As I start to write this, I am sitting on a plane, aware that I am heading towards a whirlwind couple of weeks. Last year, I learned that there are some notable differences when navigating the holiday season after graduating from college.

Photo by Element5 Digital: https://www.pexels.com/photo/gold-christmas-ball-decor-712320/

Firstly, no winter break

Full-time jobs don’t give you a designated 2-4 week break. Although I’m not currently impacted by this one (looking for a new job), this is still a reality. Sure, a lot of jobs don’t require you to work on the actual holiday. But, anyone with plans involving travel and long-distance relatives, has to rely on PTO and office coverage.

Nostalgia Overload

Sleeping under my parent’s roof brings up more emotions than I know what to do with. 

Photo by picjumbo.com: https://www.pexels.com/photo/clear-long-stem-drinking-glass-196648/

Seeing Family/Friends You Haven’t Seen in a Long Time

It feels so nice to catch up with loved ones I don’t see regularly.

Watching Siblings/Cousins Grow Up

This one is a trip for me. As the oldest child, it is always so strange to be at family gatherings listening to my little brother talk about registering for college classes and my cousins talk about driving/high school/college applications (I forgot the Common App was a thing!).

Suggestions on How to Use Your Time Off 

These are some of the things I’m focusing on this holiday season. Hopefully, you can get some inspiration on how to spend your free time:

Photo by Severus Jones: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-christmas-ornament-3292775/

Crafts/Hobbies

I’m taking this opportunity to focus on the activities I’ve been wanting to create more time for.

Catch up on Projects

I’m also making a point to get reorganized and create a plan for projects I want to complete. For example: planning for the new year.

Prioritize Sleep

If you are one of the many sleep-deprived members of society, use this time off to catch up on much-needed sleep. As cliche as it might seem, sleep is so important. You can accomplish so much more when you are rested and energized.

Now that we are officially post-Christmas and approaching the new year, I can say that these points held true for me.