As finals come to a close, it’s no surprise that everyone is excited to get home. Winter break means the holidays are in full swing, you have the chance to spend time with family, and you’re looking at a month or so without schoolwork. There are some things that are simply a staple of this break that college students everywhere can relate to.

Obviously, one of the first things you’re going to do is eat all of the homemade meals you’ve missed so much. After three months of dining hall food, anything that wasn’t frozen at some point looks absolutely delicious.

Every college student needs a solid week of sleep when they get home to balance themselves out after staying up till 4 a.m. every night pretending to study for finals. The end of the semester is the most tiring part between end of the year parties, activities for clubs and of course, school work.

Let’s not even start on how good that first shower at home is going to feel.

When you’ve taken a few days to recuperate, you’ll probably want to start doing some holiday shopping around town. If you’re from a small town, you’ll probably feel like you see everyone you know within those first few days back, as well as every day after that, which can be both a good and a bad thing. Nobody can deny that there are some people from high school that you just feel awkward running into.

Eventually, the joy that has stemmed from freedom of responsibility and schoolwork will be halted, because grades will come out. When you think about how poorly your finals went, you’ll most likely be verynervous to ruin the holiday cheer you’ve been feeling.

As Christmas passes, winter break becomes a bit more low-key. Because you have no time or access to real establishments at any point during first semester, the weeks you have off in the winter are the perfect — and most annoying — time to catch up on those things. Hair appointments, dentist appointments, doctor appointments, nail appointments, etc. At least you can assure that your mom will schedule them all for you.

You’ll probably want to see some of your home friends while you have nothing to do. This seems like a great plan, but in reality it is often difficult to find a time to see everyone because everyone seems to have conflicting schedules (aka all those appointments).

When you do get the chance to catch up though, you know it will be the best reunion. You have a whole semester to fill each other in on!

If you’re like me, your mom has a ton of activities planned for the fairly short time that you are home. These are usually awesome, but there is something to be said about the deep appreciation college students have for the opportunity to do nothing once in a while.

You may have decided that Christmas break was going to be the time where you would lose those few extra pounds that you had accumulated in the stressful final weeks of the semester. Quickly, you will realize that that is probably the least thought through idea you have ever had. Christmas cookies are everywhere and you can’t deny yourself on a holiday.

Overall, the most important part of winter break is spending time with family and friends and relaxing. It’s a great month to do some of the things you have been putting off all semester, and it’s important to make some productive use of your time! This break is also essential to finding your center again and eliminating the stress you built up during testing. You can be happy again!

And while Christmas break is the best while it lasts, you know you will be so happy to get back to school and reunite with all of your friends when mid-January rolls around.

Happy holidays!