1. Food.
I'm not going to beat around the bush with this one. Food is the biggest thing that all college students get excited about with Thanksgiving and Christmas time. Not only because the food is always amazing and is made by a family member who you don't get to have their food all the time, but also because most of us haven't had a home-cooked meal in months. So the thought of going home and eating real food with family and people you haven't seen in awhile is something that keeps college students going.
2. Holiday movies.
I don't know why holiday movies are so satisfying to watch considering the plot is almost always the same, but college students live for them because not only is it acceptable to watch children's movies, but it also helps unwind and relax us so we forget about school and crippling anxiety.
3. Sleep.
If bears hibernate for the winter then so can I. Sleep is something most college students lack because of homework and Netflix. Being home for the holidays also take you away from constantly being around people and friends so it is easier to not get distracted and find time to sleep without having to get up for another class. Plus your own bed at home is much comfier than the small hard twin beds in the dorms.
4. Family.
Usually around the holidays is when extended family visits or you go and visit them. This is a thing to love and hate about the holidays because depending on how well the family gets along together it could either be very exciting, or very stressful. Either way, you get to eat food from a family member who cooks well and you know what to prepare for and you learn to accept it because it's family.
5. Snow days.
Class cancellations are the best on any occasion, but it is even better when it is because of bad weather. This means that your professor wasn't mean enough to hold class and make you trek through whatever the weather has in store. This gives you now zero reasons to leave your dorm and you can stay in bed all day in your pajamas.
6. Gifts.
Both giving and receiving is nice even though you are on a college student budget. This makes it so although you cannot get the gifts you want to get for people you love and think they deserve, but it also teaches you how to be creative with gifts and give something more meaningful to the person. Gifts are also nice to get when you are on a college budget because people can get you things you want or need. So please stop asking me what I want for Christmas; just paying my phone bill or getting me more supplies for the dorm is what will really make me happy in the long run.
7. Friends.
Even though half of the holiday season is spent at home away from college friends, being home gives you a chance to see friends from your hometown- which is always nice to see them because you probably haven't seen or even spoke to each other because one or both of you have been busy with college.
8. Holiday drinks.
Apple cider, Eggnog, hot chocolate, and other drinks that you can only find, or is easy to find around the holidays. It also tastes better around this time of year because most of the drinks are served hot and it you get a warm happy feeling drinking them. Almost as if it touches your soul.
9. Decorating.
Wreaths, lights, candles, and trees. All things that make it feel like the holidays, but aren't allowed in dorms. Or aren't suppose to be anyways. But a two foot tree in your dorm room just isn't the same as a big or real tree in the house to decorate without having to worry about any fire hazards.
10. Just being away from college.
College is great and all, and always having something to do or friends to visit a couple buildings away from you, but there's always a special place in your heart for your own home. You get a room to yourself and have a chance to relax and be as lazy as you want, or at least lazier than you are at college. Because as much as I love my roommate, sometimes laying in my bed in my room alone doing nothing in silence for an hour or so is a nice and the easiest way to collect myself.
