Thanksgiving is over, and you know what that means: my Grinch heart has grown three sizes and it’s finally (finally!) the holiday season. Unfortunately, it also means finals are right around the corner, complete with stress, study binges and massive amounts of caffeine. Which, as it turns out, can be kind of a downer when it comes to holiday cheer.
While I will always be the first to promote steadfast denial about all things scholarly in the face of the holiday festivities, a better example to follow would probably be one that incorporates your favorite traditions into your study schedule. Here are some tips that will get you excited about the holidays without messing with your end-of-the-semester study schedule.
1. Start up your Christmas study playlist. Whether you like it or not, music sets the mood of the holiday. Singing along to the seasonal classics might drive your roommates crazy, but at least you’ll get a hefty dose of holiday cheer. (Trust me, you’re going to need it to get through the next few weeks.)
2. Have a study-movie night. Get some friends together and put on some of the traditional movies while you study for your tests. You’ve most likely seen them so often that you don’t have to pay close attention to what’s going on to still enjoy them. Besides, maybe Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer will be slightly less terrifying when you don’t have to watch the awful Claymation visuals.
3. Give your morning coffee a merry makeover. You should splurge on the holiday coffee specials at least once this season, and when’s a better time than when you’re cramming for that final that’s tomorrow morning? There are some great flavors that are offered around town, including peppermint mochas and eggnog flavored lattes. You can’t hate your life too much when you’ve had the taste of Christmas in your mouth.
4. Take cookie-baking study breaks. As much as you may want to spend all your free time studying, it’s probably best that you take small breaks every now and then just to make sure you don’t get too overwhelmed. And what better way to do it than baking some delish holiday-themed cookies? You can make them from scratch or buy the premade dough at the store. Either way, you’re going to have a pretty great study snack for later on.
5. Decorate your study space. Maybe it’s a little tacky, but this is the one time of the year that you get a free pass to as tacky as you want without any judgment from me. (And if anyone else judges you, they obviously don’t understand the power of the holiday season, and therefore their opinion is invalid.) String some Christmas lights around your desk, hang some stockings or invest in your own little menorah. When you’re on the verge of an end-of-the-semester mental breakdown, look at them and remind yourself that better things are around the corner.
Remember: once you get past these next few weeks, you can spend all the time you want curled up near the Christmas tree watching the O.C. Christmas specials and drinking gallons of spiked hot chocolate. And if that isn’t a Christmukkah miracle, I don’t know what is.