This is my favorite time of year for different reasons that one might expect. My regularly scheduled tabletop roleplaying game sessions were usually on hold because of family traditions and people being out of town. So what’s a lifelong Game Master to do? Actually, it’s a refreshing break and a chance to get lots of “work” done on various side projects.

Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.

Or binge until I fall asleep on anime and leftovers for three days straight. (Those were the good old days.) More practically, it’s a chance to do all those downtime GM activities that always seem to fall by the wayside during the year. Here’s a few suggestions from things I used to do:

• Read up on adventure modules you might be planning to run for your next game.
• Obviously it’s a good time to prep your next session if you haven’t done so already.
• Fill in the details of your NPCs, locations, and villains from your current campaign. Go over your notes for all those NPCs you didn’t have time to write down more than a name and a description of. Sometimes they add up.
• Read over the campaigns you’ve downloaded or purchased. Midnight sat on my shelf for six months until I went home for Thanksgiving with it. I low key regretted not doing a deep dive on that setting sooner. (*Long story short- Midnight is a 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons setting and it’s basically dead now.)
• Write down all those adventure and/or campaign ideas that have been sitting around as a footnote or in the back of your mind for months.
• Make characters for a new game or one you might be obsessed with.
• Read through rulebooks you have lying around but haven’t played yet.
• Get in some miniatures or boardgame time with people who might still happen to be around.
• Tidy up your shelves and do some cleaning.
• Organize your dice alphabetically by color and make sure they’re all there.
• Road trip to your favorite Friendly Local Game Store and see what’s new.
• Paint minis. Work on that pile of shame most of us have.
• Build terrain for minis games if you have them.
• Create a new dungeon, starship, base, or villain’s lair and map it out.
• Wait until everyone goes to bed and get a little solo game time in with your favorite system.
• Pull out a journal and write down whatever comes to mind.
• Sketch characters, vehicles, etc if you are so inclined.
• Watch YouTube videos for tips and tricks to improve your GM techniques.

My love and respect for all the people who have to work on major holidays and retail this time of year. I’ve been there. My list above included a ton of things I would rather have been doing, but sometimes you have to pay bills, too. Yes, it sucks, but that holiday overtime buys a lot of gifts and/or dice.

Whatever you end up doing this holiday season, I hope it’s fun for you. Try to decompress and destress if you can. Take care of yourself and stay hydrated. Remember, holiday burnout is real and you’re no good to yourself or your gaming group if you’re out sick.

Thank you for being here today with me. I appreciate you. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy.