With the holiday season underway, a stroll around the neighborhood means seeing holiday lights decorated houses, reindeer antlers on cars, or even an inflatable Santa hanging off someone’s roof. Though these activities are irrefutably important, in recent years the timing of when exactly to do things during the holidays has gotten more crucial. I mean, do you listen to your Hamilton-obsessed best friend telling you Thanksgiving is a scam or your uncle preaching the Twelve Days of Christmas?

Well, this timeline assists with just that. Here is the (objectively correct) way to structure your holiday season:

October 31st

Halloween. No action required. Yet.

Nov 1st, 12:00 am

Stay up to watch Mariah Carey’s defrosting: a rite of passage whose budget seems to increase each year. What originally commenced as an internet meme is now a living sensation: Carey physically releases a video of herself each year, breaking the ice—sometimes literally—for her hit song “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” This marks the true beginning of the holiday season.

Nov 1st, after 12:00 am

After Mariah Carey defrosts, holiday music is officially allowed! Find your yearly holiday music playlist and start playing it in the car or wherever you go. Whether it’s “Last Christmas” or “Underneath the Tree,” feel free to blast it out loud in public to spread that joy. Don’t listen to those haters who say Christmas music isn’t allowed until December 1st. Thanksgiving is just a one day long, small event; the holiday spirit, however, is allowed to last two months. 

Thanksgiving Thursday

It happens. Eat turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie. Feel grateful for some people and things. 

December 1

Now that Thanksgiving is over, the Christmas season can be fully under way. This is the time to put up a Christmas tree and decorate the house with colorful lights, reindeer, and inflatable Santas. 

Early December

As retail stores start to roll out those sales, now is the time for you to spend money on a bunch of stuff you would never buy for yourself—all in the spirit of giving! What better way to celebrate holidays than spending money on other people? Now is also the time for you to start wondering what to buy for those people you aren’t that close with. Good luck!

Finals

It happens. Spend the weekend before panicking, checking RogerHub’s final grade calculator, and cramming all possible information in. Spend some time wishing that you studied earlier and paid attention in class. Take the finals. Done.

Christmas Break (the moment after your last final)

The longest break of the school year has officially started. Now is the time to start sleeping in, forget all about your responsibilities and classes, and enjoy a carefree life. 

Christmas Eve

‘Twas the night before Christmas… Bake cookies, stop by Santana Row’s Christmas in the Park, and bundle up to watch a Christmas movie or two. If you haven’t gotten your parents a present yet, make sure to do so as soon as possible! You have T-24 hours.

Christmas

The awaited pinnacle of the holiday season has finally arrived! Wake up early, open presents, and spend time with family.

Boxing Day

Do whatever British people do on this day, if desired. We’re not exactly sure.

January 1st

Hooray, it’s a new year! Prepare to write the date wrong for the next several months. Oh and make some resolutions, maybe.

January 7th, 2025

On that fateful Tuesday, all the magic goes away. Trudge back to school and submit to your fate: another semester of high school.