Most of us know that a college winter break can be both a blessing and a curse: Five and a half weeks off from classes, homework, and sharing a bathroom with an entire floor of girls? Yes, please! On the other hand…Five and a half weeks at home, with no structured schedule to give me something to do every day? Snooooze. Of course, the first couple weeks of break are usually filled with celebrating the holidays with family and catching up with old friends. But as the break goes on—Hofstra’s unusually long break in particular—many of us can get a little stir-crazy. The boredom can be especially bad for those of us stuck inside because of snow and freezing temperatures. So here are some fun ways to beat boredom over break in January:
Scrapbooking: A great, relaxing hobby for people who love to be creative. Do you have a bunch of hilarious pictures of you and your friends from fall semester? Or even from vacation last summer? Go to your local craft store to buy a scrapbook, stickers, embellishments, and whatever else looks pretty, blast your favorite music, and get gluing. A similar idea: cut up a bunch of your old magazines and make collage posters to hang in your dorm when you get back to school!
Cooking: I’m not talking about grilled cheese here, people. Search cookbooks or online for fun winter recipes to tests out, like chicken pot pie or a special kind of flavored hot chocolate. Check out Kaboose.com and Food.com for ideas.
Make Your Own Fleece Blankets: For another crafty idea, warm yourself up by making your own fleece blanket. No, you don’t need to know how to sew; it’s super easy. You can find directions here. (They make great Christmas presents!)
Buy a Fun Exercise DVD: Planning on making New Year’s Resolution to start working out more? Do something other than just plain old jogging or crunches. Pick a DVD that incorporates more fun, unusual workouts, like bellydancing or cardio ballroom (yes, that’s a real thing!).
Sort Through Old Clothes: OK, this one admittedly doesn’t sound as fun as the others. But most of us probably have a bunch of old clothes that don’t fit or that we never wear anymore. So why not take the time to donate them to people who could put them to good use? Plus, it will give you a lot more space in your closet for some new clothes…