As December continues and snow begins to fall, anticipation floats through the halls of Rochester High School. Classes begin to slow down and prepare for exams in January and winter break creeps closer and closer as the days go on. With winter break comes time to spend with family and friends! There is such an influx of time that you may feel like you’re running out of things to do. There are only so many hours you can study (who wants to do that over break?), and so many minutes you can spend with grandma who won’t stop talking about her favorite birds. Fear not! Here are 10 activities you can do over the winter break whether you celebrate the Christmas holiday or not!

1.) Ice-Skating

A classic, yet such a fun activity for many is ice-skating! Whether you can skate or not, ice skating is a fun outing you can do with your friends and family. If you want a simple rink, skating at Suburban Ice (better known as the Onyx) or Buffalo Wild Wings Arena are two very good places to lace up your skates! Both places have skate rentals so don’t worry if you don’t have your own! If you want a “brighter” experience you can travel down to Sterling Heights and visit Dodge Park outdoor ice rink! At night, the rink lights up with lots of twinkling lights!

2.) Skiing and Snowboarding

Another great activity to do over the break is skiing or snowboarding! Though there may not be a ton of snow right now in Rochester, despite it being mid-December, many ski slopes make their snow. Pine Knob is the most popular slope among Rochester High School students. Senior, Vivian Schultz, shares that she loves skiing at Pine Knob. “It’s super close, about a 20-minute drive.” Schultz explains, “You also meet a lot of cool people on the chair lift.” She also comments that there are both easy and hard hills, so if you’re a beginner or a pro you can have fun!

3.) Enjoy Nature

Although there may not be snow on the ground, the outside world is still beautiful! Taking a walk through the park is a great way to de-stress especially after school. Innovation Hills is a beautiful park that recently added a new hanging bridge! Adding to that, it has amazing trails to run and bike on, as well as a huge playground to live out your inner child!

4.) Bake Cookies and Make Gingerbread Houses

Have a sweet tooth? This is the activity for you. Grab a friend or your family and make some cookies! Not everyone’s a baker, but you can still have fun making bagged cookie mix from Meijer. If you want a challenge, you can do a gingerbread-making contest as well. You can find sets at any major grocery store, or, if you want a challenge you can make it out of actual graham crackers!

5.) Holiday Movies

Snuggle up and get cozy for this next activity. No school means late nights over break and what better way to spend it than with some holiday movies! Some classic Christmas movies to watch are “The Polar Express,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and “A Christmas Story.” If you’re more into modern-day movies some recent releases are “The Grinch” (2018), “Candy Cane Lane,” and “Klaus.”

6.) Light Shows

Want to light up your night? Go visit a light show! The Detroit Zoo has light walkthroughs and movies all of December. Prices are around $20 a person but it is worth it! Pine Knob also puts on its annual “Magic of Lights” where you can drive through the light show! Prices for that are $23 a car. Another exciting walkthrough light show is in Commerce. The Glenore Trails hold it’s “Aurora” where you can walk through lights and even purchase a wand to make some special things appear along the trail… This light show is great for families, especially those with young kids! If you’re looking to save some money this winter season you can always go to downtown Rochester.

7.) Downtown Rochester

While Downtown Rochester is most known for its light show, there are plenty of other hidden gems on Main Street. If you walk by the Hometown Bakery you can see the marvelous scene they made. This year is Deadpool and Wolverine by a fireplace. Fun fact: The scene is entirely made of cake! Another sight to see is the window decorating contest. Many stores have frost-painted windows or sparkling snow scenes in the front of their stores. As you walk around you can also the snowmen that seem to appear overnight! Though there is no snow, these snowmen are made by artists who look like characters, objects, or celebrations.

8.) Christmas-y book

If you’re like me, spending time with a good book is how I like to spend my holiday break. Here are some of my book recommendations that are Christmas-themed. You can never go wrong with Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” a classic. For romance lovers “Cruel Winter with You” is a great choice. If you’re more into fantasy “Throne of Glass,” one of my most recent reads, is a magical choice.

9.) Sporting Events

Books not your style? Go watch some sports! Here at RHS, the teams continue to play hard throughout winter break. On Dec. 20th, Rochester United Hockey plays at home against Canton at 8:30. Rochester Basketball plays as well, with the boys playing Bloomfield at seven, Jan. 3rd and the girls playing Bishop Foley Jan. 2nd. Remember to watch the big screen Sunday when the Detroit Lions play the Chicago Bears Dec. 22nd!

10.) Family Time

The final way to spend your time over winter break is with your family or the ones you love. Freshman Madison Batson shares “I like to make cookies with my mom and I enjoy watching movies with my dad and sister.” You can even spend time with friends or other people you call family! Remember to spread love this holiday season and happy holidays!