It’s officially December, which is one of my favorite months of the year. Everyone is in a good mood thinking about the upcoming holidays and having fun gatherings with friends and family. If you’re searching for fun things to do during this festive time, look no further. I’ve got the list for you.

You could decorate a gingerbread house and cookies. If you’re decorating with other people, you could have a competition of who made the best house or decorated the best cookie.

Although I’m not very good at it, ice skating is always a fun thing to do with friends. Skating on the Square in Spartanburg on Morgan Square and Greenville’s Ice On Main are both open December 1-31.

If you’re wanting to give back to the community during this time of year, there are always many options where you could donate your money or your time. There are many local organizations who are looking for help, especially during the holidays. Right here at Gaffney High, the school is taking up toy and clothing donations for children who are less fortunate. The Junior Ambassadors club here at the school is also selling tickets you can buy for a lunch and meet and greet with Santa. The money raised will go to helping a family in need.

I’ve always enjoyed looking at Christmas lights. There are always many houses decorated nicely this time of year. In Wellford, you can go on a holiday lights safari at Hollywild Animal Park. There are over 300,000 lights displayed plus a deer forest and nativity with live animals.

I absolutely love watching Christmas movies. Streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime have made being able to watch Christmas movies in your own house at any time you would like very easy. They include a bunch of popular Christmas movies like Home Alone and The Grinch. On Saturday, December 12, the classic Christmas movies like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Frosty Returns all appear on CBS starting at 8 p.m. In Greenville, you can even go watch The Nutcracker be performed at the Carolina Ballet Theatre.

One last fun thing to do if you’re still in need of ideas is to throw an ugly sweater party. You can have great foods and snacks while playing holidays games and enjoying time with your friends. And it’s always exciting to see what type of sweater people will end up wearing.