1) Scrapbook
Take your memories to a whole new level and top any Facebook album with your own personal scrapbook. With a blank book, a handful of great pictures, and all the markers, glitter, and stickers you can gather, scrapbooking can turn into a time-consuming but extraordinarily fun project. Organizing pictures and writing down the funny stories from certain nights will not only keep you busy during break, but serve as a memory of all the fun times you’
2) Be A Tourist
Take a tour of your city’s art museum or take a hike through a state park. Explore everything your city or town has to offer and broaden your horizons while learning about your own backyard.
3) Read!
Between classes, extracurricular, and a packed social calendar it can be hard to find time to read for pleasure during the semester. Winter break is the perfect time to unplug and read a book that isn’t required for a class. Some books I’ve recently read and enjoyed are:
- I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe – Follows the story of Charlotte, a small town girl, as she enters the elite collegiate world of an elite University. Read along as a naïve and inexperienced Charlotte faces her first encounters with wealth, fraternities, boys, and alcohol.
- The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – A beautiful novel, narrated by Charlie, an awkward adolescent boy. Through the eyes of Charlie, we are exposed to the brutalities of high school, the delicateness of sexuality, and the power of friendship. The Perks of Being A Wallflower will surely move you to tears and be hard to put down! After you finish, check out the reccently released movie version, starring Emma Watson.
- The Chocolate Money by Ashley Prentice Norton – Set in the 1980s in Chicago and on the East Coast, The Chocolate Money tells the story of Bettina and her heiress mother, Babs. Babs is no ordinary mother, and their complex relationship exposes Bettina to sexual affairs, smoking, and cursing at a young age. Never feeling truly loved by her mother, Bettina goes off to boarding school, where she struggles to find herself and also encounters the son of her mother’s ex-lover.
- Friends Like Us by Lauren Fox – Friends Like Us tells the poignant story of two best friends, Willa and Jane, who drift apart after Jane marries Willa’s best male friend. The book opens with Willa and Jane’s chance encounter after a long period of estrangement, and grips the reader from the start.
4) Catch up with that old friend
Maybe she’s your middle school bestie who you’ve rarely seen since you went to different high schools, or maybe she’s the girl with whom you overlapped only one year. Regardless, winter break is the perfect time to sit down, get coffee, and truly catch up (texting never has, and never will, count as “catching up.”)
5) Learn a new skill
Learn to knit, cook your Grandma’s favorite dessert, or play ‘Someone Like You’ on the piano (there are a number of YouTube tutorials out there.) Whatever has sparked your curiosity recently that you never had time for at school, winter break is your chance to try something new.
6) Learn some history
But, not from a textbook. Have you ever been curious about your ancestry but are rarely in a room full of extended relatives? The holiday season is your chance to get the scoop. Ever wondered about the history of your house, town, or city? Many towns have historical societies that welcome visitors.
7) Organize your closet and donate
There is no doubt that when you come home for break, you walk into a room that still has drawers full of clothes that you have not worn or even looked at for the last three years. Going through your closet and grabbing those jeans you know you will never fit into again, or those old t-shirts you don’t even break a sweat in, will open up space in your room and help you organize the clothing you do wear. Plus, there are numerous charities that are always grateful for donations, especially around this time of the year. Charity websites including www.goodwill.org and www.salvationarmyusa.org will find the location nearest you.
8) Go thrift shopping
Find out first hand why Macklemore’s song became so popular.
9) Watch classic Christmas movies by the fire
It’s A Wonderful Life, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Home Alone, Love Actually, Elf, The Santa Clause, A Christmas Story, Rudolf…the list goes on! Cozy up by the fire with your family and enjoy some holiday classics with hot cocoa.