Christmas is less than a month away and you’ve probably started counting down the days until winter break a long time ago. Once winter break starts, you may be saying “goodbye” to your college friends for a few weeks while you hang out with your friends from home. Whether you’re planning an early Christmas with your college buddies, or coordinating schedules with the people you’ve known since elementary school, here are six ideas for celebrating Christmas with your friends.
1. Decorate a Christmas tree together
I’m not saying that you need to go cut down an 8-foot tall tree and cram it in your tiny dorm room (unless you and your friends really want to), but having even a small plastic tree can add some more holiday spirit to your dorm or living space. Don’t be afraid to get creative either! If none of you have a plastic tree, try making one out of cardboard or string lights in the shape of a tree. You and your friends could also make new ornaments for each year you’re in college. You’ll have a new decoration and a cute spot to put presents.
2. Decorate cookies
Cookies + BFFs = true happiness. Get your girls (and guys) together to bake and decorate Christmas cookies. You can try new recipes or stick with your traditional go-to’s.
3. Plan a holiday catch-up date
College is busy and you may have gone months without seeing your hometown best friends. As cheesy as it may sounds, sometimes the best gift is simply spending time with each other. Get together with your friends for a dinner date or organize a sleepover with your favorite Christmas movies. You probably have a ton of stories from school and it will be nice to sit down and catch up with one another while sipping hot cocoa.
4. Cheap Gift Challenge
Grab your pocket change and head to your local dollar store. If your group of friends decide to exchange gifts, try putting a $1 to $5 limit and see what you can come up with. You would be surprised at the amount of thoughtful or fitting gifts you can find for someone.
5. Secret Santa or White Elephant
Many college students find themselves on a tight budget and Christmas can be hard financially. Organizing a Secret Santa or white elephant gift exchange with your closest friends will help save money because you only have to buy one gift and you can spend your shopping time focusing on finding the perfect gift for that one person. White elephant gifts are typically humorous, but your group could also decide to bring gifts that everyone would want to use.6. DIY gifts
Exchange gifts with that one secret ingredient that makes it so special (a.k.a. love). There are so many DIY gift ideas that look like they’re from the store, rather than being homemade. DIY gifts are easy to personalize for each friend and the cost of materials can be cheaper than buying a gift directly from the store. DIY gift exchanges will bring out your creative side and you’ll have fun making presents for all your friends.Whether you’re celebrating Christmas at college with your roommates, or at home with your high school friends, celebrate Christmas with a fun activity that will show them how much you love em’!