Christmas and New Year can be pretty quiet times for personal blogs. I know I’m usually stuffing myself with turkey, or holed up watching Netflix with cats and a blanket. Other than Christmas and New Year in and of themselves, what else is there to talk about?

Once I started thinking about it, I realised that answer was actually quite a lot…

(Feel free to use these ideas for your own blog and adapt them as you like. A link back isn’t required but always appreciated!)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

‘Christmas’ is replaceable with your seasonal holiday of choice :)

1. Christmas wishlist
What do you want for Christmas? (Could be realistic, aspirational, metaphorical, or all three).

2. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without…
What are your holiday traditions? When do you decorate? What do you eat, and what time? Do you do anything that’s unusual? What family traditions have you kept going?

3. Getting ready
How do you prepare for the holidays? Do you leave it till last minute or start in November? Do you have any rituals or customs involved in preparing? When do you buy food and how much? How long does it take you to get your house and table ready? Do you make anything (decorations, cards, presents)?

4. What’s cooking?
If I came to your house for Christmas, what would I eat and when? What are your favourite recipes for this time of year? What Pinterest recipes do you have your eye on?

5. Deck the halls
What types of decorations do you love (or hate)> Do you have a particular colour scheme? Do you make any decorations? What are your top Pinterest decoration ideas?

6. Christmas spirit
How do you get into this time of year? What do you eat, drink, listen to, watch, or get out?

7. Present-buying strategy
When do you start buying presents and why> How do you come up with ideas for gifts? Do you shop in sales or buy full price? Do you give one big gift or lots of smaller gifts?

8. Making your list and checking it twice
What are you reading, watching or listening to this season? Is it a traditional playlist or simply a winter escape to Netflix? Extra points: share your playlist/videolist/podcast list and make it downloadable.

Get your Grinch on

Hate this time of year? This section is for you.

9. Winter Survival Guide
What advice/activity suggestions would you give to someone suffering from the winter blues? What guilty pleasures do you indulge in at this time of year?

10. Anti-Christmas
What non-Christmas activities can people do to take their mind off Christmas?

11. Strike a chord
List 10 things you hate or are disappointed by for this time of year and why.

12. Non-conformist
What’s your favourite season or holiday? How can you recreate it right now instead? Tip: start with sounds, smells and food/drink.

Opinion

Love debate? Here are some ideas for opinion pieces.

13. How do you feel about Christmas/New Year?
Why? What’s been your most memorable?

14. Money: how much should people spend?
Is it all too consumer-based/driven? How do you do Christmas and/or NY on a budget? Do you feel the pressure to buy? Do people spend too much on themselves?

15. Beliefs
How much does religion play a part in your celebrations? How much do you think it should?

Activity-based

These ideas require more work and decent photos, but they’re great for those days where you’re feeling a bit fed up and want to get your teeth into something.

16. £10/$10 challenge
You have a budget of £10/$10. What seasonal activities can you do/make with the money? Extra points: Write some names on bits of paper and fold them up, then make another pile with amounts of money or nouns. Pick one from each pile, pair them up, and create a present based on what you randomly drew, then blog about it.

17. Photo walk
Go somewhere you took photos earlier in the year and recreate them, then do a comparison. Tip: Choose somewhere that will be distinctively different in terms of colour.

18. Go local
Go to a local, themed event (market, screening, talk, play, restaurant with seasonal menu or similar) and do a write-up.

19. Christmas twist
Add a seasonal twist to a favourite drink or food and write up (or video) the recipe.

Looking back

20. Round up of the year
Look back at your blog posts, social media updates, calendar and diary entries to create a month-by-month recap of the important things.

21. What have you achieved this year?
Did you set any goals? If so, how did they go?

22. What was Christmas like for you as a kid?
What was your most memorable present/tradition? Do you have any photos you can include?

Metablog

‘Tis the season to blog about blogging.

23. Motivation tips
What advice would you give to someone who normally neglects their blog over the holidays?

24. Improvements
Write a list of quick tips that can help someone improve their blog over the holidays. This might involve cleaning up, planning new entries, joining a challenge or similar.

25. How to make money from your blog over the holidays
Create your own list of ideas, or if you aren’t sure, spend some time googling, researching and reading, and link to the best articles you read.

How do you normally approach holiday blogging? Will you be taking a bit of a rest or are you planning to maintain your posting?