Let’s Get Festive on Campus!

Get excited, it’s the holiday season! Yet, you’re probably still swamped with schoolwork and midterms. The season can definitely feel much different on campus than at home. All the traditions you grew up doing with your family and friends may be a little hard to carry on from your dorm room. Amidst all the stress of upcoming finals, it’s incredibly important to remember the reason for the season! Now is a great time to connect with those around you and those that mean the most to you. Remember to take a step back once in a while to be thankful and cherish the little things in life. See how you can spice up your everyday routine with some of these festive activities!

Pumpkin Carving and Decorating

Although Halloween has passed, pumpkin carving is still a great fall activity! Pumpkins are a great decoration to match the autumn and Thanksgiving season. You can also ditch the sharp tools and opt for pumpkin painting. Grab some friends and some materials and get creative! Spice up this activity even more by making some warm apple cider or hot chocolate to sip as you work.

Decorate Your Space

Decorating is a habit I started freshman year, and I’m so glad I did. One of my favorite activities at home was helping my mom decorate before hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas. My mom had sent me a few Halloween decorations to get started in October. I’m now a senior and still use those same decorations every October! I’ve also accumulated decorations for the other holidays as well. Decorating your dorm or apartment really helps you feel more cozy and at-home during this time of year. Don’t have space in your room? Try decorating the outside of your door! It’ll put a smile on your face every time you come back from class! I also like putting window-clings on our windows, so that people walking by the building can feel festive too.

Organize a Potluck or Gift Exchange

Arguably some of the best parts of the holiday season are FOOD and GIFTS! A Thanksgiving potluck is a great way for you and friends to share your favorite dishes and traditions. Everyone can volunteer to bring something to eat, and it doesn’t have to be a traditional Thanksgiving dish. Encourage everyone to bring a dish that is important to them, their family, or their culture. This is a great way to learn more about each other. Try this out with a bunch of friends, your dorm floor, or peers from an RSO! 

A gift exchange can also be fun with a group of friends. You can make it a secret, where everyone picks someone else’s name out of a hat and keeps it a secret. You then get that person a gift that is unique to them. The gifts don’t have to be extravagant either. You can put a price limit on the gifts or even make it strictly DIY! Put your own twist on this concept depending on how you and your family trade gifts during the holiday season!

It can be really easy to get caught up in schoolwork and responsibilities while on campus, but taking some time out of your schedule to participate in fun activities like these can make all the difference this season. Keep an eye out on campus for other fun activities that’ll be offered by the university and some RSO’s. Don’t let the cold weather scare you, get out and enjoy the season! 

Lauren

Lauren

Class of 2022
Hi everybody! I'm a Communication major and Public Relations minor here at UIUC, and I'm from Palos Park, IL. As a senior, I'm so excited to blog about the great memories I've had as an Illini so far. I hope that my experiences can give a glimpse into UIUC's unmatched campus life and academics. When not studying, you can usually catch me drinking my Dunkin' on the quad or playing volleyball at the ARC!

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