‘Tis the season where some students start struggling to focus in class, too busy dreaming of winter break and all the activities they plan on doing. However, once the holiday excitement passes and the boredom rolls in, some might find themselves mindlessly scrolling through social media for hours to pass time. If you find yourself bored with nothing to do during December break, try out a few of our favorite winter activities!

1.Visit Boston’s Snowport
Every year Boston’s Seaport transforms into a winter wonderland known as Snowport. Snowport is a quick 30 minute drive from Wayland and has many holiday festivities to offer. When visiting Snowport, people can do some holiday shopping, participate in outdoor games, such as a curling board, and visit the rooftop igloos. Snowport is open until Feb. 26, 2023, and it is overall an interesting place to check out this holiday season.

2. Go sledding
Sledding has always been one of our favorite outdoor activities during the winter season. Sleds can be bought at many stores like Walmart, Five Below and CVS for low prices. Despite the cheap prices of sleds, memories of sledding with our families have stuck with us to this day. You can sled with friends and families or even alone. Some people prefer to sled in their backyards, while others decide to go to parks with steep hills like Nashoba Valley, which is just a short 30 minute car ride away. Nashoba Valley has a tubing area with fake snow that makes for an exciting winter break activity!

3. Cook holiday treats or family recipes
Cooking holiday treats has always been a fun and tasty way to get into the holiday spirit. The cold days make for a great time to bake warm treats. With all the free time that December break brings, it can be a good time to learn some family recipes passed down through generations. Classic recipes for baked goods like muffins, chocolate chip cookies, brownies and more are straightforward to make and delicious to eat. You can find recipes by looking through family cookbooks, looking up online recipes or even coming up with your own recipe. The holiday season is the season of giving, so consider giving treats to your loved ones.

4. Watch movies
Given the abundance of free time during winter break, it can be the perfect time to rewatch old movies or to go to the movie theater to see a new movie. Because it’s the holiday season, many decide to watch classic holiday movies like “Elf” and “Home Alone.” Another holiday special we recommend is “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” This is a classic and cherished movie for us that brings lots of holiday cheer. We recommend grabbing some hot cocoa and lighting a fire to make your movie watching time the best it can be.

5. Go skiing
Skiing can be an exciting way to spend time outdoors during the winter break. Whether it’s your first time learning how to ski on the bunny slopes or speeding down a black diamond, there are always ways to improve and learn new skills. The closest ski mountain from Wayland is Nashoba Valley Ski in Westford, MA. There are 17 trails for skiing as well as many other activities at Nashoba Valley. Other popular nearby ski mountains include Wachusett Mountain in Westminster, MA and Loon Mountain in Lincoln, NH.

6. Deep clean
Cleaning is something that we all need to do from time to time, and with the new year coming up, a clean home can make many feel more relaxed and productive during the holiday season. We suggest starting by going through your closet and throwing away or donating your old clothes. You can even try to sell some of the clothes you don’t want anymore.

7. Catch up on sleep
After many difficult weeks of school, work and sports, catching up on sleep is a top priority. Sleeping in is also a nice way to relax and reset before school resumes on Jan. 3. Midterms are just a short three weeks after break, so catching up with sleep can be very beneficial for students looking to reestablish their sleep schedules and minds before the exams.