BE WARY AND BE WARNED! We’ve got only slightly over ten weeks till Christmas and the bells are ringing up the hill fast. Time to get your necessary shopping done and start ticking-off from your check list. Do what you need to do to prepare for yet another memorable shindig! Get everyone excited, building up the jolly spirit together right to Christmas day! With that in mind, your friends at Photobook Worldwide took cues from the 12 Days of Christmas song (history aside, it’s a classic and very catchy!) to come up with a guideline to really make the most for the biggest day of the year.

We present to you… The 10 days till Christmas countdown! Take a day out of each week and try our ideas below.

Day 1: 10 Life Long Friends

Invite nine people whom you regard as a little more than mere acquaintances. These are individuals who have stuck with you through thick and thin, who take you as you really are and will continue being with you till the end of time. They’ve shared in all your adventures and you love each of them to bits. They are essentially your support system.

Celebrate their presence in your life by calling them over for a dinner party. Skip social media! Give it a personal touch by sending each of them a tailored invitation card complete with message and photo to really make it the highlight of the year. Jump straight to our Christmas Greeting/Invitation Cards page and check out all our designs.

Make it an intimate affair, talk about absolutely anything at all and spend quality time with all of them. Haven’t seen each other for awhile now? Perfect! Recollect on the things you guys used to do together and the many mischiefs done. If you want to try a little something different from whisky and eggnog, games are always a fun alternative, regardless of age.

*Mind you that it doesn’t necessarily have to be nine persons – it could be four or even twelve!

Day 2: 9 house visits

They’ve spent the night living it up at your place. Now return the gesture and pay all of them a visit by making a thing out of it and do a little house-hopping! An hour or so at each place ought to do the trick. Each stop is a pleasant social call where you’re opening the opportunity for your friends to return the courtesy of invitation. It doesn’t just have to be you, but all eight other friends may join in and take turns visiting each other’s homes. Spend time catching up again, but today allow them to show you a little more into their lives through their photos, memories, trophies and so forth.

Bring a little treat along for each home for a little value added delight. Here we recommend our Insta Cards! They’re fun, nifty and come in various sizes; perfect to carry around from house to house. Create little memory snippets to hand out to friends at each house by re-living some of your best moments together. Check out some of the many designs we have and see which appeals to you most.

Day 3: 8 Delicious Gingerbread Men

Here come the treats! Two days worth of company calls for indulgence of little sugary treats and festive cookies. Gingerbread men are always a fun way to swing at. Take the time to bake it, and really get into the joy of making it. The process is therapeutic for the soul and the yummy smells and tasty batter livens up the household with holiday spirit.

While getting recipe’s off the web is all well, nothing really beats asking for a homemade version from a friend or family member. Might as well have some fun with this, we’ve got a notebook design that would be perfect for you to scribble down notes! Check out Hey Good Cookin’ to jot down all your recipes, techniques and other notes.

Yeah we said eight because that’s all our intern could eat in one sitting, but by all means, make more if you want to and share the love! You could be neighbourly and send baskets filled with good intentions and sugary pleasures.

Day 4: 7 Different Cheers

There’s a lot of reasons to give a good toast, but all in all, we have summed it up to a basic seven. Wish good cheers and say nice prayers during dinner, acknowledging what we see here as a foundation to a good life. The seven that we recognize are Health, Happiness, Adventure, Fortune, Friends, Family and Love.

There are a tons of quotes out there for you to use but to kick things off, we’ve got some nice toasts below for each reason. Have a look…

Health

1. Here’s to your health! You make age curious, time furious, and all of us envious.

2. To your health. May we drink one together in ten years’ time and a few in between.

3. To your very good health. May you live to be as old as your jokes.

Happiness

1. May your joys be as deep as the ocean, and your misfortunes as light as its foam.

2. May we look forward with happiness, and backward without regret.

3. May our pleasures be free from the stings of remorse.

Adventure

1. Unusual travel suggestions are dancing lessons from the gods.

2. A pledge from heart to its fellow heart, on the ways we all are going. Here’s luck! For we know not where we are going.

3. Here’s to you and here’s to me, wherever we may roam, And here’s to the health and happiness, of the ones who are left at home.

Fortune

1. A health to our sweethearts, our friends and our wives, and may fortune smile on them the rest of their lives.

2. May bad fortune follow you all your days… and never catch up.

3. Here’s to a full belly, a heavy purse, and a light heart.

Friends

1. To absent friends. Although they are out of sight, we recognize them with our glasses.

2. A day for toil, an hour for sport, but for a friend life is too short.

3. May our house always be too small to hold all our friends.

Family

1. To those who know me best and, for some reason, still love me.

2. May we be loved by those we love.

3. To the sap in our family tree.

Love

1. Let’s drink to love, which is nothing-unless it’s divided by two

2. Tis’ better to have loved and lost, than to marry and be bossed.

3. To moderation in all things, except in love.

Day 5: 6 Christmas Carols

Now Christmas carols are always cheerful and sweet. Sing them together with your loved ones as a group activity to further in the merriment and really get into the holiday spirit. Go door to door even and spread the love. Now you don’t necessarily need to be singing Christmas carols, it’s merely a suggestion from us so any other forms of project is just as good. Consider card games, charades, or even a backyard barbeque. Haven’t gotten your Christmas tree or decorations up yet? You’re only five days away so get on it already!

This group activity is a good opportunity for you to really get some nice candid shots. These are fun and joyful moments, deserving recognition for the months to come till the next Christmas so use these pictures in a calendar. We recommend a wall calendar for something like this but it’s really entirely up to you. Check out some of the calendar designs have some fun with it!

Day 6: 5 Points on a Christmas Star

Similar to day Christmas carols on day five, the points on a Christmas star is about family. Dedicate the whole day exclusively to quality family time. Regardless if you’re religious, sporty, foody or even artsy, do it your way. Add in different activities to diversify and keep things fresh. The number one rule here is to have fun.

Day 7: 4 Bottles of Champagne

Life gets a little classy this evening. It’s time to break out the good stuff and invite your loved ones over for a nice evening of exquisite dinner and champagne. Dress up to your nines and bring out the silverware too! We’re talking tantalizing meals, beautiful people and quality conversation.

As a rule of thumb, one bottle of champagne fills five glasses and assume everyone goes through one glass every half hour. That means four bottles of champagne would suffice for ten people for an hour. Just nice for a lovely time. Once that’s done, move on to the living room for something a little more homely, we recommend eggnog at this point.

As a conversation piece, fill your living room with canvas prints showcasing the best of your memories. It could be amazing shots from your adventures, portraits of family members or candid scenes of a good time. Although keeping your wall art simple is fine, there’s nothing wrong with expressing a little dynamic imagination here. Have a look through our many canvas print designs and compare it with your wall space, taking into account space and shape.

Day 8: 3 Holiday Movies

It’s not officially Christmas when you don’t watch the holiday movies!! Today, take it easy and get comfy in front of the telly. We know you know what we’re talking about. Sweet classics like Home Alone, Honey I Shrunk The Kids and even The Nightmare Before Christmas are essential for a balanced season.

Check out this list of the top 25 best holiday movies as provided by mrqe.com!

1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

2. When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

3. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

4. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

5. A Christmas Story (1983)

6. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

7. White Christmas (1954)

8. Black Christmas (1974)

9. Joyeux Noel (2005)

10. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

11. Elf (2003)

12. The Polar Express (2004)

13. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

14. Bad Santa (2003)

15. Love Actually (2003)

16. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

17. Home Alone (1990)

18. Christmas Vacation (1989)

19. A Christmas Carol (2009)

20. Home for the Holidays (1995)

21. While You were Sleeping (1995)

22. The Family Man (2000)

23. The Santa Clause 2 (2002)

24. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

25. This Christmas (2007)

And if you’re going to have company, have a little fun by making some wicked posters. It’s amusing and you can design it in anyway you want. Add movie-related elements and cross the different genres. The sky’s the limit so let your imagination flow! Want to make it a little more funky perhaps? Check out our Collage Posters for various designs, sparking your ideas and inspiration.

Day 9: 2 The Times Santa Checked His List

He’s made a list, checkin’ it twice, and he’s going to find out who’s been naughty and nice!

You’ve tried to do good throughout the year and extend a helping hand whenever possible. Of course, there are times when things get a little messed up, but this is the time of apologies and forgiveness. Clean the slate clear and make Santa proud! You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself as well as others. Life is too short to be worrying, remembering the bad times and getting all upset over the little stuff. Lighten your heart as you make way for compassion, kindness and peace.

Give yourself the break you deserve and have a jolly time with your loved ones. Talk about the mistakes but instead of dwelling on the past, reflect on it and think of ways to improve the situations and make bigger and better resolutions for the coming year. So as the day draws closer to an end, the evening starts to cover the sky with stars, enjoy Christmas eve with a good heart, surrounded by the laughter of loving friends and family.

*We know you sang the first line.

Day 10: 1 Yuletide Log

It’s Christmas! Let loose the excitement and unwrap those presents already! Take plenty of photos to preserve the memories, making sure you get all the best expressions and candid moments. This is what you’ve been waiting for.. the best way to spread the cheer, is to sing out loud for all to hear, let them know about the most wonderful time of the year. So now ring the bells, call your pals and go crazy with the wefies!

Enjoy the nice reassuring warmth of the Yuletide log burning in the fireplace. Comforting the entire room with its love and familiar holiday feel. Remember this feeling forever. Capture this very moment in a photobook and re-live it in the years to come or share it with absent friends so they don’t miss out. We’ve got two magnificent readybooks for you to use, one being a design of our 10 Days to Christmas and another we call Splendid Holidays. Check each of them out and see which appeals to you most. If not, just check out the other Holiday-themed photobooks we have in our Readybook collection.

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Take a day out of each week and use our suggestions above as what it is, suggestions! Make it your way, get ready for the holidays and make it a truly meaningful one. Merry early Christmas everyone!

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