Holidays

When you announced your engagement, odds are that you were flooded with questions about the planning process faster than you could get through the congratulatory comments on your ring selfie. Have you decided on a date? What about your venue? What colors are you thinking? Checking off the big ticket to-dos is a feat in itself, but when you factor how many traditional “wedding rules” there are to honor, it can get overwhelming—and quick.

“Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems, in a place that perhaps you’ve seen in your dreams,” opens the 1993 classic The Nightmare Before Christmas. Going opening night as a kid felt like a dream; seeing it at 10pm and getting the Kids’ Combo blurred reality’s edges in the best sugar high, up past my bedtime kind of way. For some people, Die Hard is their edgy holiday movie.

Netflix knows that their users want to be scared throughout October—in fact, there’s a nearly 50 percent increase in horror viewing during the month. To help meet this need, they’ve made a terrifying calendar of nightmarish movies to get you through to Halloween. The calendar highlights new and classic titles coming to the streaming platform, including old favorites like The Shining, The Sixth Sense, The Conjuring, and more.

We didn’t have any particular license to do a retrospective on 2018’s most joyful moments. But at the end of a pretty grim year, we felt like it. So we gave ourselves an excuse and decorated a whole bunch of miniature holiday trees in honor of them. Here are eight of the moments that made us pause, laugh, and connect. The result is a little weird, a little funny, and a little beautiful. Let us know what you think (and what you think we missed) in the comments below.

I am a naturally tired person. Therefore I love coffee in the mornings, tea (and sometimes coffee) in the afternoon, and coffee with Bailey’s in the evening. One thing I do not love about drinking warm liquids is that sometimes they are mean and tricky fiends. They hurt you if you’re too eager! They turn cold if you take your time! How rude! This is not really a Problem, but it is an Annoyance. Every time I burn my tongue on too hot liquid, first I think “Hmm… Ouch!

While “Bob’s Burgers” and “Friends” maintains the monopoly on Thanksgiving stories, other shows crafted and perfected the sitcom holiday episode. Chief among them may be NBC’s “The Office,” which ran for nine seasons and celebrated Christmas for seven of them. It’s true that this show has not aged well since it aired.

Valentine’s Day is supposed to be completely dedicated to love, however, sometimes the sky-high expectations often lead to jitters, anxiety, and ultimately disappointment, when it’s supposed to be a relaxing day spent with your nearest and dearest. Well, interior design wizard Bobby Berk is here to save the day.

Happy World Book Day!

I’m 27 and my mom still gives me an Easter basket every year. When I make it home before zooming off to my cousins’ house for a massive “Greekster” celebration (lamb on the spit and all), my sister (who’s 31) and I are both showered with little surprises in colorful baskets as though we haven’t aged at all. As I’ve gotten older, the presents themselves matter less than the love my mom still puts into them—they’re part of our family history.

It is 2019 and it is safe to say that there are plenty of people thinking about the carbon footprint we’re leaving on this planet. If people aren’t concerned with that exactly, they are thinking of their waste consumption. The average person produces nearly five pounds of garbage in just one day. That’s over 1,600 pounds of garbage in one year, from just one person. As people begin to worry more and more about our impact on the planet, there are exciting changes happening.

Christmas is now just days away. People are scrambling to buy last-minute gifts and rushing to wrap everything to get it under the Christmas tree. Maybe you’re one of those down-to-the-wire shoppers or maybe you have had everything purchased before November even was underway. No matter how you shop, buying little things the days leading up to Christmas always seems to happen. How is it that we always tend to spend more than we planned on when Christmas rolls around?

It is that time of year again! Christmas is just days away and Mindy Kaling has her Wreath Witherspoon hung on her door. Not familiar with a Wreath Witherspoon? It is Mindy’s decorative Christmas wreath that is adorned with photos of the beloved actress, Reese Witherspoon. Mindy first debuted her wreath in a 2014 episode of her hit TV show, “The Mindy Project.

Let’s just say your family doesn’t exactly resemble a perfect Hallmark gathering of super connected cousins or in-sync siblings. And, if you feel like these relationships are bordering on toxic or if there’s abuse, addiction, and estrangement to contend with, too, it’s more than likely that you’re regarding the holidays with no small feeling of dread. Despite all of this, you can have an intact holiday.

This year, daring decorators are flipping the holiday decorating script and dreaming of a goth Christmas. Home decor site Wayfair is reporting a 70 percent increase in searches for black Christmas trees this year, and according to the artificial tree retailer Treetopia, black is the second most popular color (after classic green) in six locations: Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Delaware, and Washington D.C.

If you have a few extra hundred dollars hanging around, you can celebrate Christmas in a castle! Highclere Castle, which was featured on “Downton Abbey,” hosts a few Christmas events. It might be too late for Christmas dinner at the castle, but you can still buy tickets to sip some champagne and sing carols. In associate with RAF 100 Appeal, Highclere Castle is hosting a Castle Tours, Carols and Magic event.

As a big fan of friendly banter, I am always ready to throw down on a real vs. artificial Christmas tree argument. Team Real Tree love to wax poetic about the tradition of heading to the farm each year and the festive character that only comes from dressing a natural tree. While the artificial tree folks (of which I am one) like to tout the charm of colorful trees and the low cost and easy cleanup of bringing out the same tinsel shrub year after year.

They may be pretty, but choosing and taking care of a Christmas tree takes more effort than you might think. Whether you go all out for a traditional Douglas Fir or opt for an artificial tree, planning ahead will make your holiday season far more festive—and, more importantly, safe. Time to deck the halls in your neck of the woods? Here are a few things not to forget as you purchase, set up, and care for your tree.

There's one very important element you're overlooking when sending holiday cards—your grammar.

As magical as the holidays are, this time of year can also be a bit stressful—between handling a barrage of party invites, planning your own get-togethers, wrapping up the year, visiting family and getting all your holiday shopping done… well, it’s a lot. And then there’s the whole spending money thing. Shopping and celebrating add up, but it doesn’t have to be quite so painful.

Growing up, did you dream of becoming a princess? Maybe you longed to be a mermaid like Ariel or you wanted to live in a castle with a huge library like Belle. Or maybe you didn’t idolize the traditional princesses, and instead, you loved Mulan and Pocahontas. Whoever your favorite Disney princess was, you probably spent hours playing dress up pretending to be them. Many of us did!

Having plenty of Halloween candy to pass out—and then some—is not optional. Which sparkly princess or toddling robot with an upturned, hopeful face and proffered bucket could you tell “Sorry, we ran out of treats”? Not happening. And then there’s the kids coming home with their hauls from which they’ll pick a designated ration of their favorites (plus your tithe) and all that leftover candy. Sometimes there’s way too much of a good thing.

For 10 days at the end of October, Apartment Therapy wants to help you get ahead on the holidays. Together, we’re checking off doable daily tasks to get one step closer to the effortless holiday season you deserve. Sign up now (it’s free!) so you don’t miss a thing. Culture has a way of evolving a vocabulary to embrace and explain humanity’s common eccentricities.

For 10 days at the end of October, Apartment Therapy wants to help you get ahead on the holidays. Together, we’re checking off doable daily tasks to get one step closer to the effortless holiday season you deserve. Sign up now (it’s free!) so you don’t miss a thing. Just because you need something doesn’t mean it needs to be purchased. There are a lot of reasons to try your hand at DIY: It can be cheaper, less wasteful, and it’s a heck of a lot more fun.

For 10 days at the end of October, Apartment Therapy wants to help you get ahead on the holidays. Together, we’re checking off doable daily tasks to get one step closer to the effortless holiday season you deserve. Sign up now (it’s free!) so you don’t miss a thing. Contrary to what TV commercials might tell you, the holidays are not just about buying gifts and spending money. The reason we’re all enamored with this season is the spirit of it all.

If you need an excuse to incorporate Harry Potter into your life, there’s always going to be one. Need something to do for Halloween? Go dine at Hogwarts for a spooktacular feast. Yearning to transform your space? Decorate with this magical home collection. Looking for your next novel? New books galore! And with the holidays fast approaching, your latest excuse might be needing a gift for your fellow wizard (or yourself).

When you look back on the holidays, you want to remember things like the raucous Christmas party or the morning you spent laughing with your family over latkes—not the times when you spent all day hunting for a parking spot or waited an hour in line at the department store checkout. To help you make more room for happy memories—and save you from holiday shopping stress—Apartment Therapy is launching a new program called Holiday Jumpstart.

Did everyone go through a goth phase? Or was it just us? You might have told your parents and friends at the time that it “wasn’t a phase” but for most of us, it was. However, even if you don’t wear all black and channel your inner ’80s Winona Ryder every day, you still can love and appreciate the goth subculture. If you ever were goth or still are, you’re going to need to see Crate & Barrel’s Halloween decor.

We love Costco — and its famously generous return policy — but is there a point at which consumers abuse their rights to, well, always be right? Does a woman in California returning her dead Christmas tree in January fall into the category of shameless retail returns that should not be refunded?

We probably wouldn’t have pegged the Queen of England as one of those holiday decor stragglers, but it turns out that Elizabeth II is a February type of gal. According to Architectural Digest, the Queen and Prince Philip keep their halls decked until February 6th every year. That means they’ve got tinsel and candy canes kicking around until almost Valentine’s Day!

While we can get swept up in all the holiday cheer, it’s possible to forget that not everyone is having a jolly happy season. Non-profit organization Option B is sharing ways you can help out your friends and family who are having a hard time during the holidays. Option B is an organization started by Sheryl Sandberg that’s meant to help build resistance in the face of adversity, such as grief, discrimination, or assault.

My mom ends every phone conversation with me “drive carefully.” I could be sitting on the sofa in my living room (frankly in most cases I am) and those will still be her parting words to me. On New Year’s Eve – and most other holidays—that salutation gets even more emphatic given all the alcohol flowing this time of year and the heightened potential to encounter drunk drivers on the road. In fact, a new analysis from Alcohol.

Amidst the planes to catch and parties to attend, it’s easy to forget what the holidays are really about—expressing appreciation and gratitude. Doing this is known to warm our hearts more than any gift under the tree, seasonal dessert, or festive fête. Getting in touch with the true meaning of the season doesn’t require a massive check or hours spent in a soup kitchen (though these are great options, too).

Did you know that you can find incredibly stylish, modern jewelry on Etsy? You can, if you just know where to look. We’ve rounded up a few of the best pieces, to save you the trouble of hunting. Any one of these would make an excellent gift for a friend or loved one, or even for yourself — we’re not telling. It’s always nice to have a few statement necklaces to reach for to add a little something else to an outfit, and this geometric piece fits the bill perfectly.

At a time of year when family tensions run high, and travel stress and politics can make you lose your faith in humanity, we’re grateful for these Instagram dogs whose Thanksgiving posts are just too pure for this world. Yes, I am one of those “dog moms” who created an entire Instagram account for her pups and their rescue (@KeepAustinWhippet, if you’re so inclined).

Do you cringe at the thought of how many holiday cards are tossed in the recycling (or worse, the trash bin) come January 1st? If you’re trying to be more waste-conscious, or have friends and family who are, you might want to consider alternatives to traditional greeting cards. After all, you’re not a grinch. But the struggle to maintain your waste-conscious lifestyle during the holidays and still join in the generous spirit of the season is real.

If you wandered over to Instagram or Pinterest at all during October, you probably saw your share of carved pineapples instead of pumpkins (yes, this is apparently a thing). Not satisfied with just being a symbol of summer, the tropical fruit is also aiming to take over Christmas by standing in for your fir or pine.

As the holidays are approaching and the year is winding down, many people are starting to think about all the people and things they’re thankful for. Practicing gratitude is pretty standard during the holidays, but it’s also something you can do all the time to be more mindful and help you focus on more positive things even when you’re feeling down.

Let’s just get one thing out of the way: yes, I am completely aware that candy corn is just sugary wax. I will readily admit that it’s kind of gross when you think about it too much. I will even admit that it has a weird, fake taste. But guess what? I still love it. And that’s okay. During the rest of the year, I forget that candy corn exists. But every year, come September 1st, it’s like a light switches on and suddenly I’m craving it again.

Stumped on what to bring for your office secret Santa or white elephant gift exchange? Don’t just bring another coffee mug—make a mug cake kit! It’s super simple, under $10, and when you add a nip of Baileys, you’re sure to win at the holidays. A mug Cellophane bag Baileys nip Baker’s twine Ribbon Spoon Recipe card (one per page / four per page) Recipe dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt) 1.

With all the hustle and bustle of the season, it can be hard to actually enjoy the holidays. Between traveling, seeing family, gift shopping, hosting and attending dinners and parties and more, there’s so much potential for stress to bog you down. It can be especially difficult when you’re part of a couple, because that usually means doubling everything—double the travel and family visits, double the dinners and parties to attend, and of course, more gifts to buy.

Floating from party to party isn't easy when you're not a social butterfly.

Let’s be real: The holiday season is stressful. While a part of me gets super excited for all the delicious feasts, the festive decorations, the gifts, and the magic that fills the air, another part of me feels overwhelmed. This holiday season, I’m committed to letting go of certain things and taking the pressure off myself so that I can go back to just enjoying the holidays like when I was a kid. Here, five things I’m saying no to this holiday season.

Despite what it might feel like to a five-year-old, we know that the holidays are about more than just exchanging presents. If you’d like to instill that important lesson in your own family—or maybe just simplify your gift-giving this season with a clever little game that can also help save some money—we’ve got a gameplan for you. Instead of going hog wild at the mall this year, implement this four-word rubric to guide your gifting: Want, Wear, Need, Read.

When it comes to doing gift exchanges, you know the standard options—Secret Santa and White Elephant exchanges are fun ways to celebrate the holidays with friends, coworkers and family, but you’ve probably done them dozens of times. If you’re in want of a more creative way to give gifts this year, here are a few ways you can liven things up a little, while still giving fun, thoughtful gifts to your friends and loved ones.

"Decorating for the holidays" often feels like an expensive and time-consuming undertaking, but there's another way to do Christmas.

The holidays can be a truly lovely time of year, with parties, delicious dinners, and family and friend reunions—but they can also be super stressful (travel and fundamental differences among family members can all lead to disaster). The dynamics change even more when you’re in a brand new relationship, especially if it happens to be the first time you’re meeting your partner’s family. Of course, you want to make a stellar first impression and have a great time.

We’re all familiar with Say What You’re Thankful For, Break The Wishbone, and Eat Way Too Much Pie, but these 10 new traditions might lively up your annual family feast—for many years to come. Encourage your guests to bring canned/boxed goods to donate to a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. For every item they bring, they get one ticket for a raffle.

Finding the words to convey sentimental feelings can be hard sometimes. Yet, the opposite is true when it comes to the Danish term “hygge.” Although there is literally no single translation for the concept (pronounced hoo-gah or hue-gah) the Danes use hygge to describe the warm feelings of happiness, comfort, and coziness—not unlike our idea of holiday spirit—they strive to achieve during the cold weather season.

Going out on Halloween night is always a good time, but if you live in a neighborhood or apartment complex where kids go trick-or-treating on Halloween, sometimes it’s fun to stay home and pass out candy instead. And if you have kids or want to have some fun with your nieces and nephews, taking them around to go trick-or-treating can be a good time too, if you really get into the spirit.

I don’t know about all of you, but the highlight of my Halloween was always the moment we got back from trick-or-treating: My friends and I would dump our pillowcases out on my living room floor and start to wheel and deal with our candies. Trading just like we were on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange. You see, not all treats are created equal.

Halloween-related household spending is expected to hit a record high this year, according to the National Retail Federation: $8.4 billion dollars overall in the U.S., with $2.5 billion of that spent just on candy. That’s a whole lot of Snickers bars, y’all. No doubt, with stats like those looming on the horizon, you want to do your homework and avoid over-spending on Halloween candy this year.

Are you prepared for the holidays? For traffic jams, holiday travel, potlucks, screaming kids, wrapping gifts, nosy family members? Take some to watch a handful of these TED talks on subjects like listening, happiness, mindfulness and more…they just might help you keep things in perspective, save your sanity and perhaps even survive the holidays this year.

Do you love Halloween? There’s the slight chill in the air, candy, fall treats and fun decor. But perhaps the best part of Halloween is getting to see all the creative costumes! If you plan on staying close to home this Halloween holiday and want to be the best trick-or-treating house on the block, considering doing these five things.

The Halloween holiday inches ever more closely, and you might be looking for a way to supercharge the season with a classic activity that’s fun for all ages. Here are eight things you’ll want to have on hand to throw a great and successful Halloween pumpkin carving party. Carve pumpkins too early (and don’t do any tricks to make them last longer), and you’ll have rotted, deflated pumpkins by the time the big trick-or-treating night comes around.

So you’re having a holiday party, and you want it to be perfect. Take a look at this list — and make sure to avoid these nine mistakes that even the most well-intentioned hosts and hostesses make. Don’t expect that your guests will know to help themselves to the beer in the fridge, or that they’ll be able to find those cookies tucked away in the back of the kitchen.

Nothing lasts forever. While it’s pretty easy to determine the shelf life of, say, Thanksgiving leftovers, it’s tougher to know when your seasonal decor has gone bad. Holiday lights, like a lot of things in your home, require maintenance and regular replacement. Do you know the life span of your lights? Incandescent bulbs should be replaced every 4-6 years. LED lights last a bit longer, for 7-10 years. Of course, these numbers are just a guideline.