The holidays are times for friends and family, presents and music, and spending quality time with the people you love. During school, that's what I look forward to most; coming home and recreating all of the traditions I miss while I'm away. Traditions arise mostly during the holidays, and being able to look forward to those traditions year-round is something that can make your year a little more stress free.

Traditions are something you can talk about all year, share with others, and really bond over similarities. Nostalgia is such a fun part of it too and being able to relive parts of your childhood is such a good privilege of the holidays.

Starting with Thanksgiving, every year we go to my aunt's house for a big family Thanksgiving. We spend the whole day catching up with family we haven't seen in a while, and spend the whole night eating and laughing. Each year, my mom and I make a cool/different birthday cake for my aunt, which usually ends up falling apart in the end, but that's tradition.

For me, Hanukkah traditions are so important. Sitting around with family and listening to Hanukkah music, singing the prayers and lighting the candles with my whole family, and fully decorating the house is something that makes me feel warm around that time of the year. Even though my family doesn't celebrate Christmas, we still have traditions of looking at lights and going into the city to see the holiday displays. In my grandmother's neighborhood, there is a street of houses with the most amount of lights, inflatables, and figurines that I have ever seen. Going to that street and walking around is something I look forward to all year.

New Years is a big tradition time for me, because I have been doing the same thing for four years now. My boyfriend and I dress up, go to Olive Garden, and then stop at Wawa on the way home to get pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. We get into pajamas and watch the ball drop for the rest of the night. I love this tradition because it's so easy and fun, and I get to spend New Years with the one person I want to spend it with.

If you don't have any traditions, find a friend to have one with, or talk to your family and start one. It's never too late to start a new tradition and make so many fun, new memories as a result.