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The Christmas season is a sacred time of the year filled spirit and cheer, and far more than a healthy helping of food.

It’s a time where the world slows down for just a moment to reflect on a year amidst the people we love most. Sure, it’s also about the non-stop Christmas music, the time off from work and, of course, the presents, but really Christmas is a collection of moments and, more specifically in this case, traditions. Though this holiday period is now passed and not everybody celebrates the holiday season, most at least have some sort of tradition to uphold when the end of December rolls around. Whether it be meeting up with old friends at a hometown hangout while home for the holidays or just people watching tumultuous Black Friday shoppers from a distance, there’s no denying that there are rituals and rites of passage designed to be indulged in during the holidays. Norwich is participating in one of their own traditions as they light up a 45-metre tunnel for the second year. This event managed to draw in impressive crowds that topped 2015’s attendance records by 200,000. Not only that, but the event managed to steal the Internet’s heart as a video of the attraction brought in a whopping 1.2 million views on its first day on YouTube. Although stringing up an absurd amount of lights to show to the world is hardly a new tradition, it just goes to show how crazy people can get when it comes to showing off Christmas spirit. So, to celebrate a few older traditions making their mark on the public, we wanted to give you 3 tradition updates that might have livened up your holidays.

Cupid on a String

By now, you’ll surely have heard of elf on a shelf, the creepy holiday tradition that has us placing a toy elf in various locations throughout our homes during the month of December. Apparently, it’s how Santa keeps tabs on all the naughty people of the world. That’s fine and all and has taken the Internet by storm in its own right. But we thought it would be fun to take this newer tradition and combine it with something a little more antiquated. So instead of elf on a shelf we challenge you to try out Cupid on a string. Take that elf and sow a heart-shaped button to his shirt. After you’ve done that, place the little guy on a string in a high-traffic area of the house, preferably one where people tend to hang out during your holiday parties. Not only will people be drawn to the cute doll, but they’ll have to pay the price for their curiosity if they do it in a pair. Granted, it’ll most likely only work a few times, but it’s a fun twist on a tradition that can sometimes bit rather awkward. Especially when grandpa just won’t stop sitting underneath that darn mistletoe.

No More Eggnog

There are two types of people in this world. The type of people who hate eggnog and the type of people who hate themselves. Okay, so maybe our view of the holiday drink is a bit harsh, but why not serve some beverages that you know everyone will like? And what if we told you they could be holiday-themed as well? Although this might not match the unadulterated chocolate-filled, calorie-packed drink that is the freak shake, we have something more warming and reserved for you this Christmas season. While nothing says Christmas quite like a nice piece of chocolate or a candy cane, there is one yule tide treat that might be able to give it a run for its money in the form of everyone’s favorite holiday home-building material: gingerbread. Thanks to the genius minds over at the Food Network, we can now enjoy a toasty cup of gingerbread hot chocolate after a day of sledding or snowball fights. Just be sure to stock a small stash of eggnog for the oddballs of the family.

Stuff the Stocking and Stack the Deck

No, we don’t mean cheat at cards! Even though you know for a fact your aunt who always wins at Trivial Pursuit has been doing it for years, instead, mix up the games a bit. Most households will resort to playing card games like poker and bridge, but instead buy festive candies and have the family play blackjack for the winnings. It’s simpler than most of the advanced games out there, but not without a few tricky specifications here and there. Luckily there are plenty of resources online to help playing blackjack and get the specifics correct and once familiarised with the game there are at least 20 variants of the game to mix things up a bit. The bonus bez depozytu (no deposit bonus) offers the perfect opportunity is start playing without risking losing your own money. If your family wants something more on the wild side they can also bust out Cards Against Humanity, but add in Christmas twists to the questions. And if cynical is your cup of tea, try out Kickstarter project God Hates Charades, which is Taboo’s evil twin.

Above all else, remember to mix things up this Christmas. If you’re one of the many people who stress out at the sight of a beautifully decorated plant and all of the traditions that come with it, then maybe these few mix-ups will have you looking at the season in a new light. Heck, even all of you Christmas purists who guzzle eggnog by the gallons and set the annual milk and cookies out, the least you could do is give it a shot. Maybe Santa would like a warm glass of gingerbread cocoa instead. It gets chilly riding around in the Christmas winds, you know.

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