Now that Thanksgiving has passed, the holiday season is officially started. Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza or any other holiday, this is one of the most exciting times of the year. There’s no denying that there is something special about this time of year, it’s a time about traditions, family and slowing down to appreciate the small things. There’s nothing better than finishing finals and heading home, stress free, ready to create new memories through year old traditions with your family and friends. Throughout the past few years I’ve been away at school one of my favorite things about this time is the fact that I truly am stress free and fully focused on being home. There’s no tests to study for, projects to work on or papers to edit, I get to spend quality time with my family. While the next two weeks will no doubt be the busiest and probably the most stressful of the semester, I love the fact that my goal for all my hard work will be 7 weeks at home with my family and friends. While I’m back in Hamden for the next two weeks finishing out the semester I have come up with a few ways that I can get into the holiday spirit even though I’m miles from my family.
1. Christmas Music. I am one of those people that starts listening to it the day after Thanksgiving. While others might think this is a little early or get annoyed after a few days of the same music, I’ve learned it’s one of the only things that can motivate me to do my work during finals crunch time. There’s something that’s just so up beat and positive that pushes me through writing papers and in no time I realize that I’m done with something that I thought was impossible when I started.
2. Present Planning. Being a college student lends itself to a tight financial budget and I have learned that crafting presents is a good way to solve this dilemma of what to wrap up under the Christmas tree for my family. I’m not the most creative person, so naturally Pinterest and my friends have given me ideas, but the homemade gesture often goes further than any store bought gift. For my mom I’m a fan of printing out picture from the past year and making a collage. For college and high school girl friends I’ve learned that nothing is more appreciated than pictures from the past or a small gift that reflects an inside joke.
3. Christmas Cookie Baking. Last year my friends and I started what would be the first of our annual Cookie Swaps. It was an opportunity for us to bake something, show off a piece of who we are/a taste of our homes, and spend time together to de-stress and completely put homework aside. Little did we know that we would decide to make this an annual event and throw in the fun of wearing tacky holiday sweaters this year.
4. Christmas Decorating. While we only spend half of December at school, putting up a few decorations here and there can help brighten your day. When things get stressful with school, a little taste of the holidays can be all you need to turn your day around. I usually do this by purchasing an Advent calendar and each morning opening one of the doors. This becomes a small ritual for my day and reminds me that the days are passing by and to make the most of each day before the semester is over and I’m heading home to my family.
5. Traditions with your roommates. While everyone you live with is probably stressed out and free time is not in their vocabulary for the few weeks between Thanksgiving and the semester ending, spending time together is important. It’s often your last few days together before weeks apart, depending on how far apart you live, and while you might not think you have time to spend with each other, the time you do spend together will often lead to some of your best memories of college. Starting a secret Santa amongst your roommates is an easy way to show to each other that you appreciate one another while still being able to keep things within you budget. Or you could take the route that my roommates and I did last year and pick a night for a roommate dinner, you can either cook a nice meal in or choose somewhere you guys are craving in town. Either way you are making sure that you are all putting aside a few hours to spend uninterrupted with each other. You might not realize it now, but during winter break these are often the people you miss most and the ones you wish you could just open your bedroom door and tell a funny story to.
So while you spend the next two weeks day dreaming about a huge snow fall and holiday traditions with your family, make sure you take time to slow down and enjoy your last few weeks of the semester with the family you have made here at QU. These are your friends that will probably be around for the rest of your life, and being able to share these laughs 20 years from now about how ridiculous something seemed when you were stressed out and sleep deprived are the memories that college is about making. Ten years from now it won’t matter if you got a 90 as opposed to a 95 on that exam, but what will matter is being at your wedding being able to share a funny story with your bridesmaids about one of the nights you spent at college. Enjoy the moments you have these next few weeks, no matter how stressful they may seem, when finals are all said and done you’ll be wishing you had more days to spend with your friends before heading home to your families. One of my best friends once told me, “it’s not about counting the minutes, it’s about making the minutes count.” So take a deep breath, look around, and find something to smile about.