By: Myla Shannon

As the holiday season rolls around and the weather gets colder, many outdoor activities that were once enjoyed are ended due to the change in season. Many people become bored, stuck inside wishing the weather was warm allowing more to do. But even in the colder weather, the holiday season can bring many fun activities that still keep you warm and get you busy on the weekends. These activities can include Christmas baking, looking at Christmas lights and binge-watching holiday movies. 

The holiday season calls for many sweet treats and is a time to indulge in fun foods. Christmas baking can be a fun, timely and indulgent way to celebrate the holiday spirit. Shaping cookies into wacky holiday shapes and then decorating them is one fun way to enjoy the season. Just imagine yourself in the kitchen with your friends and family, in comfy pajamas listening to Christmas music and taking small bites of sugar cookie dough and icing– it truly is a great way to get into the spirit as this experience does not come along every day. You do not have to limit yourself to just holiday cookies, though, as fun treats like chocolate pretzel bites or Christmas tree cupcakes are another delicious way to spread cheer. 

As you bake and enjoy your cookies and other tasty baked goods, a feel-good holiday movie never goes wrong. Another great holiday activity is to get comfy on your couch by the fireplace, surrounded by festive seasonal decorations, and watch a holiday movie. Some popular Christmas movies that are great to watch include Elf, The Home Alone series, and The Grinch to name just a few. Being cozy by the fire, eating your sugary baked goods and watching your favorite Christmas movie makes no better way to get into the spirit. 

Another fun activity to spread holiday cheer is by roaming around town to hunt down sparkly Christmas lights on display. Many people set up extravagant holiday lights to show their holiday spirit. Driving around, searching for these houses with holiday lights can be an enjoyable adventure that can only occur at this time of year. In addition to houses and neighborhoods setting up holiday lights, many parks do the same. The Chatham Park hosts drive-through lights in which holiday light displays are set up for night throughout the park and can be seen from the warmth of your car. Searching for lights is definitely an adventure worth taking. 

If you want a more active activity, another eventful holiday tradition is ice skating. Nothing screams Winter Wonderland as does ice skating with family and friends during the holiday season. Ice skating is a classic holiday activity and it is often shown in holiday movies, inspiring watchers to try skating for themselves. Grabbing hot chocolate after skating could be the cherry on top of this holiday adventure. 

Some Springfield High School students took a poll on which holiday activities were their favorite and what they would be most interested to do in their free time this season. The options were those previously discussed: Christmas baking, watching Christmas movies, ice skating and looking for spectacular Christmas lights. Students showed the most love for holiday movies as it is the clear winner with 42.9% voting this as their favorite holiday activity. The second most-picked option was looking for Christmas lights with 28.6% of students choosing this as their personal favorite. In third place, there was a tie of 14.3% of students picking both baking cookies and ice skating as their favorite holiday activity. 

Before the holiday season comes to an end, make sure you enjoy at least one of these fun activities to get yourself into the true holiday spirit! If you cannot make a decision on what to do, the students of SHS clearly recommend watching Christmas movies to enjoy the holiday spirit and cheer. The holidays will be over before you know it, so get out there and enjoy the arguably most wonderful time of the year!