It’s December 6. You’re in a rut. You stuffed yourself with turkey two weeks ago and have been counting down the days all year until Christmas.  The spirit of the holidays is buzzing through the air, but you just can’t feel it in your bones. You’re feeling more like the Grinch than a jolly Christmas elf.  Time is running out.  Here are five simple sure-fire ways to get visions of sugarplums dancing in your head in no time.

1. Change your phone wallpaper.

You use your mobile phone all day, so a little holiday reminder every time you unlock it is like transmitting subliminal Christmas messages into your brain.  Use a festive photo or a wallpaper you find online. Better yet, why don’t you Christmasfy yourself and use that. Bonus points for changing your ringtone to “Deck the Halls” or “Jingle Bells.” Super extra bonus points for changing your ringtone to the lesser-known classics, “Mele Kalikimaka” or Love, Actually’s “Christmas is All Around.”

2.  Get a tree. Get a pine candle. Get some tree branches.

Generally speaking, you need *the* scent. Pine, cinnamon, gingerbread, mistletoe; It really doesn’t matter. If you’re being frugal (and who isn’t these days?), go down to the hardware store and pick up some of the scrap branches that tree-cutters leave on the floor and deck your halls with them. Grab some of the sawed-off stumps from the tree lot and throw them in a pot of simmering water on your stove. Glade has a relatively cheap holiday candle collection (forget the expensive Yankee variety) if the thought of bringing nature into your home freaks you out. Nothing says holiday spirit like aromas wafting through the air.

3.  Crank up the Christmas music. All the time.

For the next 19 days, I command you to put all other playlists aside and commit fully to non-stop holiday tunes.  It’s December, for goodness sake, and if you are reading this then you are already desperate.  You better watch out. You better not cry. You better tickle your ears with a little “Holly Jolly Christmas” because Santa Claus is coming to town, ya know. Slacker Radio has 11, yes 11, holiday stations of varying genres to choose from (Is there anything more awesome than a ‘Dysfunctional Holiday’ station? I think not). My tweeps helped compile this playlist of their favorite holiday tunes on Grooveshark which is definitely worth a listen. Or twelve. One for every day of Christmas.

4. Go to the mall.

The perfect solution for those who are too lazy to decorate their own place, a visit to the mall is an instant dose of cheer. Even if you have to fight a 60-year-old lady for a parking spot, navigate through stroller after stroller and argue with the teenage cashier at the Gap to get the extra 20% off from the coupon you found on the floor of the food court, it will be worth it. The mall is where all of the elements come together. Gifts, lights, sounds, smells, music and, of course, Santa Claus himself. You’re in the Big Man’s territory now. He’s got his eye on you.

Aventura Mall (photo courtesy of @Ines)

5. Get out the Christmas DVDs.

This should go without saying.  Instead of going out with friends to the bar in the cold and blowing cash you should be spending on gifts anyway, you need Holiday Movie Night. Every night. Everyone has their favorites.  Whether you prefer the classics like White Christmas or the raunchy contemporaries like Bad Santa, the spirit-enabling capabilities are strong with movies. Here is my list of the lists of the best Christmas movies. Time to load up your Netflix queue!

Chicago Tribune – Top 25 Christmas Movies

Rotten Tomatoes – Guide to the Best Christmas Movies

Moviefone – Best Holiday Movies

KCPNews – Movies to Get You in the Spirit

Huffington Post – Funniest Christmas movies of all time

Two of my personal favorites:

Love, Actually

Bad Santa (NSFW)

For our non-Christmas-celebrating-friends, I hope you can offer suggestions on surviving the Christmas season and getting into the spirit of your own holidays!