Are you going on a trip with your family for the Holidays? Or are you going to be home this whole time? Well, either way, I have some ideas on how you should entertain yourself when you are bored during the break.

Movies:

1. Moana

This is Disney's newest edition to the princess family and I couldn't be more excited to see it or to hear other people praise it. Moana has been a movie that was heavily researched and studied before it even went into production. The creators of this movie looked into the history and the stories of the Polynesian people and why they did not venture out in the world for thousands of years - and that is what Moana is about. The music to the movie has already proven to be catchy (I advise you to listen to "How Far I'll Go" performed by Alessia Cara) and the trailer shows so much color and action and comedy (for all ages).

2. La La Land

This movie has been nominated for so many awards now and I have already heard from friends (and myself) how much they honestly loved it. La La Land is a brilliantly colored musical that features Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as struggling artists in the City of "Stars", as Ryan's character Sebastian would say. The music that is in the movie will still be playing in your head as you walk out the theatre. Not to mention you will want to dance along in your seat when you can - trust me, I was there.

3. Sing

Yes, its an animated movie; yes, all of the characters are animals - but if it gives you something to do this break, why not go see it? This is another movie that I have already seen and I have to say, for someone who originally wasn't too thrilled to see it, I was quite impressed with it. Sing stars a lot of different actors and actresses who I did not know could sing - and sing that well. Mathew McConaughey voices for the koala who owns the theatre where the singing competition occurs. His main goal? To bring more people back to the theatre and to dazzle them into loving the theatre and its arts just as much as him. And, again, I wanted to dance in my seat along with the characters (can you see a pattern here?), but I didn't since the room was so packed.

Books:

1. Any Stephen King Novel

The holidays are over so you don't have to continue reading all of those Hallmark "feel good" novellas. Go to the nearest bookstore (yes, you can go to Barnes and Noble) and find the horror/thriller section. Once you're there, pick up one of the first Stephen King novels and walk to the checkout line. As you wait for the cashier to check you out, prepare yourself for the roller coaster of a read you are setting yourself up for. King is known for his books to be thrilling and terrifying, on screen and off. Yes, you can also watch the movies that have been adapted, but just know I was only trying to save you a little bit.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird/Go Set a Watchman

Unfortunately, the author of these novels, Harper Lee, became a victim of 2016 and passed away. If you are to read these books it would be in her honor. Yes, you probably read TKAMB in high school and wrote four pages about it and called it a research essay. But have you thought about reading the book outside the classroom or even years after you last touched it? When you read it, you'll find that you resonate with different scenes and characters that you didn't before; you'll find that you had ideas and conversation topics that you were not able to think of while you were reading the novel "to just get it done". I hope you do read this book and I hope you do see it in a different light than you had before and I hope you see how it is still important for today's society.

Book and Movie Adaptations:

1. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

You're probably a Harry Potter fan and when this new series came out, you probably freaked and geeked for days. Have you read the books already? Seen the movie? Yeah? Well read them again; image each scene and study every detail J.K. puts on the page. With the Harry Potter franchise, you can never go wrong even after you visit it twenty times over.

2. Atonement

This book and movie duo is another great one - and I whole heartedly mean that Atonement is a great story, no matter how you see it. Ian McEwan wrote the book in 2001 and set in around the time of WWII - so yes, there may be some small historical inaccuracies, but according to Wikipedia, the inaccuracies are small. And if you are a person who is not into war in movies or whatever, this story does not revolve around the war. No, it revolves around something more sinister. It's a bit of a "who-done-it" story that will upset you to the core and make you hate the main character - I know I do. When you finish reading the book and get over crying after the movie, comment on this article and we'll really talk about this story!

3. Room

Yes, Room came out in the beginning of 2016 and was a big hit. But does that mean that you can't re-watch it/re-live it? Room is a masterpiece that expresses the two sides to the story of one woman's kidnapping. When you are reading the book, the narration switches its focalization or point of view between the woman, Ma, and her son, Jack. Through their perspectives, you the reader are able to understand the effects this traumatic event has on the both of them and how they adapt to life during and after the kidnapping is over. When reading and watching, make sure you have tissues near by: this story is a tear jerker.

Enjoy your snowy day! xxx