It’s finally here! The break that everybody looks forward to from the beginning of the fall semester: Winter Break. It’s a break longer than we ever had in high school, and it’s a time to just relax, spend time with friends and family, and appreciate the fact that there are no assignments due when we get back to school. If you’re finding yourself stuck on how you’re going to fill this month-long vacation with fun activities, here are a few things to keep you busy until that dreaded day that we have to return to campus arrives.

1. Spend time with family

While you’re away at college, your family obviously doesn’t get to see you as much as they are used to. As much as you wanna hang out with friends who you might not have seen since August, take some time so you can catch up with your family. Stay home some nights and make cookies, go shopping, or just make lunch plans. Don’t neglect your family while you’re home because although you do have between two weeks to a month off for break, that time goes by so quickly and before you know it you’ll be back at school and your parents will be missing you again and wishing you were home.

2. Plan a Netflix/Movie Night with friends.

We all know that the stigma with college kids is that they’re broke. Well, I’m sure that most college students could tell you that that stigma is 100% true. So, when you’re trying to see your friends and all of you are trying to save your money, plan a stay-in movie night! Almost everyone these days has a Netflix account, so there’s no need to spend money on buying/renting a movie, and if everyone can spare a few dollars, it’s easy to order enough pizzas to feed your entire friend group for the night. A movie night is a good way to get all of your friends together without planning an extravagant (and expensive) night out, and it’s a great way to catch up with those friends that you haven’t seen in about four months.

3. Spend a night out on the town.

If your wallet can afford a night out, take advantage of everything the holidays has to offer! If you’re like me and you live 20 minutes from a major city, go into the city and see whatever fancy Christmas tree they have up (although a big tree is pretty underwhelming, there’s usually other holiday-themed activities that pair with it too). Also, most towns or cities have parks full of Christmas lights or light shows that you can drive through. If you don’t have your own car, carpool with friends or go with family and make a trip to see a light show. It gives you an excuse to get out of the house for a night, and who doesn’t love Christmas lights, right?

4. Take advantage of any snowstorm.

Snowstorms: they usually meant we would be spending hours outside sledding, building snowmen, making snow angels, and just playing in the snow. While you’re on break, if you’re lucky enough to live in a climate that allows for snow, take advantage of any snowstorm that comes around. As college students, we are constantly forced to act like adults, so snow gives us the perfect excuse to go out and act like a little kid all over again. And let’s be real, between now and when we have our own families, we aren’t going to get a lot of chances to play in the snow. So let loose, throw some snowballs, and have fun building your family of snowmen.

5. Take time for yourself.

Let’s face it: Winter Break is hectic. It always seems like there isn’t enough time to see everybody you want to see, and you just want to spend as much time with friends and family as you can. In the midst of all of this holiday chaos, don’t forget to take time for yourself. Be lazy one day and don’t get out of bed until 2 pm, binge-watch a TV show, read a good book, or do whatever you want to so you can just relax. Winter Break is one of the only breaks us college kids have where we don’t have to worry or stress about schoolwork, so take advantage of the stress-free environment while you can. Before you know it, you’ll be back at school wishing you could have the free time that you did during Winter Break.

Whether you decide to go out almost every night of break or you would just prefer to never leave your house, enjoy the time off that you have. Relax, spend time with family and friends, and try to keep your stress levels to a minimum. Make the most of this winter break, and remember to just appreciate the fact that you don’t have class for a month. Happy Holidays!