Winter break is coming and you can either choose to go outside and get out there or stay at home in your bed, scrolling through TikTok or YouTube. For those who are going to be stuck inside, whether it be because they can’t drive or just don’t feel like being outside, here’s a few ways to be productive inside during winter break.
There are plenty of things you could learn in two weeks, maybe even less! You shouldn’t be wasting your time staring at a screen when you have a full two weeks to learn so many skills you may have not had before.
Learn an instrument. Learning certain things on guitar can be as simple as it can get. For example, playing chords is one of the simplest things you can do on guitar, and from those chords you can learn simple songs. And on the piano, simple songs or warm ups can lead you to learning more complex things over the few weeks you have! You can use YouTube or other social media platforms to learn music if you don’t have sheet music.
At Home Gym! You may not have actual gym equipment at your home but nothings stopping you from making some! Lifting water or milk jugs can work as dumbbells and wrapping pillows around a blanket and finding a way to hang it up can work as a punching bag. If you think those suggestions aren’t your thing and you want to get outside, you can simply go on a walk or a jog to a park nearby or just around your neighborhood.
Help Your Community! Donate to a thrift store such as Value Village or Goodwill (located in or near Woodinville).
Christmas movie marathon. I know I said to stay away from screens, but let’s get this straight… it’s Christmas! Watching holiday movies with some salty popcorn and a warm hot cocoa, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket is a good way to spend winter break while the weather outside is chilly.
Baking and Cooking. Find a new recipe and get cooking! Just don’t burn down your parents kitchen when you do, simple recipes like Christmas cookies or rice crispy treats are a good dish to bake that are easy to make. Most people also have the ingredients laying around the house. Cooking for a family meal is something that’s also a good idea to do during the winter! Even if it doesn’t turn out as good as you hoped, at least you can now always remember the first time you cooked a holiday meal for your family. Good YouTube cooking channels to watch: Jamie Oliver, Gemma Stanfford, “Babish” Hosted by Andrew Rea.
Siblings or Family. Not all people have siblings but to the people that do, please spend time with them over break. Especially to your younger siblings if any that you may not hang out with as much, younger siblings look up to you, no matter how much they refuse to show it, and spending time with them over the holidays will make their Christmas a great holiday. To people without siblings, spending time with parents or legal guardians is a good way to spend winter break as well, especially if all you do every day consists of coming home from school and staring at a screen rather than eating a good family dinner.
Learn a language! Learning a language is a productive thing to do over break. If you have a goal to learn a language, you will be able to learn a considerable amount of knowledge of that language over the few weeks, depending on how much you focus on it. Duolingo is a good free app (unless you wish for additional extensions) for learning a language of your choice. Reviewing a language you are already familiar with is also a good way to get practice so you can go back to school with the same skills or even stronger and more developed ones!
Try something new! Experimenting to find out what you like and don’t like is a great thing to do over break. Try listening to random playlists by other people that don’t adhere to your taste or find some new artists that you haven’t heard before.
New hairstyles! Maybe you’re tired of having the same hairstyle every day, or you change your hairstyle between three different options, or maybe you love your hair in the way you put it in everyday. But that’s not stopping you from trying out new or more complex hairstyles that you could do at home. Try searching up on Pinterest or Lemon8 hairstyles (along with your hair type) For the best results. If you need help finding your hair type, Google “Hair Types Chart” and find what matches you best.
There are plenty of other things you can do over break. These are just suggestions, if you can find something that’s better and safe that may not be on this list, go do it! But I highly recommend you do at least one thing on this list, because I can assure you that it will make your break at least better than the last one. Now get out there and have a great winter break!
