The holiday season is underway and here at The Electric, we want to share a bit of our holiday spirit, even though we’re woefully behind on everything.

This reporter doesn’t break out the holiday decorations or Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving, but there’s lots of community events and we’re ready to spread a little holiday cheer.

We’re bringing back the 12 Days of Great Falls Cheer that we created two years ago.

There will be lots of ways to participate, share and spread the holiday spirit.

12 Days of Great Falls Cheer

Thankfully, I get to venture home to Virginia for a few days in December, albeit not for Christmas itself. I’m practically giddy that I get to catch the Grand Illumination at Colonial Williamsburg, one of my favorite hometown holiday traditions, for the first time in years.

This year has seemed more stressful that most and my personal holiday spirit hasn’t quite kicked in yet, so the 12 Days of Great Falls Cheer are as much my gift to myself as it is to this community while we try to do a little good in the midst of the hustle and bustle.

Some friends humored me with a wreath making class, of course mine is decorated with a moose. I snagged a branch off the downtown tree to make my annual Charlie Brown tree and we’ve started decorating the office for some of what to me are pure, simple joys.

My Christmas wish for you Great Falls, is to find those pure, simple joys.

12 Days of Great Falls Cheer

Nov. 16: Ladies Night for downtown shopping and festivities. Think about planning holiday craft/wreath making days since those options are expanding, but also filling up quickly!

12 Days of Great Falls Cheer: Great Falls Grateful [2021]

Nov. 25: Launch The Electric’s 2023 Holiday Gift Guide.

Nov. 25: Parade of Lights with the downtown window display competition and it’s Small Business Saturday so get out there and support your local businesses.

Dec. 3: Community Traditions: Share your holiday traditions with us via social or email them to jenn@theelectricgf.com. It’s the Christmas Stroll and we’ll be featuring some other local classics like the Symphony holiday concert and the trolley tours.

Dec. 6: Volunteer Day: We’ll have a list of holiday volunteer opportunities and are encouraging the community to get out there and contribute to your community through volunteerism on this day, or taking this day to plan a future volunteer activity. Are you a nonprofit or group with volunteer opportunities? Email them to jenn@theelectricgf.com to be included on the list.

Dec. 8: Eat, Drink and Be Merry: In between the shopping, spend some time eating, drinking and being merry all over town.

Dec. 10: Day of Giving: we’ll have information on local nonprofits and how/what to donate.

Dec. 13: Random Act of Kindness Day: Do something, anything, nice for someone else around you. Share any random acts of kindness bestowed upon you on The Electric’s post or by email jenn@theelectricgf.com. We’re pretty sure there’s a lot of good left in the world, particularly in our own community.

12 Days of Great Falls Cheer: Random Act of Kindness Day, Giving Trees, Candy Cane Lane [2021]

Dec. 16: Give a gift. There’s several toy/gift giveaways around town to participate in, find an Angel Tree to give a gift to someone who may not have gifts coming under their tree and plan to check out Candy Cane Lane Dec. 16-17.

Dec. 21: Holiday movies and holiday stories. Watch a holiday movie, my personal favorite is Prancer, or share a holiday story.

Dec. 22: Great Falls Grateful: Share what you’re grateful for on social with #gfgrateful and/or send an email to jenn@theelectricgf.com and we’ll compile a post of all those things we’re thankful for this year. If you’re like me, there’s a lot to be thankful for.

Dec. 23: Winter activity day: Get outside, go skiing, snowshoeing, skating, visit Bighorn Outdoor Specialists. Bonus activity that’s weather dependent: community snowball fight/build a snowman day!