Even though the month of December just started, everyone seems to be in the Christmas/holiday spirit! Sadly, as a college student, Christmas is the farthest thing from my mind. With papers, projects, and finals coming up, I sometimes have to resist the urge to yank my hair out and throw myself off a cliff. So, to take my mind off some of this finals season stress, I decided to write about some good things about December!

#1 Christmas Parties galore!

If you have at least one friend, then you’re bound to either get invited to a holiday party, or throw one yourself. The greatest thing about Christmas parties is the excessive amount of food! Food is life, plain and simple. So, if you get invited to a party, be sure to enjoy the crazy amount of food and desserts! Another fun thing about these parties is that you get to socialize with friends, or even new people. I’ve been told a hundred times that I’m very social and good at making friends, so I like meeting new people. What I’m trying to say here is this: even if you hate people/ hate socializing, if you get invited to a Christmas party, just go and eat food. You will not regret it. Besides, it’s food… free food. What’s there to dislike?

#2 Christmas (duh!)

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, you know that it’s a favorite holiday for many people. It gives us the opportunity to spend money that we don’t have on people that we don’t like. Despite this, the love for Christmas only seems to grow. The one thing I care about on Christmas is making tamales with my mother. The presents are a nice bonus too. But since I’m away from home for most of the year, I mainly enjoy Christmas because my parents get to stay home and I get to spend time with them and my whole family.

If you don’t celebrate Christmas, you aren’t missing out on much. If anything, you’re probably better off than those of us who do celebrate it. Whether you spend December 25^th with family, or you just stay in bed and watch Netflix, there’s really no wrong way to enjoy it!

#3 Putting up Christmas trees/lights/ decorations!

For those of us crazy enough to put in the work, we all know that decorating for Christmas can sometimes be a bit much. For instance, putting up a Christmas tree can be a drag. My family doesn’t believe in buying a real tree ever since we found a worm in our tree several years ago. Poor fella was probably using the tree as its home and wasn’t bugging anyone, but my mom got rid of him real quick. With that said, our artificial tree gets the job done each year. The theme for our tree this year was purple and silver. I hate to brag, but I think out tree turned out pretty nice!

Putting Christmas lights outside can also be a bit sketchy since there’s always a chance you can fall off the roof. But it’s still fun to do! My mom loves to go all out for decorating the inside of the house, so I look forward to seeing all the little snowmen and Santa figurines throughout the house! Here are a few from last year:

#4 Christmas music/movies!

If anyone knows me, they know that I’ve been playing Christmas music since the end of October. I can’t help it; it’s a guilty pleasure of mine! That one song, “Feliz Navidad,” always gets to me especially! I have two saved Christmas music playlists saved on my phone and I’m not ashamed to admit that! Whether I’m driving around or studying at the library, you best believe that I’m listening to Christmas music! So, don’t be afraid to make a playlist of your own and blast it on full volume!

Christmas movies are a whole different story. My mom is absolutely obsessed with the Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel, bless her heart. I am guilty of watching a few of them myself. While some Christmas movies are better left unwatched, there are a few classics that have to be watched every year! My personal favorites are: Home Alone 1 & 2, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000, not the dumb animated one), and Jingle All the Way.

Regardless of how you spend the month of December, be sure to enjoy it! Spend time with loved ones, eat lots of food, and try not to go broke while shopping for gifts! And for my fellow students, I wish you all the best of luck on your finals. I know I’m certainly going to need all the luck I can get to survive this semester! Happy Holidays!