Nothing beats the holidays. By Thanksgiving, we’ve all come down from the high of moving back to school and getting to see our friends all the time, and we’re ready for a nice relaxing week back home. So what makes the holidays so great? I’ll break it down for you:
Family
As much as you get on each other’s nerves, by the time November rolls around we are all ready to spend some time with the family. Your closet basically doubles if you and your siblings are the same size, and if you’re lucky, you might get your laundry done for you. You get to see your extended family you probably haven’t seen since summer. If you have younger cousins, they’re always excited to see their cool and mature (HA) grown up cousin. If you’re the baby, or you and your cousins are all the same age, you have someone to swap stories and gossip with. Either way, you are surrounded by people who understand (and secretly love) how crazy your family really is.
SIDENOTE: your mom does not, I repeat DOES NOT, have to do your laundry for you, and you should not expect her too. If your mom is awesome enough to offer, you better do something just as nice in return.
Food
It’s free, it’s delicious, and it’s EVERYWHERE. Nothing will ever beat mom or grandma’s homemade holiday dinners and desserts. You don’t have to pay a dime and there are always left overs to take back to school. Baking cookies with the fam is a great way to bond, and when else can you justify having pumpkin pie for breakfast? After a week of stuffing your face, you might even have the motivation to hit the gym once you get back to school (even though you’ll end up gaining it all back over winter break).
Black Friday
It’s an excuse to shop, and if you know where to look, you can actually find some pretty good deals. You can knock out a good majority of your holiday shopping, which gives you one less thing to stress about during finals. Black Friday shopping is the perfect opportunity to hook up with old friends from high school you might have lost touch with; nothing brings people together like shoving through a crowded mall at 4 am.
Relaxing
Thankfully, most professors try to assign projects and exams to be due right before Thanksgiving break. You can spend the week sleeping in as long as you want, binge watching Netflix, cuddling with the family pet, and napping whenever you want.