As fall semester comes to a close I find myself becoming more and more excited about going home for the holidays. Winter break is always one of my favorite times of the year. The stress of the semester has ended and you get a full month or so to have a stress-free holiday season. It’s the break you’ve been needing from school, but short enough to get back just when you want to. It’s the best time to spend with your family and your friends, doing every corny holiday tradition and hanging out as much as possible to make up for the three months you’ve been away. Over winter break, there a few things I feel are essential to do. Here some things I think are necessary for every college student to make time for.

Movie Nights

Being that it’s December and January, the likelihood of you being snowed in a few times is high. Take advantage of this and plan movie nights where you and your friends stay in with your favorite rom-com or Will Ferrell comedy classic and down three bottles of cheap wine. Don’t forget to overload on snacks and grab as many fuzzy blankets as you own. Movie nights are an essential to winter break, being that it’s all you wanted to do during the semester but were to busy with work or going out to do so.

Family Holiday Decorating

Ah, the best part of the holiday season. Hopefully your family waited for you to get home before they decided to put up the decorations because it’s one of the best parts of holidays. Some people might find it tedious and time consuming, but if you're that bummer person then you’re just missing out. Nothing is more fun than putting up the tree and decorating every part of your house with the holiday decorations.

Netflix Marathon

This might seem like a waste of winter break for some, but for me I find it to be an essential part. Over the semester I find that with loads of work and constantly being with my friends, sometimes my beloved Netflix takes a backseat. So, over winter break, dedicate some of your time to just binge watching that show you’ve been thinking about for weeks. Get comfy in your room, grab your dog and force them to hang with you, and find yourself six episodes deep in a Netflix marathon.

A Good Book or Two

Now that you have all this free time and no longer have assignments hanging over your head, winter break is a great time to dive into a really good book. Make a pit stop at Barnes and Noble or make use of your amazon prime and get a book that’s been interesting you for a while and actually sit down now and read it. Free time is scarce during the semester, so drown yourself in a good book or two while home for the holidays.

Seasonal Job

We all know what it’s like to be that broke college student. Somewhere along fall semester you lost all your money to take out and bar tabs. Well, winter break is the perfect time to make some extra money to get you through your sudden bankruptcy and next semester. Whether it’s a continued internship or that job you’ve had at your town grocery store for years, a seasonal job is essential to winter break. You get the luxury of having some extra spending money with your schedule not being too overwhelming - the perfect combo!

Bake Everything

The holidays in my mind equal cookies, cake, and every baked good possible. Now that you have free time on your hands and the weather outside is negative ten degrees, what a great time to bake 100 cookies and an immense amount of brownies. Fill your winter break with baking all the snacks you can think of and be the coolest person at the holiday party bringing all the snacks everyone wants.

Take a Trip

The school semester doesn’t exactly call for much travel with your packed schedule. So, winter break is the perfect time to take a little trip! Whether it be with your family or your friends, spending some time in a new place would be very exciting! Seeing something different besides your hometown or your campus is essential. Experience somewhere new while you have a few weeks off to do so. You can also make some time to take a trip to see your friends from school if they live far from you!

Sleep As Much As You Can

We all know what it’s like to be running on two hours of sleep throughout the semester. Winter break is the perfect time to catch up on all the rest you’ve been missing out on for the past three months. Sleep as much as possible and don’t leave your bed for two days if you have too. It’s a sleep free-for-all over break and there is nothing to be sorry about, whether your mom disagrees or not.