13 Things You Can Do During Winter Break

It’s difficult not to daydream about winter break when the weather turns colder. Winter break is a time when you are able to relax, sleep, and catch up with your friends (or Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime). What do you do after that?

We have 13 ideas for you to do during winter break.

Things to Do During Winter Break (All Weather Activities)

There are plenty of activities that will bring the winter spirit to you, no matter where you travel for winter break. This is a time when people take the time to be grateful for their loved ones and recharge from the year. We all need a winter vacation with loved ones, since the pandemic has touched every part of our lives in some way.

• Cookie Decorating Over Zoom

Sometimes it can be difficult to keep in touch with college friends even though you aren’t at school. Even if you only have winter break for a few weeks it can feel lonely. You can host an online cookie decorating competition with your friends. Cookies can be enjoyed anywhere and anytime, no matter where they may be located.

This activity requires everyone to bake their favorite cookies before decorating them together. Then everyone can vote on the best or worst decorating skills.

• Enjoy a Wintertime Movie with Your Family

There are many films that bring back memories of childhood holidays, and it is hard to beat the fuzzy feeling you get when you watch them. Pick your favorite winter movie and watch it with your family. Enjoy the time with your family. If you are going to be away for a long time, let each member of your family choose their favorite.

• Career Project

Most college students feel stressed when it comes to career planning and networking. It’s possible to have a great career, it’s all about finding your passion. Perhaps you want to create a portfolio with all your business case studies or launch an Instagram account for your artwork.

These extra activities will make you stand out from the rest, not just because of your knowledge, but also because of what you love. This is a great activity to do when you are bored during winter break.

• Make a secret Santa with your college friends

Wintertime is all about showing your loved ones that you care. But when you live hundreds of miles from your friends and have a college lifestyle, it can be difficult to show your appreciation by giving them physical gifts.

Draw names, and everyone can pick a gift for the person they choose from their hometowns. Then, mail it to them. Next, open all gifts by using Zoom to get a guess at who they came from.

• Host a Winter Songs Lip-Synch Battle

Invite your family members to perform a lip synch to one of the most popular winter songs. You can go all out with costumes and props, decorations, backup dancing, and even Mr. Christmas himself Michael Buble.

Things to Do During Winter Break (Cold Weather Activities)

There is nothing like the snow falling and warming up with hot chocolate. While there are many activities that you can do during winter break, here are some ideas.

• Learn how to knit

It’s cold outside so why not learn how to knit winter clothes yourself? You can even learn how to knit Harry Styles’ cardigan, and other unique pieces that you won’t find at a shop.

This is a great activity for your whole family. You have a good chance that someone in your family is skilled at knitting, so why not spend time with them?

• Visit a Christmas Market

Christmas markets are one of the most beautiful places in winter. You’ll feel Christmas spirit when you visit the shops that sell Christmas decorations, hot chocolate, ornaments for trees, and mulled wines.

Although not everyone can afford to travel to Vienna’s iconic markets, there are plenty of places in the United States that will make it feel like you are abroad.

• Learn how to do a winter sport

You don’t need to know how to ski, snowboard or ice skate if you want to make this your priority during winter break. Make sure to be there when your friends hit the slopes next time.

• Use your Summer/Spring Outfits to Make a Winter Outfit

It’s possible that you have put away most of the spring/summer clothes. But, it’s time for you to pull them out again. To make your summer clothes work, you may need some accessories like black tights for your skirts and long sleeves gloves for your short-sleeved tops. But your summer clothes will still be stylish enough to create winter outfits. You can have fun and look through your family’s closets to find items that you could “borrow.”

Things to Do During Winter Break (Warm Weather Activities)

The winter breakers in cold weather don’t have as much fun. However, the warm-weather folks return from winter break with a tan. Although it may not seem like the perfect holiday, a warm winter can still be great fun. You can adapt winter activities to the cold to enjoy all the things that you would not be able do in the cold.

• Go Water Skiing Over Winter Break

Although you may not be able go snow skiing, you can still go water skiing. It’s much easier than you might think. You’ll be enjoying the sun and surfing the waves while everyone else is freezing.

• Make a bonfire

You can have a bonfire with friends and family when the weather is cold. Roast marshmallows and make s’mores. You can tell stories and gaze at the stars, without worrying about freezing. Let’s face it, bonfires in winter are not fun for more than 15 minutes. Everyone quickly loses feeling in their extremities.

• The “Polar” Plunge

You don’t have to take a plunge in cold water. Instead, you can relax in the warm water while you wait. You can invite your family members to join you in the water as soon as midnight strikes. This is a fun way to add a new twist on an old New Year’s Day tradition.

• Volunteer Over Winter Break

Although we should give back all year, the holidays bring out the compassion within us. Why not volunteer in your community? You could also consider starting a fundraiser to support a youth shelter or visiting an animal sanctuary. Or, you could pick up trash at a beach. Your whole family can get involved! We all need to help the world year round, so let’s do our part.