Ways to Spend Quality Time with Your College Student During the Holiday Break
The holidays are a wonderful time to spend quality time with family, and we especially look forward to having our children arrive home from college. As we look forward to their stay at home for the holiday break, we may want them to be mindful of the time we expect them to spend with family. Of course, it’s important to avoid over-scheduling their time the first few days back, as they may still be exhausted from final exams and may still be recovering from stress from the end of the semester. It’s also okay to let them spend time with their friends; however, we don’t want the holidays to go by quickly and end with little to no quality time with our kids.
You and your college students can use this special time to get closer by creating some new traditions, revisiting old memories, and strengthening bonds that will allow for a wonderful time during the holidays. Below are several tips you can use to spend quality time together during the holiday break before your young adult children head back to college.
1. Take Them Out for Window Shopping at the Mall You can spend time with your children by browsing stores that sell items or clothing that interest them. You may be surprised that they might be in need of dorm essentials or toiletries, such as hand sanitizer, socks, underwear, and shampoo, for when they go back to college. In addition, you can buy some mall food and drink and sit at the food court together, as this may encourage great conversation with your children.
2. Go Grocery Shopping with Your College Students By taking them grocery shopping, your children can help choose meals, or even help plan the menu, for the holidays. Whether it’s stocking up very early for Christmas and New Year’s, or going a week or a few days before the holiday, this is a great way for you and your children to prepare for the delicious, festive meals that will be served on the special days.
3. Learn a New Skill or Activity Together Trying new activities or skills during the holidays, like cooking new recipes together, for example, is excellent to partake in to spend time with your kids. It’s a great way to become closer to them and have fun participating in a new activity.
4. Take a Walk You don’t always have to spend money to spend time with your children. Take a walk through the neighborhood or a hike in the woods. Conversation can flow more naturally this way when you’re engaged in outdoor activity, and this can enable great talks with your kids.
5. Try to Attend a Concert or Sporting Event Choose an event of any kind that you believe your college students will enjoy, even if it isn’t in your usual comfort zone. You’ll get to have the joy of watching them have a good time, and you might enjoy the event, as well.
6. Do Things to Get Them Feeling Nostalgic Nostalgia can allow people to express a multitude of feelings. Take your college student to their favorite place when they were young, revisit family traditions, look at old pictures, or listen to music. Music, a powerful tool that connects us all, can get your children to feel many emotions— happiness, longing, sometimes sadness, and hope, and this is the beauty of this season.
7. Take Time to Get to Know More About Your Kids Try talking to your children about any new interests, passions, and beliefs they may have recently developed. Avoid using this time to discourage them or show disapproval. As college is an excellent time to explore your views and figure out who you are, the holidays are a wonderful time to get together and connect with your child about the interests they may have in their life.
8. Watch Their Favorite Movie with Them It’s always a wonderful time to watch classic holiday movies during this season, as they are always teaching us lessons about life and love, and your children will love it. Grab a pair of comfortable socks, make a cup of hot cocoa, light some Christmas candles, and enjoy a cozy evening watching their favorite holiday movies together.
9. Have a Family Game Night Game nights are an entertaining way to take a break from stressful activities and stay off screens to have a great time with family. This activity is great for your college students and the entire family, as this can strengthen family bonding and build new traditions.
10. Schedule a Family Photo Shoot Putting together or scheduling a holiday family photo shoot will allow you to create memories and document the growth of your college students. In addition, family photos help restore family bonds, show a sense of togetherness, and can allow us to reminisce.
11. Recreate a Favorite Childhood Photo Recreating old family photos can be a fun, creative, and even hilarious way to spend the holidays. Not only will this bring a sense of nostalgia by seeing how your college kids changed over the years, but it may also allow us to enjoy showing our playful sides in the photos as adults, and this brings the family together.
12. Volunteer Together Encourage your children to be involved in your community by donating items and/or serving at your local homeless shelter, church, pantry, or other local organizations to give back. The saying “families that serve together grow together” forever holds true, especially during this special season.
13. Try Not to Put Stress on Your Child During the Holidays It’s fine to ask about your children’s future and education; however, if they’re not certain about their future, that is also okay. It’s best not to add any stress to them or to yourself during the holidays. They may come to you later to share and/or get advice. Focus on the present moment enjoying time with your children, and make sure they are being loved and being given your wholehearted support.
14. Enjoy Your Time Together You do not have to plan excessively to have the perfect time with your college students. Spend meaningful quality time with them, create memorable experiences, and appreciate the little thing to make the holiday break worthwhile.