I don't do this myself since it doesn't entirely make sense to me, I've seen DMs give their party double XP on holidays like Christmas, New Years, etc.. I don't think many people do this...
I also love d̶̡̼̥̻͙̣̼̿͂͐͘ę̴̢̨̛̼̙̤̻̞̠̗̳̝̦̹̹̦͍̉̏͛̽͠͠sţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏ru̸̮̭̪̠͆̑̍́̈́̑̾̒̑̂̕ͅc̶̢̜͓̮̩͎͕̄́͑̃̈͋̈͌̑̽͠ͅͅţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏io̵̪̭̞̗̝͙̝̬̥͕̒ͅn̸̨͖̳͓͍̜̬̗̪̜̪̗̺͆̏̆̊́̈́̿̎̅̈͠͝͝ in my campaigns! In other words, i'm an evil DM.
XP would be a pretty "meh" holiday gift, and irrelevant for Milestone leveling. I'd much rather give miniatures, if I'm looking to spend real money, or introduce a special magic item or feat that can benefit the players immediately. For example, maybe they'd get those fancy crackers that, once popped, create an effect off of a random table, such as summoning an owlbear in a monocle, or creating a 1-mile wide blizzard.
I usually give my players a consumable magic item for Christmas that suits their characters, but I once gave them the benefits of a long rest in the middle of a grueling dungeon crawl. I also give special items/boons to my players on their birthdays or if some major life event happens (graduation, marriage, etc.).
I ran a Christmas themed one-shot during the holidays. In the future, I would probably add christmas themed side quests that are full of magical gifts which would mostly be consumable magic items.
If/when I run something themed or special as a holiday session I'll try to make the session itself quite fun and usually it's the best chance to get some really cool magic items. I try to restrict the frequency with which PCs come across magic items so that when they do it's really cool and fun.
As an example this Christmas I ran a circus/midway carnival style session. Rigged games, silly characters, puzzles, prizes. Something so totally radical that it wouldn't normally get encountered during play.
I don't do this myself since it doesn't entirely make sense to me, I've seen DMs give their party double XP on holidays like Christmas, New Years, etc.. I don't think many people do this...
Monsters: Brathkal
Weapons: Sword of Ni , Bow of Ni
Spells: Zone of Ni
I also love d̶̡̼̥̻͙̣̼̿͂͐͘ę̴̢̨̛̼̙̤̻̞̠̗̳̝̦̹̹̦͍̉̏͛̽͠͠sţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏ru̸̮̭̪̠͆̑̍́̈́̑̾̒̑̂̕ͅc̶̢̜͓̮̩͎͕̄́͑̃̈͋̈͌̑̽͠ͅͅţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏io̵̪̭̞̗̝͙̝̬̥͕̒ͅn̸̨͖̳͓͍̜̬̗̪̜̪̗̺͆̏̆̊́̈́̿̎̅̈͠͝͝ in my campaigns! In other words, i'm an evil DM.
XP would be a pretty "meh" holiday gift, and irrelevant for Milestone leveling. I'd much rather give miniatures, if I'm looking to spend real money, or introduce a special magic item or feat that can benefit the players immediately. For example, maybe they'd get those fancy crackers that, once popped, create an effect off of a random table, such as summoning an owlbear in a monocle, or creating a 1-mile wide blizzard.
I usually give my players a consumable magic item for Christmas that suits their characters, but I once gave them the benefits of a long rest in the middle of a grueling dungeon crawl. I also give special items/boons to my players on their birthdays or if some major life event happens (graduation, marriage, etc.).
I ran a Christmas themed one-shot during the holidays. In the future, I would probably add christmas themed side quests that are full of magical gifts which would mostly be consumable magic items.
If/when I run something themed or special as a holiday session I'll try to make the session itself quite fun and usually it's the best chance to get some really cool magic items. I try to restrict the frequency with which PCs come across magic items so that when they do it's really cool and fun.
As an example this Christmas I ran a circus/midway carnival style session. Rigged games, silly characters, puzzles, prizes. Something so totally radical that it wouldn't normally get encountered during play.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.