It seems like the holidays get trickier and trickier to manage every year.

For some of us, it’s a time to unwind. But for most of us (or possibly even more, but we’re not statisticians), it’s the busiest time of year. There’s pressure to finish up shopping, close out the calendar successfully, and make the most of our time away from work. Or, you can just highlight all the emails in our inbox and hit, “delete,” before heading off to another holiday party. It truly isn’t the holidays unless each new day is served with anticipation and a slight garnish of stress, right?

Thankfully, we fall into the former camp here at Cali Squeeze. This time of year is all about kicking your feet up, letting your hair down, and chilling with a Squeeze in hand. And to help you do the same, we’ve put together a list of how to do the holidays the Cali Squeeze way. Get one final bit of online shopping into your cart and shipped off to your parents’ house, grab a Blood Orange, Tangerine Daze, or Lemon Chill, and read along now.

Maximize Your Time In The Water

There are two absolutes in life: you never regret a swim, and the surf is always good on Christmas Day. Want to get out of cleaning up wrapping paper? Sneak off to get wet. Even if the surf is ankle-high, there’s nothing like grabbing a board and enjoying empty lineups. Plus, it’ll make time next to the fireplace in your new Christmas pajamas feel that much better afterward.

Invite All Your Friends To A Beach Bonfire

We may be lucky here in California to rarely see the thermometer dip south of 50 Fahrenheit, but it happens, and it can be brutal. Instead of going to the same warm corner of the same bar that you’ve been going to with your friends since you all left home ten years ago, why not hit the beach? Grab some firewood (and please make sure you’re burning them in a properly designated area), find a concrete pit, and enjoy. You can watch the sunset, stay warm, and pass a few Squeezes around to good company. It doesn’t get better than that.

Watch Something Festive To Get In The Mood

You can with a classic or swerve onto the alternative route with the modern-day remake. Or, you can turn on something that you feel like everyone else has seen but you’ve never taken the time to sit down and watch yet. Who knows, maybe it is as heartwarming as everyone says it is. At least you’ll finally understand all those seasonal .gifs that your coworkers attached in their end-of-the-year office hour emails afterward. And, us? Well, we’re not exactly sure why, but we love anything that’s about escaping the snow and spending the holidays somewhere warm and poolside.

Skate Your Old High School

It’s not a coincidence that there’s a high school level featured in every single skate video game. There are empty benches, stages, and concrete hallways begging to be grinded on, manual-ed across, and bombed down. Chances are you’re heading back to your hometown for the next couple of days, and students are on holiday break, so the schoolyard’s sitting open. Think about the conversation starter you’ll have at the inevitable high school reunion if you clear the ten-stair you used to run down when you were late for biology earlier that day.

Create The Perfect Holiday Playlist

We understand some albums are timeless, but there are only so many renditions of, “The Christmas Song,” a dinner party can take. There are some fantastic indie, rap, and even surf rock songs out there looking to be added to the next great Christmas Day playlist. You just have to scroll through Spotify to find them. Trust us, everyone will be thanking you for not playing another slow cover of, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Hit A State Or National Park

Here’s a little tip for you: other than Christmas and New Year’s Day, California’s national and state parks are always open. And, better yet, they lack regular summer crowds. Doesn’t a nice night or two camping on an empty beach in Big Sur sound like a fantastic way to spend some time off? Of course it does. Just make sure you pack some extra layers, bonfire supplies, and your thicker sleeping bag for those chilly nights and crisp mornings. Throwing a cooler full of Squeezes into your tent isn’t the worst idea, either.

Give The Gift Of Cali Squeeze

Have you mentally hit a gift-giving brick wall? Don’t worry, it happens. People are hard to shop for. People who don’t know what they want doubly so. Why don’t you grab a cooler, fill it up with ice, and then throw a few Cali Squeeze Variety Packs on top of it all? There’s something for anyone, and they can enjoy it right there. Get some stocking stuffers and look for cans of Cali Squeeze with our Squeeze Finder now.