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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Notre Dame chapter.

As finals week approaches, you can almost taste Christmas coming around the corner. As you study now, it can help to remember you’ve got three weeks of fun and relaxation coming your way if you can make it through finals. After relaxing at home for a few days, you may find yourself saying those words you haven’t heard in months—”I’m bored.” To avoid that dreaded boredom, start to plan your Christmas break with some ideas that will get you in the holiday spirit, keep you busy, and won’t break your bank! 

Ice Skating

Grab some friends and hit up the ice rink! Public ice rinks usually aren’t too expensive, and an afternoon of ice skating makes for the perfect winter activity.

Plan a Trip Downtown

Why not spend a little time being a tourist in your own city? There are a few ground rules, though—keep transportation cheap (whether that means taking a bus around, walking, or finding cheap/free parking), skip the fancy restaurants for the more authentic food, and stay on the scenic route rather than the shopping route! It only takes a few shops in some local stores for your cheap day out to suddenly cost a fortune.

Make Gingerbread Houses from Scratch

Plan a fun afternoon by making gingerbread houses. The best part? You can make them from things you already have in your pantry! Use graham crackers, sprinkles, frosting, and anything else you may have lying around to create a cute little house you can either eat or use to decorate for Christmas.

Go Hiking

If it’s not too cold where you live, hiking can be a great FREE afternoon outing. Take lots of pics to show your friends your outdoorsy side.

Make Homemade Gifts

Make gifts for your family and friends that they’ll appreciate a ton (and they’ll cost you next to nothing)! Some good ideas include photo albums, photo frames, and of course sweet homemade cards.

Knit

Shout out to all the ladies out there who love to knit and aren’t afraid to show it. Knitting is relatively cheap and so easy to learn! It’s amazing the knitting you can get done over break while you’re sitting in front of the TV or relaxing with the fam.

Have a Christmas Cookie Party

Get the Christmas spirit going with a little Christmas cookie decorating party! Bake a ton of sugar cookies and buy (or make if you’re ambitious) vanilla frosting to dye to your heart’s content. Don’t forget to turn up the Christmas music and remind all your friends and family that an ugly Christmas sweater dress code is mandatory.

However you spend your time, make sure you’re doing things with people you love and have a great time!

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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Hey guys! My name is Hannah Beighle and I'm a sophomore originally from Seattle, WA but am loving my new home in Breen-Phillips Hall at Notre Dame. You can find me spending all of my flex points (and my friends' flex points) at Starbucks or getting sunburned outside. I love baking, playing sports, binge-watching reality TV, and spending time with friends!