. But aside from summer this just might be my favorite Friday Editions post because it is all things Christmas! And once again I am doing it a week early because next week is Christmas Eve. Absolute craziness!

I am so happy I started early, because I have been able to enjoy the season, and I haven’t felt as rushed, even with Blogmas. I have been able to get posts up in the morning instead of rushing with literally minutes to spare until midnight like I may or may not have done the last couple years. (oops) Yay for being Type A and planning, and having the time too actually follow through! I hope you all have enjoyed these posts as well as are able to enjoy the season and not be to stressed out! It really is one of my favorite times of the year and I have so many holiday-esque favorites!

Hot Chocolate by the Tree

Starting out with a sweetly sentimental favorite, but I legit love sitting by the tree, whether it is working, watching tv, pondering about life, reading, or sipping hot chocolate, I just want to be by the tree. It is so cozy, especially in the days before Christmas with wrapped presents underneath and just the whole aesthetic, I love it! No matter how the day has gone, it brings me so much joy and happiness and always brightens my day!

Holiday Nails

While I typically do French nails, during the holidays I like to go all out. I even get holiday designs. I have had Christmas Trees and snowmen. And last year I did ombre which I loved. This year I decided to switch it up and go bold. I did a glittery red nail color, with a snowflake design on a couple of my nails. I love it! It is simple while still being festive and I have already gotten lots of compliments on them! They are also perfect to transition into the winter months!

Christmas Candles

I love candles, and honestly nothing is better to add some warmth during these cold months, then lighting a candle. Christmas scents are some of my favorites, and I feel like Christmas Cookie is the best smelling candle in the world. Yes I said it, and yes I will die on that hill! It smells so yummy, while filling the house with warmth and coziness, and well Christmas! It is the perfect scent!

Pink Lily Charcoal gray sweater

So technically this isn’t Christmas per-se BUT I don’t think I have ever been more in love with a sweater, and I HAD to share it. This charcoal gray sweater from Pink Lily is a must have! It is so comfy, but also super chic. I can dress it up or down however I choose. I love it so much that I had to buy it in the other colors they had, because it truly is a staple. It is longer in the back so it is perfect to rock with leggings and the dolman sleeves add a chicness. It is perfect for the holidays and perhaps a belated gift as well, if anyone is looking for ideas!

Zoom Christmas Parties

I just had my friends annual Christmas Party and for the second year in a row it was over Zoom, due to covid. But that is okay because it was still so much fun. We did secret Santas again and my secret Santa killed it! She not only sent her package from Garland, Alaska (Inside joke, but also if you watch Hallmark you get it!) but wrapped it in mermaid paper. AND then put it in a shaving kit! So much thought and effort went into it, I love how creative and thoughtful and dare I say, cunning she was! I got the cutest mug from a small business in Vermony, her homemade applesauce, AND Peet’s coffee! Y’all know how much I love Peet’s coffee (even more then Starbucks!) and anytime I have coffee at home, which since the pandemic has been almost daily, I only drink Peet’s. We laughed, we might have drank, and we celebrated and my heart is so full and so grateful for these people I get to call framily.

Christmas PJ’s

I KNOW I already shared a post about Christmas PJ’s, but friends I have really embraced the Christmas PJ’s aesthetic this year! From matching sets, to a night gown I am obsessed with the Fair Isle prints which evoke some ski lodge nostalgia along with racing to open presents on Christmas morning, They are comfy and cozy and will last me long into the winter!

Knotty Bow Earring Drops

Yes, yes friends it is another Sewcialite mention, but friends these earrings are to good NOT to share and they are perfect for the holidays! I love her bow earrings and have wanted a pair, but since they weren’t a statement earring, I knew I wouldn’t wear them. Well, Roula decided to create a statement earring with the design instead of a stud and I LOVE them! They are lightweight and look beautiful for an evening out, or to wear if you just want to be glam. I know I have said it before, but yes they ARE my favorite earring! They also would make fabulous gifts and not just for Christmas!

Ice Skating

This makes my heart go aflutter. I know that it is kind of a cliche to go ice skating at Christmas, especially as a former ice skater, I use to roll my eyes at how busy it would get. But, BUT while I grew up in indoor rinks, nothing beats an outdoor rink. Especially an outdoor rink by a Christmas tree! Don’t you think? It is so picturesque! I was able to go skating at LL-Bean’s Northern Lights Festival and it was the absolute best thing, especially as I was the only one on the ice at the time!

Christmas Decor

I have loved going out and looking at all the Christmas decor! Nothing is better than looking at the lights and Christmas displays. Some of my favorites have of course been the buoy Christmas trees which you can find throughout the New England Coast. They are an adorable nautical take on the traditional tree, and honestly I kind of like them better then an evergreen or balsam fir. I know! WHO am I? But I am a mermaid after all friends!

A Christmas Funny

This isn’t a Friday Favorite but it is a Friday Funny. Apparently I have been singing the wrong words to Celebrate me Home for decades. DECADES. Instead of Celebrate Me Home (which ya know is the title!) I was singing Celebrate Being Born, I mean it works right? Can I say it is my least favorite song? Can I use that as a defense? It is kinda funny. But also I feel like I just lost some Christmas Cred.

What I’m Watching

ALL the Christmas movies of course! I think I have watched The Santa Clause and Home Alone about a hundred times (in my defense it is background noise!) Such amazing classics And kay I did interrupt my Christmas Movie Watching for three things, one of which I feel like could be considered a Christmas show (think along the lines of Die hard, maybe?) First up is Tick, Tick, Boom. This is one of my favorite shows and I was so excited when I heard they were turning it into a movie, but also incredibly weary. Friends they KILLED it. It is a show that has aged so incredibly well, and deserves ALL the accolades I had my doubts about Andrew Garfield but he was incredible. Have your tissues ready, you will cry, (Well I sobbed!) you will love and you feel inspired and connected and heard. Once again I have to say “Thank you Jonathan Larson.” <3

I of course watched the Sex and The City reboot And Just Like That, and I love it so far. I am loving all the jokes, and I also have to say that the shocker at the end that everyone is taking about, wasn’t much of a shocker to me. As any die hard fan knows they have been wanting to do that for years and it was going to be the plot of the third movie, so it makes sense they did it in the reboot. I also LOVE the commercial maximum Effort did, but I might be biased. Continuing the nostalgia factor I saw the new James Bond movie and it was SO good, but also bittersweet! I can’t wait to see where they go with it!

The other show I have been watching is Hawkeye. Friends it is SO good! I am obsessed! And the musical at the beginning was hilarious. I even recognized some friends who lended their vocals for it. I love when television or movies show support for the arts! And for those wondering why I say it is a Christmas show, it takes place during Christmas in New York, (major scenes take place at Lotte Palace) so kinda Christmas-y right?