Twelve Tarus of Christmas
Nothing can be more simpler than holding an MMORPG event with all your friends in your "home town". Plan at least a few weeks in advance to ensure that everyone can prioritize. Make sure to bring lots of items to give away, not just as gifts. Now's the time to use the odds and ends you stashed away for special occasions, such as fireworks and sweets.
For those not feeling the holiday spirit, it's a great time to schedule an MMO wedding or group getaway since everyone is more likely going to be home for the holidays and online. A traditional dip in the hot springs after battle is an option but nothing beats taking over a tavern. All you need is a few Bards and expensive drinks.
Charmed Sisters
One of the most defining things we've done together as a community was a charm bracelet project. Each member participating chose a charm to represent themselves and mailed the charm along with their Christmas cards. After attaching the charms, everyone would end up with the same bracelet. It's a bit heavy, though that's part of the charm!
Season's Greetings
The oldest of traditions in our community is sending out Christmas cards each year. Although we keep in contact online, it's always nice to come home to a heaping pile of well wishes in your physical mailbox.Instead of sending out cards designed with the holidays in mind, some members of our community like to have a little flare into what they send out. Some will be hard at work being crafty while others, like myself, enjoy sending out vintage fashion-themed cards.
Sugarplum Fairies
Winter season for the local Ballet company means Nutcracker season! Aside from learning Ballet in the studio, digitalFLARE members attend performances during this time of year.Nothing beats The Nutcracker's heart warming winter story. Full of variety, it always delivers adventure, comedy and romance. It helps that The Nutcracker has some of Tchaikovsky's most beloved music, including Waltz of the Flowers and the Pas de deux. Depending on company, you may even be surprised by the celebrity guests performing.
Nostalgia-ed
Playing old SNES games like Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy VI or Chrono Trigger over the break with friends is another great diversion. Renaming characters appropriately always leads to unintended hilarity. There's also the option of broadcasting the gameplay online so everyone can watch.
Food Nights
Those of us in the Toronto gang gather at my place around this time of year for nights of eating, videogames and watching something silly until our stomachs hurt. Whether from too much food or laughing we can never be sure! On rare occasions we also go for "fancy dindins" at the best restaurants our city has to offer. But nevertheless, we try to bring some extras for each other.We usually bring, buy and prepare our own food - barring the endless dessert options. However, lately we've been opting for the convenience of Japanese food at a new restaurant nearby. DVDs we've watched include She-Ra, ThunderCats, Jem, and the badly subtitled (if it could be called that) Star Ocean anime.
Spiffy Movies
Since some of us can't watch movies together, we've done so online with the help of Skype and Ventrilo ("Spiffy" being coined by Seulgaist and the Chicago gang). From counting the crotch shots in Labyrinth or the ridiculous stunts in DHOOM 2, we've been there and done that - so much so we've comprised a list of costume dramas to boot. See below for some random winter movie recommendations that are digitalFLARE approved.
