40 easy (and free) ways to feel festive this holiday season

There's a lot of pressure around the holiday season. It's full of things for which it's easy to have overblown expectations — New Year's Eve, for example, and the unintentional friendship quality metric known as "giving gifts." Not helping: the state of the world, which is bad.

It's understandable, then, if you're not feeling particularly festive. This year, I've struggled to get into the holiday spirit (whatever that is) and my lack of excitement is matched only by my guilt for its absence. It's Christmas! What, within my extremely limited budget (zero dollars), can I do to feel more ... holiday-ish?

SEE ALSO: Holiday stress is real. How you can cope with it all.

If you're having the same issue I am, please consider these 40 ideas. Hopefully, some of them will stick, and we will all be the physical embodiment of holiday cheer (I assume this means looking like we "swallowed a lightbulb," as Declan Howell says in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) by December 23 at the latest.

1. Watch one of the many, many Christmas movies available on YouTube.

2. Look at this photo of Ariana Grande ice skating in Montclair, New Jersey.

3. Walk by a Christmas tree retailer for some nice smells. Bonus points if it's on a sidewalk.

4. Call a relative you haven't talked to in a while. To be clear, I mean a good one who you actually like. Important detail!

5. Put on a turtleneck. If you don't have a turtleneck, check out New York Magazine's #CelebsInTurtlenecks hashtag on Instagram.

6. Listen to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You."

7. For a hornier option, listen to Ariana Grande's Christmas & Chill EP.

8. Feeling wholesome? Listen to the soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas. 

9. Think about the little tree in A Charlie Brown Christmas and get a little weepy.

10. Spend some quality time with Google's Santa Tracker.

11. Put on a hat (warm).

12. Watch this video tweeted by Joe Jonas, a man who seems to love Christmas.

13. Follow this link.

14. Is it snowing? Make one (1) snowball, then go back inside.

15. Send a friend one of Mashable's custom holiday cards. You do not need to buy a stamp to do this, which is so cool.

16. Drink a warm beverage of any kind. You have to emit a deep sigh after the first sip, though, or it won't count.

17. Say "jingle bells" five times aloud.

18. Donate a gently used winter coat.

19. Turn on Netflix's Fireplace for Your Home. (If you don't have Netflix, there are some pleasant fireplace options on YouTube, too.)

20. Read these Bachelor contestant bios and realize you don't want 2019 to come after all. This will make 2018 seem better.

21. Pick up a pinecone and hold it in your hand.

22. Find a holiday light show close to your neighborhood.

23. Find a holiday light show on YouTube.

24. If you happen to be near Deerfield, Massachusetts, check out the Yankee Candle Village. No, you don't have to buy any candles — you can just smell them for hours, giggling at the moniker "Scenter of the Universe" all the while.

25. Take a walk and gaze at some decorative store windows. Do not go inside any stores.

26. Learn the Mean Girls (and now, the "thank u, next") dance routine.

27. "Write a letter to Santa lmao."

Image: Mashable

28. Write a letter to another person (not Santa).

29. Listen to "All I Want for Christmas Is You" a second time.

SEE ALSO: 15 holiday songs that are super weird but we somehow still love

30. Learn how to sing "All I Want for Christmas Is You," but only the Alto II part.

31. Make a paper snowflake or 50.

32. Watch each and every holiday episode of The Office.

33. Turn on the radio and let the corny Christmas music wash over you.

34. Find a free ice skating rink in your area.

35. Make a homemade holiday card. Put lots of glitter on it.

36. Invite a friend over to make homemade holiday cards with lots of glitter on them.

37. After you and your friend are done making holiday cards, announce that the card you've been working on was intended for your friend all along. Then they will announce that the card they've been working on was intended for you all along. It will be adorable!

38. Wrap yourself in a cozy blanket and take a nap. (Yes, this counts as "seasonal" because it's the "season" to feel warm.)

39. Perform carols for your roommate. Accept no critiques.

40. Compose a list of things you're thankful for. Oh, shut up. Just do it.

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