Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, you tend to get roped into the holiday spirit along with everyone else. And, though the title of "best time of year" may be debatable, when it comes to YouTubers, it certainly is.

Advertisers tend to pay more in December, so the ad revenue is better, and you can maximize your earnings as a YouTuber. How? Well, one of the simplest ways is to do Christmas vlogs, or Vlogmas. Pick an activity to showcase on each vlog and release it like an advent calendar. Here are some Christmas-themed ideas you can try.

1. Decorate Your Home for Christmas

It's best to spread out your Christmas content. That way, you won't run out of ideas and also won't overwhelm your viewers with too many different things at once. The best strategy is to do one major thing per day. And what better way to kick off Vlogmas than with decorating?

Decorating your home for Christmas can be a fun activity you can do on your own, with friends, family, kids, and even pets—there's room for creativity. You can expand on the idea and have your dog pick your Christmas tree decorations, for example. If you're feeling a bit uninspired, you can always browse Pinterest or Instagram for ideas.

2. Make DIY Decor

Regardless of which platform you browse, you're bound to discover a ton of DIY crafting ideas online, especially ones about Christmas decor. TikTok specifically is quite bountiful, so if you're a bit lost on what to make, you can check out other people's creations and take inspiration from them.

There are many directions you can take this idea in. For example, you can set a budget, browse a store, and get crafty once you're home. Or, you can challenge yourself to create something from things you already have around the house.

Christmas stars made of cardboard, paper snowflakes, wreaths, trees, whichever way you decide to spin the idea, a video showcasing Christmas DIY decor projects is bound to put people in a festive mood and earn you many clicks on YouTube.

3. Christmas Recipe Testing

people baking cookies

Christmas is the best time to indulge yourself. Find a fancy cookie recipe and see if you like it, maybe you'll stumble onto new delicious recipe ideas. Or why not try to make your own gingerbread? You can also turn the activity into a game.

Put ingredients in a bowl and pick out what you have to use. You can make it as weird or conventional as you like and taste-test your creation at the end of the video. It's a simple way to fill up your day while also making content that's useful—you'll have a tasty treat at the end, or at the very least, a fun memory.

4. Christmas Food Decorating

person decorating treats

The best byproduct of recipe testing can be that you can use the result of yesterday's vlog for today's content—the cookies or gingerbread you made the days before can be used for food decorating videos after.

You can decorate your culinary creations with frosting, sprinkles, or whatever else you think of and make it a group or solitary activity. If you're doing it with others, you can turn it into a competition and have your viewers vote on who did the best.

You can also add challenges, like a time limit or picking impediments from a bowl—like having to use pickles and shredded carrots on your cupcakes.

5. Gift Shopping and Wrapping

person wrapping present

Every year you tell yourself you won't delay gift shopping until the last minute. And every year, you do. But if you plan it out and do it earlier, you might avoid the frantic rush and hassle that goes hand in hand with gift shopping in December.

If you choose to shop in-store, get your camera and vlog. And, if you decide to shop online, screen record and vlog—as simple as that. Do it early enough, and you won't even worry about shipping delays. Or, if you're brave enough, you can even try to DIY your Christmas gifts this year.

After you acquire your gifts, you can also film yourself wrapping them. And you can choose whether to vlog it in a separate video or add it to this one.

6. Christmas Thrifting

woman thrifting

Go to a thrift shop (or a few) and look for the best Christmas-themed things you can find. You can set a budget or color restriction, or a specific theme. Thrifting doesn't have to cost you a fortune, and it can be pretty fun. Not to mention, it'd make for captivating content—people love to thrift, and all shops have different stock, so it's always interesting to see what you'd find.

7. Mall Santa Beckons

Mall Santas are still a thing, so why not go to see one and vlog yourself doing so? You can go by yourself, with friends, family, pets, or kids. You can play dress up, take some fun pictures, and go to Cinnabon—there always seems to be a Cinnabon in malls.

All in all, it could be as merry as you make it.

8. Make the Most of Advent Calendars

advent calendar-1

The holiday season is the time of advent calendars. It seems like anyone and everyone offers advent calendars, and not all of them make sense. And though some are quite overpriced, you can still find affordable or even free ones.

Since you can find all sorts available, you can make a game of it and try to find the weirdest options out there. Then, you can show your weird discoveries on a video. Buy one or a few, and unwrap them on camera to demonstrate to people if they're worth the price tag.

Tips for a Successful Vlogmas

Now that you have some ideas to get started with your Christmas vlogs, here are some things to keep in mind when making them.

Set a Schedule

Before you even get to idea crafting, set a schedule for yourself. You'll make your life so much easier by deciding on a plan beforehand. You can jot down your ideas for Christmas-themed videos in advance and figure out how, when, and where you'll film them.

Prep Your Tech

Since you might pre-record content, ensure you always have memory cards available. Check your hard drive's free space, and if it's not enough, buy an external hard drive or two.

Whatever you're planning to vlog with, camera or phone, ensure you always have a battery or charger on hand, ready to go. So if you find yourself with filming equipment that's about to stop working, you can still continue your recording. Here's what you'll need for vlogging with your phone.

Often, vlogging outside means a ton of background noise that makes your voice less prominent than it should be, so it's best to get an external microphone to secure the best possible sound.

Practice Vlogging

woman filming herself

It may seem silly, but vlogging, be it for Christmas or not, is more than just pulling out a camera and pressing record. You need to film from the best angle possible, the one that will captivate the viewer the best. Otherwise, no one would stick around to watch.

You don't want the camera too close for the risk that people will see up your nose or too far since that'll hurt your hands after a while. And know where to put your hands, so you don't cover the lens or the microphone.

Consider that carrying around a camera can get pretty heavy, especially if you do it for hours on end. So you might need a tripod.

Don't Forget to Have Fun

The holiday season is meant to be enjoyed, so don't overwork yourself. If you're struggling with managing your time, try to gamify your day-to-day. Anything can be better if you turn it into a game, and your workload won't feel like work anymore.

You can turn every activity into a competition with a winner, either one you settle on or one crowned by a vote from your YouTube audience. You can compete against family, friends, or yourself. Just remember to keep it light and have fun.