Winter break is near, and students have a variety of traditions or activities that they do over the holidays. Many people gather with extended family to celebrate holidays, but some choose to use the break as a vacation instead, with 16% of them choosing to avoid staying with family over the holidays this year.
The holiday season is a great time to visit family and friends. Many families enjoy meals together and exchange Christmas presents each year along with doing other traditions and activities.
Senior Ainsley Hindman loves staying home for Christmas and spending time with her family. “We have a lot of random traditions I feel like. One of them is that we watch The Polar Express every year when we get together,” expressed Hindman
By vacationing during winter break, many families take away valuable time with extended family.
This time is important for developing relationships with family members, and it can also be a great way to start new traditions.
While many travel to escape the harsh weather in Iowa, winter in the Midwest brings an abundance of activities. Looking at festive lights, decorating a home, ice skating, skiing, baking cookies or giving gifts to others are common traditions that people can miss out on by leaving for vacation.
Senior Izzy Steele vacations during break almost every year. “We usually go to Florida for a week over break. A lot of times we miss Christmas, and I’m not a huge Christmas fan since we normally don’t do a whole lot to celebrate it,” explained Steele.
Many people enjoy a warm vacation during the winter, but that shouldn’t come before being with family.
Families often want both a vacation and time spent with family, and sometimes this comes at the cost of skipping school and starting break early. This can cause issues for students at school and stress from missing tests and assignments.
“I’m missing four days of school this year since I’m leaving early for break,” said Steele. “It kinda sucks because I’ll have to study a lot and take a bunch of tests early, and I will probably be working on projects during vacation too,” Steele continued.
Winter break is a time for family and friends, and this time shouldn’t be substituted for a vacation. Students are better off using the other breaks around the year for a vacation due to the abundance of traditions and family time that can be missed during the winter.
