December Bucket List: Gentle preparation for Natural Christmas

In December, the season invites us to focus on intentionality in the form of slow Christmas preparations and making natural gifts, and wrapping them eco-friendly way.

A Natural Living Bucket List for December with for example suggestions to make some cold remedies and bake gingerbreads.

I have gathered for you natural lifestyle inspiration in seasonal bucket lists that I am publishing monthly. You can join the email list below to get them in your inbox when they are published, or read here the ones that have already been published:

Create natural decorations

Natural materials offer a limitless inspiration for beautiful decorations like beeswax ornaments, dried orange garlands, and Christmas wreaths. Play with the materials you have to make your home a bit more beautiful.

| RELATED: DIY tutorials and Nature Crafts

Steep Nordic glogg

Warm spices will take over the kitchen and the whole home – no need for a simmer pot when making Nordic glogg. Coldness outside and warmth inside when sipping the hot spicy glogg.

| RELATED: Hot Beverage recipes

Sketch of a cinnamon bunch with star anise and text "steep Nordic glogg" as one of the things on the December bucket list.

Make tea blends

December is the best time for warming tea blends with spices like cinnamon and ginger. I will be publishing a post with homemade tea blend recipes.

| RELATED: Homemade Winter Tea Blends

Light up lanterns

Make things cozy with different lights. Arrange small lanterns on a windowsill or on the top of a drawer, and a big lantern hanging on the balcony or placed as a centerpiece on a table. If you have enough minus degrees outside, you can make a simple ice lantern for the porch or a balcony to enjoy the natural elements.

Lanterns in a row hanging from the yarns.

Bake gingerbreads

In my honest opinion there cannot be too many gingerbreads during Christmas time. I love plain rustic rye gingerbreads to keep it simple and the gingerbreads with zesty orange to a hint more flavourful Christmas treat. If you haven’t made that gingerbread house before – this is your sign to go for it.

Make snow angels

Falling into snow and making snow angels is one of the best uses of snow along the sliding and snow fighting of course.

| RELATED: The Art Of Living Seasonally

An outline of an angel with a text to encourage making snow angels.

Make natural remedies

Clothe yourself well, but if you feel the cold creeping in, increase the tea drinking and especially the echinacea is a good friend these times. My daughter loves to drink “magic potion” hot water with some honey in it that she knows will make her feel better, and it tastes better.

There are natural ways to soothe pain and ache, so start with those you know already and increase your knowledge slowly so you don’t need the grab a pill for every sneeze and cough.

Reuse and repurpose gift wrappings

Create less waste and more meaningful moments focusing on thoughtful natural gifts that are homemade and ways to wrap your gifts eco-friendly repurposing things like nifty looking newspaper, tapestry scraps or scarfs and decorating them with cinnamon sticks and pine cones.

| RELATED: Natural home