A Stress-Free, Merry Holiday!

Not a good way to start off the holiday season, is it?

I’m Cevan, here to tell you how to make this holiday season as enjoyable and as memorable as you can achieve. Sure, we’ve all had those dull Christmas mornings or afternoons, where none of our presents are what we want, we don’t HAVE any presents, or family’s flights are delayed because of some storm or some other odd, cliché reason. If you follow these tips, you’re sure to have your Neopets and family all in the holiday spirit!

Cooking. Just because you want to throw a giant party, doesn’t mean you have to do it yourself! Cooking is a great way to get the whole family involved. Aunt Wilma can put the icing atop the cake, Uncle Rubert can take the cookies out of the oven (Careful! Clumsy uncles are known to burn themselves often while baking, so make sure he’s wearing a nice, thick oven mitt!), and you can let the little ones lick the cake batter off the whisk. Every family has a master chef, so use this to your advantage! Try strange, new recipes—they may turn out better than you thought!

Extra Tip: Try some of these recipes!

Christmas Pudding (it’s very light and chocolate-y!), Tropicolour Cake (it’s a very big cake, everyone will be able to participate!), Peachpa Stuffed Potato (Very... interesting flavour.)

Decorations. Don’t be afraid to splurge! Christmas only comes once a year, and I know how abused those Christmas decorations become as they sit in the dark corner of your room in that smooshed box, gathering dust and being stepped on by younger Neopets. One of the major hassles of decorating is getting old decorations to work again. Buy new ones! It’s okay! You may not think this, but putting up decorations gets your mind working, gets those creative juices flowing, and it’s a great stress reliever if you need to take your mind off things!

Customisation. Your Neopets might not be the kind that love to dress up. It’s okay, I’m not either! Err... but, you know... you can lead a Uni to water and customize it with your favorite garments, no matter how loudly it protests.

On the brighter side, the NC Mall always has plenty of holiday adornments for you to enjoy! Be sure to buy them quickly after they’re released, because some of the more popular items sell like hotcakes! I remember last year when one of my friends was forced into a nutcracker outfit. It looked strangely attractive! Christmas Paint Brushes have rapidly decreased in price since they were released in the Advent Calendar last year, and those always come with festive, flashy holiday clothing. Many wearables were also released at the AC last year, and some of them are just downright embarrassing (Tacky Lighted Holiday Shoes?!! How could you?!!!), but some are actually quite fashionable. And remember: Clothing doesn’t have to be made for Christmas to make a good outfit. Just a red and green or white and blue colour scheme can make your Neopet feel ready for the holidays! Watch your family coo over how cute they look with that pretty fir-patterned shirt! :D

Christmas Tree. THE BEST PART OF CHRISTMAS, AM I RIGHT?!!! It’s great to wake up on Christmas morning, leap out of your room, see that Christmas tree, sparkling and glistening with lights and ornaments. Smelling the fresh pine needles, picking one up, putting it in your scrapbook. There are so many ornaments, premade, homemade, hand-painted, there’s pretty decorations for everyone! Multi-coloured lights, shiny baubles, strings of popcorn, ribbons. The possibilities are endless. And, and, we can’t forget the shiny wrapping paper, purposely made so the light from the tree will reflect off it and make you drool over the lamest of presents because, at least they have nice wrapping paper, right? Ehehe. He.

Extra Tip: You can find many pre-decorated Christmas trees available on the Shop Wiz. Try the Sparkly Decorated Tree, Snow Covered Decorated Tree, Disco Decorated Tree, Icy Decorated Tree, Workshop Christmas Tree (for a more classic, old-fashioned look), Gothic Christmas Tree, Purple Christmas Tree, Modern Christmas Tree (just... strange), and the Pathetic Christmas Tree, which I would recommend for the more needy of Neopians.

Presents. DID YOU HEAR ME? PRESENTS. Okay, so. Maybe the tree is the second greatest part of Christmas because, when you think Christmas, you may think of family gatherings, freshly-baked cookies, but to sum it all up, THE GIFT OF GIVING. And the pleasure of receiving. Yes, it feels great to give someone something, see their faces light up as they tear off the wrapping paper eagerly. A squeal of delight. Or maybe an irritated sound escapes their mouth. Either way. You still got them something, right?

Some popular gifts this year seem to be plushies, keychains, and other insignificant stocking stuffers. Speaking of stockings, you can take the easy way out and buy a stocking full of treats—maybe a Green, Blue, Purple, Red, Wocky, Lupe, Cybunny, Acara, Starry, Snowflake, Patched, or Candy Cane stocking??? (mouth waters)

Games. Other forms of entertainment work, too! Little children have very short attention spans, and bringing a few board games wouldn’t be too bad. Some toys, or cheap clothing for dress-up. Almost anything can amuse them. Be creative! I’m sure there’s something lying around in your Neohome that little children would find interesting! ;)

Safety precautions. DO NOT FORGET. Make sure that the lights aren’t in danger of becoming unplugged. Keep the little Neopets away from electrical sockets. Don’t wear hats that are much too shiny, for you might blind someone, causing them to bump into a table, which is holding all of the holiday feast foodstuffs, and they’ll all tumble to the ground, and the bowl of mashed potatoes will fall on little Johnny’s foot, and he’ll cry, and everyone’s attention will be on little Johnny, and he’ll have to be taken home, and all the food is ruined!

... Okay, well that was a little extreme, I’ll admit. But make sure everyone has a safe trip there and home. Keep the food from the grasp of eager beavers. And whatever you do, MEEPITS ARE NOT ALLOWED.

Now and then, you’ll have the crazy relatives, claiming things that Meepits are harmless, and they vacationed to an obviously nonexistent place called ‘Jelly World’. A city made entirely out of jelly? Seriously, the things people make up for attention these days!

Keep your crazy relatives with their crazy friends. Don’t put Aunt Madge with her arch-rival, that snobby Blumaroo from down the street. Grouping is vital. If you want people to mingle, let them do it naturally. Don’t meddle in others’ affairs!

And last but not least, DON’T FRET! Don’t worry, don’t imagine anything going wrong. I’m not saying to be overconfident, but many Christmas disaster parties happen because somebody anticipated something bad happening along the line, they got nervous, and everything crashed and burned. Make sure there’s balance to everything. If something is hindering you, call up a friend and maybe they’ll be able to help. Be prepared. Have everything set up to perfection. Don’t do it alone. And really, it’s not about what you have, or how pretty your home looks. It’s about the atmosphere. About what a good time everyone has. About the personality you use. Are you fun to be around? Is your presence always welcomed? You can live in an old shack and still have a party where everyone has fun! (This is not recommended, however!)

Hopefully these tips will brighten up your holidays and fill your hearts with cheer! Well, it’s the best a Grey Lupe can do, okay? XD Thanks for reading, and happy holidays to everyone! =)