Now that we’ve entered the dreaded finals week, staring directly into the eyes of our greatest nemesis, all that stands between us and piles of gingerbread cookies are a few days, a handful of essays, and roughly a hundred and fifty multiple choice questions.
I know, everything is study guides and nothing is okay. Ralphie is your current spirit animal.
And we all turn into a little bit of a Grinch while studying.
But have no fear, for winter break and the holiday season is a few short days away!
We’ve got this. Game face. But just incase yours is wavering or god forbid you have a – GASP – cumulative final, I’ve compiled a list of why winter break is the best of all. So, when you find yourself as a permanent fixture in the library, fearful that this fate of coffee and notecards will never cease, just remember that the light at the end of the tunnel is soon approaching. And let me tell you – it is twinkly, and it is festive.
1. You can say adios to homework
Well, for at least a month or so. While other breaks can be relaxing and a much needed, dare I say, break from the daily college grind and more importantly, the dining hall, with winter vacation, we are finally free from assignments. Finals may be soul-sucking dementors, but they also mark the end of the semester, and therefore the end of work. So join me in running out of your last final, screaming, “FREE AT LAST!”
2. And catch up on the hobbies you’ve missed
Winter break brings glorious free time for you to catch up on all the hobbies you’ve missed while you’ve been busy studying, as well as make a dent on all those shows waiting for you on your DVR. There is no chance for professors to bombard you with papers and tests and assignments to distract you from the important things at home, like friends, family, and television. Finally, you can watch the entirety of 30 Rock – what you truly wished to be doing when you were writing that final paper. It also grants the rare opportunity of reading for pleasure, an activity almost extinct among college students.
Even better, no roommate around to observe your mass consumption of Netflix and peppermint bark – just your family. And let’s be real, they expect nothing less.
3. At last, final grades are posted
Perhaps this is a moment you are dreading, but at any rate, it’s always nice to finally know where you stand GPA-wise, and see the product of all your hard work this semester. Hopefully, your grades are more incentive for Santa to place you on the Nice List. At any rate, it’s always a celebration just to be done and check off another course from graduation requirements.
4. The beautiful Christmas decorations
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go. Lights, wreaths, tinsel, bows, ornaments, mistletoe, they all band together to ensure everything and everyone is sparkly and Christmas ready. As some carols suggest, the air is truly filled with holiday flare and the streets with wonderful candy cane styled trees. I’ve been known to make multiple trips driving around all the beautifully decorated neighborhoods with my family and friends, marveling at the magical lights and refusing to leave for hours. It’s virtually impossible to avoid Christmas decorations, and for that we are all utterly thankful.
5. You are reunited with your besties for longer
I completely love all my friends at school, but I also completely love and miss all my friends at home during the semester. And sadly, most breaks are too short; making it difficult to see everyone, especially if your breaks don’t line up or you are too busy caught up in homework and family responsibilities. But thankfully, winter break exists, ensuring the presence of all and offering the ability for even more shenanigans. One of the more motivating factors that get me through finals week is the knowledge that soon I’ll be reunited with my wonderful family of goofs at home.
6. Snow, snow, and snow!
Yes, it’s cold. Yes, snow can be a nuisance. But during winter break snow hasn’t reached the level of annoyance yet. It is a miraculous happenstance of wonder, especially when it happens on Christmas and New Years. I’ve yet to find an experience that beats coming back from an adventure in snowflakes to enter a warm home where you can observe the quiet snowfall with hot chocolate in hand. There is just a special kind of magic in snow that cannot be taught at Hogwarts. If you don’t agree with me, think about that time you woke up in the middle of the night to notice the completely silent and peaceful storm outside. Or, when you woke up the next day to a winter wonderland outside your window. Forget the Fort Pitt Tunnel, watching the evening snowfall beneath streetlights makes me feel infinite. If you live in a warmer climate that does not receive snow, sucks to suck.
7. Winter “sports”
With the snow and cold, comes a variety of glorious winter activities. Sledding, skiing, ice-skating, snowball fights, snow angels, falling on your butt; there’s something for everyone of all athletic variety! If you or your friends don’t arrange a sledding or ice-skating outing, then I suggest you get some new ones.
Also to all who have seen Disney’s new movie Frozen – DO YOU WANNA BUILD A SNOWMAN? Yes, yes, the answer is always yes.
8. All the good eats
Let’s talk food. Yes, every visit home offers the delectable promise of a home-cooked meal courtesy of good ole mum. Perhaps, the best gift of all one can receive this holiday season is simply the escape from the campus dining hall. But unlike spring or summer break, where some may find it important to maintain a certain diet and work towards a “bikini body”, winter requires no such restraints. So, go ahead and enjoy real food. Eat those Christmas tree shaped Reese’s and that figgy pudding (seriously, what is that?) as if you were preparing for hibernation. It’s okay, that bulky winter coat is plenty concealing.
9. More family time
The holidays are all about spending time with your loved ones, cherishing in old memories and creating new ones. I’m often guilty of spending those brief weekends we call breaks with my friends, hardly getting quality time with my parents. But once again, winter break comes to the rescue! More time at home means more time with your family to celebrate all those silly traditions with the wonderful people in your home. So, don’t complain too much about those movie/game nights or matching sweaters, cause you know you secretly love it.
10. That infamous Christmas spirit
All Scrooges and Grinches aside, the holidays seem to boost everyone’s happiness and cheer levels to that of Santa returning home after a successful world-wide delivery. I have a theory that with December also comes an impervious bubble that shields everyone from negative emotions. Even when bad things happen, we are able to brush it off and make some snow angels or wrap some presents instead. It’s a work in progress, but there’s definitely scientific evidence there. Just try to not belt “All I Want For Christmas Is You” when it comes on, or to stop your smile at bells jingling, I dare you. If you have a soul, you’ll end up screaming that high note with Mariah.
11. C is for COOKIES
In my book, there is no socially unacceptable time of the year to make and decorate cookies, but winter break gives us even more reason to engage in some hardcore baking. Plus, winter cookies bring in a new tasty level of mint, fruit, and nut use like no other. Prepare yourself for the plethora of recipes online, cause you will get lost in all the creativity and fun! Just let Betty Crocker be your guide. So, break out those cookie cutters and bring to life some cute, delicious gingerbread men for your family and friends to enjoy. And then eat that batter like your scholarship depends on it.
And in combination with the next reason, cookies make excellent party subjects, such as cookie decorating or exchanges. Everybody loves cookies. It is known.
12. Holiday themed parties
Once it gets closer to Christmas and New Years, it’s time for some hopping parties and party hopping. Whether it’s that annual neighborhood party your parents drag you to, and have dragged you to for the past ten years, or your best friend having the gang over for ugly sweaters and Secret Santa, there is never a lack of soirees to attend and eggnog to consume. Full of yummy treats, ear-aching caroling, goofy games, and people you love, these parties are lightly dreaded, but always a blast. I try to host a Hanukkah get together each year, but after my friends proceeded to yell “GIMLI” and throw gelt around my living room, we’ve stuck to more traditional fun…like watching a movie.
13. Christmas music and carols
If anything successfully encapsulates the spirit of Christmas, it’s music. All other months are just one long wait until December when we can finally blast Bing from our speakers nonstop and shamelessly jam to “Jingle Bells”. As a choir kid, I always look forward to the end of fall semester because that means Christmas music, and that means it’s now socially acceptable to sing in public. So get out all your favorite Christmas CDs and sing carols as loud as you can, because for once, people will actually join in.
14. Opportunity to rake in extra money
Between the holiday gifts and picking up shifts at work, winter break offers many opportunities for making some dough. And let’s face it, as broke college students, that ten dollar bill from your grandpa or your shiny new paycheck is just about the best thing since Beyoncé dropped a surprise album without any promotions. Those days at work are all worth it, even if the customers have you like:
15. Most charitable time of the year
Christmas is also special in that charity spreads almost as fast as the glitter on all the decorations. There is no shortage of programs to participate in or opportunities to help someone less fortunate. From volunteering at a soup kitchen, making donations, or buying a gift for a child whose family cannot afford one, there are many of low and high scale projects to engage in. My friends and I like to carol around our neighborhood, collecting money and donating it to a charity like Make-A-Wish. What can you do to brighten the season for someone else?
16. Warm beverages
As the “average white girl” will remind you on every single social networking site possible, winter means the arrival of red cups at Starbucks. And in those red cups are delicious coffee creations with tasty holiday style. Now, coffee is a necessity year-round, but this is our only chance for peppermint mocha or gingerbread lattes, or to really revel in the warmth. Same goes for hot cocoa. As delicious as hot chocolate is (I mean, it’s liquid chocolate, what more can the universe give us?), it just is not the same any other time of the year. Warm drinks are to winter what Bing is to Christmas; it just makes sense. When you try to bring peppermint or hot chocolate into the summer, you’re just prompting a chorus of “You Belong With Me” from winter.
17. It’s finally appropriate to watch all your favorite Christmas movies
There is this thing, this reaction, this horrible mix of blasphemy and extreme pity that tends to happen when you suggest a viewing of White Christmas in March. “It’s not even Christmas time!” they’ll say. Or there will come a time mid July when you validate not changing the channel on Love Actually because it has universal themes and Christmas in July is a thing, right? Well guess what? NO MORE! Once the calendar flips to December, so do our televisions to Christmas classics. Now, the proposition to watch Elf for the fourth time will be met with explosive applause and endless quoting. After all, the best way to spread Christmas cheer is watching A Charlie Brown Christmas and dancing along with them.
Also, a bonus in that your favorite television shows will be airing Christmas themed episodes, with all the same lovable characters plus elf ears and Santa hats!
18. Cozy clothes and winter wear
On a more girly note, there is no end to the adorable fashion possibilities of the winter. Whether you are wearing a cozy sweater or a beautiful holiday party dress, cold weather styles and colors are always precious, and can be furthered with the added warmth and cuteness of coats, tights, hats, scarves, gloves, and boots. Not only are the clothes and accessories pretty and snuggly, but also it’s acceptable to be super dorky. Suddenly it’s considered cute to steal your grandma’s holiday vest covered in bells and bears. Who knew you’d get so much use out of those stupid childhood sweaters?
Also, sparkles are now okay. YAY FOR SPARKLES!
19. Holiday traditions
Traditions are simply something that was so good the first time that you decided to do it again for the next forever. It’s these little celebrations of your family’s memories and adventures that make the holidays so special. We may not all have the same traditions, but we do have something we look forward to each year, or even better, the possibility for a new tradition to bring us even closer together.
20. Winter romances
Many may wish for some summer lovin’, but the holiday season is one to really focus on what and who matters in your life. It may be cold outside, but finding someone to warm you up during the most wonderful time of the year only amplifies that wonderfulness. Not only are winter dates full of adorable possibilities, but love and honesty tends to blossom as everything else freezes over, placing couples in the ideal situation – nestled against each other beneath blankets while watching It’s A Wonderful Life, planning the perfect gift.
And if you are single, it’s okay, just think about how perfect it’d be to hold hands while ice-skating or to kiss in a snowstorm…and then scarf down more of those reindeer cookies you’ve been having a love affair with. Maybe this year Santa will bring you some romance beyond baked goods, Christmas miracles have been known to happen.
21. Free things!
Say it with me now, presents! It’s nice to receive gifts, let’s not pretend otherwise. In fact, it’s pretty freaking awesome. But it’s honestly even better to put together your gifts for everyone else. I love present shopping or crafting my own; especially when you find perfection or come up with the best idea, knowing the recipient will absolutely love it. We can all agree that happiness is making someone you love happy, and gifts are a two-way street that brightens everyone’s holidays.
22. The actual holidays
I know all of these reasons point to Christmas and Hanukkah and all the magnificent winter holidays, but I suppose it should be noted that part of what makes this break the best is the actual existence of these holidays. So the fact that when you go to https://isitchristmas.com on December 25th and it finally has those three little letters – YES, that makes this break superior to all others.
23. Offers reflection
Again, I’ve alluded to this, but winter break is also a time for reflection. Maybe it’s a combination of the holiday cheer or the lessons we learn in all the movies, or perhaps it’s just the fact that another year has come and gone, but Christmas and the end of December is a time of truth and honesty. It’s about recognizing and accepting who we are while taking steps to improve, and celebrating those who have helped us along the way. It’s about sentimentality and love. Think about this past year and all those who made it important, and then make sure to make those feelings known. At Christmas, we tell the truth. And we believe, no matter how impossible.
24. New Years and new starts
The final holiday of winter break. New Years offers many of the same exciting promises as Christmas, such as parties, family, friends, honesty, and champagne. But now with the added touch of fireworks! For most, New Years embarks a resolution that’ll be broken in several days, but unrealistic clichés aside, it also offers the possibility for new. So maybe you will forget about that resolution, but each year brings so many new stories and characters and changes that perhaps that initial resolution no longer even matters by the end. Each New Years Day begins the first blank page of a 365-paged book, so it’s now up to you to fill that paper with something important. I hope you all write some Pulitzer Prize winning novels.
25. Love actually is all around
“If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.”
I think what makes winter break the best of all simply comes down to this. There is a lot of magic and belief in the air, mixed with a lot of snow and Christmas jingles, but they all come back to this one thing: love. So spread the love and embrace the cheer, to help make it the best time of the year! (Cue the chorus of AWWWs).
Good luck on all your finals and then go home to appreciate all these twenty-five reasons and more! Happy Holidays! And remember!
Watch out for the nargles! And go easy on the Pepsi!