As a junior in college, I’ve noticed that with every new semester, I have fewer opportunities to go home. Still, every time I do go, it feels like nothing has changed! Obviously, many things have—my brother has grown nearly a foot since I started school. Yet, when I am in my childhood bedroom, I am consumed by my younger self and her interests. With the Christmas season coming up, I’m preparing for my yearly wave of Christmas-induced nostalgia to hit. And instead of yearning for simpler times, this year I plan to lean into it! For my fellow nostalgic girlies, here are some winter-break activities to connect you with your younger self.Â
Growing up, I loved playing video games. I would sit at the family computer for hours, scrolling through the girlsgogames website or Cool Math. On my Dad’s Xbox 360, I would play Minecraft or even NCAA Football 14! I had very expansive interests, but regardless of your tastes, it’s so fun to go back and re-experience your favorite childhood video games! Recently, after wrapping up my finals, I played some Papa’s Cupcakeria on Cool Math, and I can confirm, it’s still as fun as it was in elementary school. And, even if you can’t remember the names of the games you loved playing, I recommend doing some digging on TikTok. It’s how I remembered some of my favorites that I plan to play over break!Â
One of my favorite ways to reconnect with my childhood interests is to re-read my favorite books from different eras! Typically, I hate re-reading books—even my favorites. Yet, I find my childhood staples so fun to read, because I can reflect on how much my perspectives have changed since the last time I read them. For example, the summer before I started college, I re-read the entirety of Percy Jackson, and the sequel series, Heroes of Olympus. While I still love the two series, it was so interesting to me how my feelings towards the books had changed. My favorite characters, and even plots, differed much more than I had anticipated! Reading your old favorites really helps you reflect on how much you’ve grown, and how different (or similar) you are to your younger self, which I have always found fun to analyze.Â
Family or friend movie nights are also a great way to re-experience your childhood faves! The last time I went home, I watched the first two Lord of the Rings movies with my parents—a trilogy we watched constantly when I was younger. On my first night home, I plan to watch the third movie with them, which I have been looking forward to for weeks now. Alternatively, planning a girls’ movie night over break is a great way to reconnect with your childhood and high-school friends. Setting up a slumber-party style night-in, and binging Barbie movies, is something my friends and I have done before, and it was so fun! If you do binge Barbie movies, I would highly recommend watching Barbie as Princess and the Pauper. It had my friends and I giggling all night!
If you live in an area that gets snow over Christmas break, possibly the best way to reconnect with your younger self is to go outside and play in the snow! Every winter that I’ve gone home for Christmas, my siblings and I have done so many fun winter-weather activities. We’ve made snowmen, gone sledding, snowboarding, and even figure skating! Coming inside and making hot chocolate, or running your hands under warm water and feeling that prickly sensation, brings nostalgia like nothing else. And, if you don’t get snow over Christmas, I’d recommend playing in the snow while you’re here in Ann Arbor. Winters in Michigan are brutal, but the memories are so worth it!
So, if you, too, are preparing for your yearly wave of Christmas-induced nostalgia, try exploring your childhood favorites to reconnect with your younger self. You might learn more about yourself than you expect!