Winter Break is finally upon us. Horary! Now we can all finally sleep in, binge watch Netflix all day, and not have to stress over homework for two weeks. Well as amazing as all of that sounds, it could get a little boring stuck in your house all day. If you decided to venture out of your bedroom for a few hours to be with friends, here are some fun activities that you could do:

1. See Christmas Lights: driving through Christmas lights doesn’t have to be something romantic. Grab your best girl, or guy, friends and head on out to Our Lady of the Snows Shrine in Belleville, IL. Yes, it takes a while to get there, but the lights are worth it. Plus it’s free! If you want have your friends chip in gas money and maybe, if you’re all up for it get some hot chocolate on the way home!
2. Go ice skating: Even if you have been ice skating in a long time and you think you might fall on your butt in front of your friends, Go for it! Trust me, ice skating isn’t as bad as it looks! And if you fall it’s not that hard to get back up. Everyone falls and no one really cares because they’re all having fun! Whether you decide to stay close to home and go to Kennedy ice rink, or go on an adventure in Forest Park and skate at Steinberg’s, ice skating is for sure a fun way to break the ice with friends. No pun intended.
3. Have a Holiday Bake Off: Who doesn’t like sweets? No one! Dig out your grandma’s old cookie recipe, make a batch for your friends and challenge them to top your treat! It won’t matter who the winner is, the point is you get to eat a bunch of delicious goodies with friends and probably share a laugh or two about how bad your baking skills are.

So whether you choose to hide up in your room and hibernate with tv all winter long, or go out on adventures with your friends. I’m sure it beats studying for finals.