December has a habit of arriving with an enormous amount of expectation attached to it.

There are presents to choose, things to bake, school events and Christmas nights out, cards to write, houses to decorate, people to see, food to organise and all the ordinary things that don’t conveniently disappear simply because it’s Christmas.

The washing still needs doing.

Dinner still has to be made.

Teenagers still need lifts.

The dog still needs walking.

There are school bags by the door and appointments in the diary and mornings when everybody is trying to get out of the house at once.

And somewhere in the middle of all of that, we’re supposed to be enjoying December.

I think that’s why I’ve become increasingly interested in the small moments of Christmas rather than trying to make the whole month feel special.

A lamp switched on before the afternoon has properly ended.

The first mince pie with a cup of tea.

Christmas music playing while dinner is being made.

A cold walk.

A few branches brought in from the garden.

Sitting beside the tree for ten minutes when everyone else has gone to bed.

None of those things requires us to find another free afternoon in December.

They simply ask us to notice the month we’re already living.

And that’s really what this little December calendar is about.

31 very simple invitations to slow down and savour December — one for every day of the month.

Not 31 things you have to do.

Not a Christmas challenge.

And certainly not another list to fall behind on.

Just 31 little possibilities.

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Download Your Free December Calendar

To go alongside these 31 ideas, I’ve created a beautiful new 31 Ways to Slow Down & Savour December printable collection.

There is one gentle invitation for every day of December — small ways to notice and enjoy the season you’re already living rather than adding more to an already full Christmas month.

And this year, I’ve created three different printable pages, so you can use the calendar in whatever way works best for you.

The Illustrated December Calendar

A beautifully illustrated calendar featuring all 31 Ways to Slow Down & Savour December, with one simple invitation for every day of the month.

Print it for the kitchen, add it to your Christmas binder or keep it somewhere you’ll see it throughout December.

The Simple December List

Prefer something a little simpler? The second page includes all 31 ideas in an easy-to-read list.

It’s perfect for slipping into a planner or seasonal binder — or simply keeping nearby and choosing an idea whenever you feel like adding a little Christmas to an ordinary December day.

December Reflections

The third page is a gentle December reflection sheet, with space to think about what you want from the month, what you can let go of, the small moments you’d like to notice, what will bring you comfort or joy, who you want to be present with and your intention for December.

It’s not about planning the perfect Christmas.

It’s simply a little space to pause before the month runs away with us.

You can print all three pages or just the one you’ll actually use.

Download the Free 31 Ways to Slow Down & Savour December Printable Collection

And please remember — this calendar isn’t a challenge.

Which brings me to something rather important…

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Please Don’t Try to Complete This Calendar

Before you print this calendar and immediately decide that you need to work your way neatly through all 31 ideas, let me say this: please don’t.

There are 31 ideas because there happen to be 31 days in December. That’s really the only reason.

This isn’t a Christmas challenge, and there is absolutely no prize for reaching New Year’s Eve having faithfully ticked every box.

If the calendar suggests a winter walk on a day when the rain is coming sideways, stay home. If you’ve planned a Christmas movie night but everyone is exhausted and slightly cross, abandon it and go to bed. If you miss four days because life got busy, simply pick it up again whenever you feel like it.

There is no catching up to do.

In fact, I think the loveliest way to use this calendar is to treat it more like a menu of possibilities for December.

Circle the things that sound good to you. Move them to different days. Repeat the ones you love. Ignore the ones that don’t suit your family or your life. Write your own ideas in the margins.

Maybe you’ll do five of them all month. Maybe you’ll do twenty. Maybe you’ll keep returning to the same one — sitting beside the Christmas tree with a cup of tea for ten quiet minutes — because that’s what you need this December.

That’s exactly how it’s meant to be used.

The whole purpose of slowing down is to create a little more space in our lives, not to take a lovely printable and somehow turn it into 31 more things we’re supposed to accomplish before Christmas.

So let the calendar fit around your December.

Not the other way around.

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31 Simple Ways to Slow Down and Savour December

1. Light a Candle at Breakfast

December mornings are dark here.

Instead of fighting that darkness quite so much, I like leaning into it occasionally.

Light a candle while you’re having breakfast or that first cup of tea. Leave the big overhead light off for another few minutes if you can.

Nothing else needs to happen.

You’ve simply noticed that it’s a December morning.

2. Put on a Favourite Christmas Song

Not an entire festive playlist.

Just one song you love.

Play it in the kitchen, in the car, while you’re getting dressed or while making dinner.

Sometimes one familiar song is enough to change the atmosphere of a very ordinary December day.

3. Bring a Little Greenery Indoors

Clip a few suitable evergreen branches from the garden or bring home something gathered responsibly on a walk.

Put them in a jug. Lay a few pieces along the dresser. Add a little greenery to the mantel.

You don’t have to redecorate the house.

Sometimes the simplest natural decorations are the loveliest.

RELATED: Natural Christmas Decorations You Can Make at Home – 15 Simple Ideas

4. Have Your First Mince Pie of the Season

Or your first favourite Christmas treat.

Make a proper cup of tea or coffee, sit down and eat it.

Preferably without simultaneously emptying the dishwasher.

A radical concept, I know.

The point isn’t really the mince pie. It’s allowing yourself to notice those tiny seasonal firsts instead of racing straight past them.

5. Write Down Three Things You Want From December

Not things you want to get done.

Things you want from the month.

More evenings at home?

Time with your family?

A little space to yourself?

More walking? Less shopping? More baking? Less rushing?

Knowing what you actually want December to feel like makes it much easier to say no to some of the things that don’t belong in it.

6. Wrap Up and Go for a Winter Walk

It doesn’t have to be long.

Walk around your own area. Go down a familiar lane. Take the dog. Walk after dark and notice the lights beginning to appear in windows.

Notice how different the world looks and sounds at this time of year.

Winter has its own landscape. We miss quite a lot of it when we’re always looking ahead to Christmas Day.

7. Create a Cosy Corner at Home

You don’t need to transform an entire room.

Choose one chair or one little corner.

Add a blanket. Move a lamp closer. Find somewhere for your mug. Perhaps leave your current book or a basket of knitting nearby.

It doesn’t have to look particularly impressive.

It simply needs to be somewhere that makes you want to sit down.

8. Start a Kind December Tradition

Traditions don’t have to be elaborate or inherited.

You can begin one simply because it feels right for your family now.

Perhaps you leave something anonymously for a neighbour. Donate to a local appeal together. Choose a family movie night. Have one particular dinner every December. Take the same walk. Let everyone choose one thing they’d genuinely like to do together.

The traditions that last are usually the ones people actually enjoy.

RELATED: 12 Meaningful Christmas Traditions to Start with Teens or Grown-Up Kids

And if you’re thinking about which traditions you’d like to keep, change or begin, my free Christmas Traditions Companion is there too.

You’ll also find my Christmas Family Companion, with family activities, bingo, conversation cards, traditions and Memory Jar ideas.

9. Look at the Christmas Lights

Go for a walk or take a drive.

Put some Christmas music on in the car if you fancy. Bring something warm to drink. Let everyone choose their favourite house.

Or simply stand outside your own home for a moment and look back at the lights you’ve put up.

We spend so much time arranging Christmas that sometimes we forget to actually look at it.

10. Make a Proper Hot Chocolate

Not because hot chocolate is compulsory in December.

Because occasionally it’s lovely to make something purely because it’s comforting.

Warm the milk. Add the chocolate. Find the good mug. Add cream or marshmallows if that’s your thing.

Then sit down and drink it while it’s still hot.

That final part may be the most ambitious element of the entire exercise.

11. Make a December Joys List

Keep a little piece of paper in your planner, on the fridge or beside your bed.

Write down the small things you enjoy as the month unfolds.

The first Christmas card through the door.

A song you hadn’t heard since last year.

The tree lights reflected in the window.

A particularly good mince pie.

Everyone home at the same time.

Nothing profound required.

December is made up of these tiny things too.

12. Bake Something Festive

This is not the day for the seven-layer Christmas showstopper you’ve never attempted before.

Bake something you already know how to make, or choose one simple festive recipe that sounds enjoyable.

Biscuits. Scones. A traybake. Ginger cake. Mince pies.

Something that makes the kitchen smell lovely and doesn’t require a degree in patisserie.

RELATED: 15 Christmas Baking Ideas – Cookies, Cakes & Festive Treats

And if you’d like somewhere to gather your festive baking plans and favourite recipes, you’ll find my free Christmas Baking Companion there too. Pasted markdown

13. Write a Christmas Card

A proper one.

Not necessarily twenty-seven of them.

Choose one person and write more than your name.

Tell them you’re thinking of them. Mention a memory. Ask how they are. Tell them something about your year.

In a season full of very quick communication, there’s still something rather lovely about finding a handwritten card on the mat.

14. Watch a Favourite Christmas Film

Not the film you think you should watch.

The one you actually want to watch.

Make something nice to eat, turn on the tree lights, get the blankets and allow the evening to be the activity.

If you’re watching with teenagers, choosing something everyone genuinely enjoys may require a little negotiation — but that’s half the fun.

RELATED: 12 Christmas Movies to Watch with Teens (That You’ll Love Too!)

15. Read Something Christmassy

A novel. A short story. A favourite children’s Christmas book you haven’t opened in years. A poem. An old magazine.

You don’t have to commit to an enormous Christmas reading list.

Read for twenty minutes beside the tree.

Sometimes that’s enough to make an ordinary evening feel completely different.

16. Spend an Evening by Candlelight

Turn off the big light.

This remains some of my most sophisticated seasonal-living advice.

Put on the lamps. Light the safe candles. Turn on the tree lights.

Make dinner, read, talk, play cards or simply watch television in softer light.

December evenings don’t need much help.

Sometimes we just need to stop illuminating them like a supermarket.

17. Visit a Church or a Local Christmas Event

Go to a carol service, Christmas concert, local market, community event or somewhere that feels particularly beautiful at this time of year.

It doesn’t have to be an enormous day out.

Sometimes the smaller local things become the ones we remember — familiar faces, cold air, music, lights and coming home afterwards.

Choose something because you’d enjoy being there, not because December has convinced you that you need another event in the diary.

18. Have an Early Night

There. Possibly the least glamorous Christmas suggestion on the internet.

Go to bed.

December can be tiring. There are late nights, busy weekends, lists, shopping, school events, social events and all the ordinary responsibilities that don’t magically disappear because it’s Christmas.

Sometimes the kindest thing you can do for yourself is admit that you’re tired.

Everything else can wait until morning.

19. Cook a Favourite Winter Meal

Not necessarily a Christmas meal.

Make the stew everybody likes. The pasta you can practically cook without thinking. A cottage pie. Soup and good bread. Whatever feels warming and familiar in your house.

Put it on the table and let that be enough.

Not every December meal needs cranberries or pastry stars on top of it to count as seasonal.

20. Do Something Creative

Make something simply for the pleasure of making it.

Dry orange slices. Make a pomander. Tie cinnamon sticks together. Make a twig star. Knit. Sew. Draw. Arrange greenery. Make a few gift tags.

One small project is enough.

The pleasure is as much in sitting down and using your hands as it is in whatever you end up with.

RELATED: Natural Christmas Decorations You Can Make at Home

You’ll also find my free Christmas Crafts Companion there if you’d like a few more ideas for making things slowly at home. Pasted markdown

21. Take Time to Be Still

Ten minutes will do.

Sit beside the Christmas tree.

No television. No wrapping. No phone if you can help it.

Make tea and just sit there for a little while.

Look around your home. Notice the lights. Listen to whatever sounds are coming from elsewhere in the house.

It sounds almost ridiculously simple.

That’s because it is.

22. Do Something Thoughtful for Someone Else

Leave something for a neighbour.

Send a message to somebody you’ve been thinking about.

Donate to a food appeal.

Offer practical help.

Pay somebody a genuine compliment.

Invite someone for coffee.

It doesn’t need to be grand, public or even particularly Christmassy.

Kindness counts whether anybody else sees it or not.

23. Make Your Home Smell Like Christmas

Simmer orange, cinnamon and cloves on the hob.

Bake something.

Bring in fresh greenery.

Stud an orange with cloves.

Light a favourite seasonal candle if that’s what you love.

Scent is extraordinarily good at holding memories, and sometimes a familiar Christmas smell can transport us back years before we’ve even realised what’s happening.

24. Prepare a Simple Christmas Eve Tradition

Christmas Eve doesn’t need a timetable of elaborate activities.

Choose one thing that says Christmas Eve in your home.

A particular dinner. A walk. New pyjamas. A favourite film. Going to church. Hot chocolate. Putting out something for Santa if you’re still at that stage. Sitting beside the tree when everything is finally quiet.

And let that be enough.

RELATED: 10 Christmas Eve Traditions – Simple, Meaningful Rituals for December 24th

You’ll find the free Christmas Eve Companion there too, filled with gentle ideas for creating an evening that feels like your family’s Christmas Eve. Pasted markdown

25. Savour Christmas Day

Christmas Day arrives after weeks of preparation and then somehow disappears in about twelve minutes.

So at some point, stop.

Look around.

Notice who’s there.

Notice the table before it gets cleared. Listen to the conversation. Take the photo. Sit down with your drink. Watch somebody opening a present.

Don’t spend the entire day mentally moving on to the next job.

You are in the Christmas you were preparing for.

Let yourself be there.

26. Enjoy a Slow Boxing Day

Boxing Day has its own lovely rhythm.

Nobody needs another elaborate meal. The fridge is full. There are leftovers to eat, films to watch, walks to take and books or presents waiting to be enjoyed.

Stay in comfortable clothes.

Make another pot of tea.

Eat cheese and crackers for lunch if that’s what everyone wants.

Christmas isn’t over because the big day has passed.

Sometimes this quieter side of it is the best bit.

27. Look Back on the Year

Not as an assessment.

Not a list of achievements.

And certainly not an opportunity to decide whether you’ve been productive enough.

Just look back.

What changed?

What surprised you?

What was difficult?

What was lovely?

What ordinary thing became unexpectedly important?

You lived an entire year. It’s worth taking a little time to notice it before rushing into plans for another one.

28. Get Outside and Notice the Season

Christmas can become very indoor-focused.

Step outside.

Walk somewhere familiar. Take the dog. Go to the beach, the woods, a park or simply around your own roads.

Notice the bare trees, low winter light, cold air and quiet landscape.

You don’t need to achieve a particular number of steps.

You’re just going outside to remember that December is a season as well as a celebration.

29. Enjoy the Simple Moments

By this stage of the month, perhaps this is the reminder we need most.

You don’t have to keep creating Christmas.

Eat the leftovers.

Watch another film.

Sit beside the fire.

Make toast.

Let everyone disappear into their own corners of the house.

Notice the dog asleep, the abandoned mugs, the wrapping paper still lurking somewhere and the tree beginning to look slightly less pristine than it did three weeks ago.

These ordinary bits count.

In fact, they’re often the bits we miss most later.

30. Take a Few Photos

Not hundreds.

And not because every moment needs documenting.

Take a few photographs of the things you genuinely want to remember.

The table after everyone has eaten.

The dog asleep beside the tree.

Your teenagers laughing.

The kitchen in chaos.

A winter walk.

The lights outside your house.

Perhaps even hand the camera to somebody else occasionally so that you’re in a few of them too.

One day, the ordinary background details may matter every bit as much as the people in the foreground.

31. Set an Intention for the Year Ahead

Before December disappears completely, think about what you’d like to carry with you.

Not a list of resolutions.

Not a dramatic reinvention of your life beginning at midnight.

Just an intention.

Maybe you want more time at home.

More creativity.

More walking.

More connection.

Less rushing.

More attention to the life that’s already happening around you.

Write down a sentence if you want to.

Then leave it there.

The new year doesn’t need you to become somebody entirely different.

Perhaps it can simply begin with paying a little more attention to what already matters.

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The Calendar Isn’t the Point

The calendar is simply a prompt.

The point is noticing.

December will happen whether we pay attention to it or not.

There will be mornings when we’re rushing.

Days when plans go wrong.

People will get tired.

Somebody will be in bad humour.

The house will get messy.

We will forget things.

Not every evening will be spent serenely beside a Christmas tree with a mug held in two hands.

Thank goodness, really.

That’s not life.

Slowing down doesn’t mean arranging December so perfectly that nothing stressful happens.

It means finding small places within the life we’re already living where we can be present for it.

Five minutes can count.

An ordinary dinner can count.

A drive home in the dark with Christmas music playing can count.

A cup of tea while the rain hits the windows can count.

A Slow Christmas Doesn’t Have to Look a Particular Way

I think “slow living” can sometimes become another aesthetic we’re expected to achieve.

Candles.

Handmade everything.

Beautifully wrapped brown-paper parcels.

A perfectly restrained Christmas tree.

Homemade mince pies cooling photogenically on the kitchen counter.

Lovely.

But none of those things is a requirement.

Your slow Christmas might involve takeaway pizza and a Christmas film because everyone is shattered.

It might mean buying the cake.

Saying no to making handmade gifts.

Leaving half the decorations in the attic.

It might mean choosing the supermarket mince pies everybody actually likes.

It might mean deciding that this is not the year for a particular tradition.

Slow isn’t a decorating style.

It’s permission to decide where your time and attention go.

Looking for More Slow Living Calendars?

If you enjoy these gentle monthly prompts, you’ll find a Slow Living Calendar for every month of the year in the Our Little House in the Country Printables Library — each filled with simple ideas for noticing the season and living it a little more intentionally.

Explore All 12 Slow Living Calendars

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Our Free Slow Christmas Companion

If this way of approaching December feels like something you need this year, I’ve also created a free Slow Christmas Companion.

It’s a gentle collection of printable pages designed to help you think about the Christmas you actually want — what matters, what you can let go of, where you’d like to create a little more space and how you might enjoy the ordinary days around Christmas too.

It isn’t a planner for squeezing more into December.

Quite the opposite.

Free Slow Christmas Companion

A gentle printable companion for creating a Christmas with a little less rushing, a little more intention and plenty of room for real life.

Download the Free Slow Christmas Companion

You’ll find it in the complete Christmas Printables Library alongside the Christmas Baking, Family, Traditions, Crafts, Christmas Eve, Bucket List and other seasonal companions.

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Create Your Own Version of December

Perhaps that’s the best way to use the 31-day calendar.

Don’t use it as my December plan.

Use it to find yours.

Print it.

Cross things out.

Move things around.

Circle five ideas.

Write something completely different over one of mine.

Maybe your family has a tradition that isn’t on any Christmas list on the internet.

Good.

Put that on it.

Maybe you know December 12th will be ridiculously busy.

Leave it blank.

Maybe the only thing you want from December 19th is an early night.

Excellent choice.

A useful seasonal printable should give us ideas.

It shouldn’t tell us how Christmas is supposed to look.

More Ways to Enjoy Christmas at Our Little House

If you’d like to continue from here, I’ve gathered lots more Christmas inspiration and free printables around the site.

Before You Go…

December doesn’t need to be slowed down completely.

I’m not even sure that’s possible.

There will be busy days.

There will be full weeks.

There will be things we’re looking forward to enormously and things we’ll be quite relieved to cross off the calendar.

But in between all of that, there are little pockets of the month that are very easy to miss.

The dark morning when the tree lights are the first ones switched on.

The smell of something baking.

A teenager appearing in the kitchen looking for food and staying to talk.

A cold walk.

The familiar Christmas decoration you almost didn’t put out.

The evening when everybody happens to be home.

The quiet after Christmas Day.

The last few days before a new year begins.

We don’t need to turn every one of those moments into something significant.

We just need to be there for some of them.

So print the calendar if you’d like it.

Choose a few things.

Leave plenty out.

And let December be a month you live, rather than one you spend the whole time trying to complete.

Chat soon,

Ciara x

🖨️ Create Your Christmas Companion Binder

If you’re planning to print several of our Christmas companions, a few simple supplies can make it easy to create your own beautiful Christmas binder to enjoy year after year.

(This section contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Our Little House in the Country.)

• 📗 A4 Display Book
• 📁 A4 Ring Binder
• 📄 Plastic Document Wallets
• 📎 Adjustable Hole Punch
• 🖊️ Fine-liner Pens
• 📑 Divider Tabs

Explore the Christmas Collection Further

If you’ve enjoyed this printable, I’d love to invite you to explore the rest of our growing Christmas Companion Library. Each beautifully illustrated collection has been thoughtfully designed to help you create a calmer, more organised and more meaningful festive season. Whether you’re planning Christmas, preparing festive meals, embracing Advent, slowing down to savour the season or making magical family memories, there’s a companion waiting for you.

Explore the collection: Christmas Printables Hub, Free Christmas Planner Companion, Christmas Kitchen Companion, Christmas Eve Companion, Christmas Bucket List Companion, Slow Christmas Companion and Advent Companion

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