Bah Humbug to finals, am I right? No one likes taking finals. Break feels so damn far away during this time of the semester. It is honestly the worst. It is easy for us to easily lose motivation. You just want the semester to be over and to have time to relax. Thinking about the holidays can make brighten your mood a bit. Here are some of the ways I stay in the holiday spirit.

1. Listen to music.

@ me, but I'm one of those people who listen to Christmas music as soon Thanksgiving ends. Don't judge me: I already want to be in the holiday spirit before Christmas starts. I do not constantly listen to Christmas music, but if I feel a little down, I just play Christmas music to remind me the Holidays are near. There are a lot of Christmas music classics to listen to besides Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You," so please, listen to other songs besides that.

2. Watch holiday movies 

Everyone binge-watches shows, so you might as well watch a holiday movie while you are at it. There are a lot of Christmas movies to watch these days. Christmas movies tend to have cute stories behind them and illuminate the true meaning of Christmas. Give it a chance and watch a Christmas movie whenever you procrastinate on school work.

3.  Decorate

Who doesn't love Christmas decorations? Christmas decorations can brighten up a room. Spending time decorating can be a good way for you to distract yourself from school. You can choose however you want to decorate your place. Having Christmas decorations can help you feel the holiday spirit because you are already surrounded by it.

4. Go to events 

As the holidays come closer, the University usually hosts holiday activities for the public, such as ornament and cookie decorating. It's good to take advantage of these opportunities because you can get free stuff! You have nothing to lose if you go. I know many of you might find this cheesy (I'm also guilty of this), but once you go, it's surprisingly fun. You'll eventually get too into and forget how "stupid" it is in the first place.

5. Party

Take a break from what you are doing and host a holiday party. Who does not like a good holiday party? Parties are a good way to bring people together. You can do a lot at a Christmas party, such as blast Christmas music, drink hot chocolate together, watch Christmas movies, wear ugly sweaters, do a gift exchange, and many other things! Spending the holidays with the people you care about is always a good time.

6. Holiday Food 

Bored Eating: something we should not do but we do it anyways. I'm guilty of this. While you are bored eating, you should definitely eat a holiday cookie. Holiday cookies are automatically delicious during the holidays. You are what you eat. Therefore, if you eat a festive decorated cookie, then you will feel festive. Levels of festivity will vary depending on how many holiday goods you consume.

7. Holiday Apparel 

Christmas is also known as a Ugly Sweater Season (or not so ugly). You cannot help but wear festive clothes during the holidays. A lot of parties you might go to have the Ugly Sweater Dress code. A lot of y'all go Black Friday shopping so might as well buy yourself a Christmas sweater. If you don't wear a Christmas sweater, then you are a grinch for standing out. You definitely don't want that.

The holidays are just around the corner—you can get through this semester! Why wait 'til December 24 to celebrate Christmas when you can do it in advance?