So, finals are over, and you’re about to embark on your journey home! The semester was filled with early morning 8 a.m.’s (if you’re a freshman like me), late-night Netflix sessions with your suite-mates and plenty of assignments that, yes, you actually put a lot of effort into.
Anyways, you’re exhausted and ready to go home to see your family, (but mostly your dog), and eat your mom’s home-cooked meals. Most of all, you’re probably looking forward to catching up on sleep, sleeping in, and lounging around all day.
Nothing can dull your holiday cheer, you won’t allow for it. Even though your fall semester has drained you, you may want to reconsider how you will spend your holiday break. Yes, eating and sleeping are good and well, but maybe you can strive for a bit more.
That being said, here are some tips to help you make the most of your holiday break and be semi-productive over the holidays.
The first tip I would recommend for making the most of your break is, although obvious, spending time with your family. Your parents have missed you being away at school and want to spend time with you away from the distraction of your cell phone. Even your siblings, who won’t admit that they miss you, secretly want to spend time with you. While taking advantage of the fact that you don’t have to talk to anyone by shutting yourself up in your room is understandable, you end up shutting your family out, too. Instead, try to hang out in your living room for a bit and play a card or board game with your family, or spend some time in the kitchen and help your mom make some Christmas cookies.
My next tip is to attend a fitness class at your local gym. Let’s face it, your mom’s homemade dinners aren’t the only thing you’ll be indulging in over the holidays. If you’re like me, cookies are your weakness, and you may or may not have already demolished the batch you made with your mom. Fitness classes are a great way to not only break your food-coma and boost your energy level but increase your serotonin levels over the holidays, so that you can be extra jolly! Some fitness classes I really enjoy are Zumba and Barre.
Lastly, while you are home, visit with some friends that you haven’t seen in a while. You can do anything as simple as having a Netflix session or getting coffee, or you can be more adventurous and go ice-skating or sledding. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing, as long as you are maintaining some relationships that are important to you outside of college.
As for your original plans, I promise that doing these three things won’t take too much time away from your sleeping aspirations. While the holidays are a great time to take it easy and relax, using some of that time to get out of bed and do something a bit more rewarding can benefit your health and relationships.
