Christmas is approaching and with that also winter break! I believe everyone can agree that we are totally ready for spending some days simply relaxing and doing absolutely nothing, maybe baking gingerbread cookies and watching Home Alone for the 100th time (what else?).

However, what if you are unsure of how to spend your break and perhaps are not celebrating Christmas? Well, in that case we’ve got you covered and at the end you can even find some insider tips.

First, the probably most obvious thing to do for people who live close to our school and can actually witness snowfall unlike people who are living in Frankfurt (yikes): Take your sled and enjoy sledding down a nice steep hill. Maybe it will make you reminisce about your younger years and bring up some memories, and, you have to be honest there: When did you ever have as much fun as when going sledding and how long is that ago? It’s a great thing to do either together with your friends, family or even alone!

Second, (and this is my favorite thing to do): visit a Christmas market! The Christmas markets in Germany are so beautiful and magical and always worth a visit. There are plenty of Christmas markets to choose from in this area, including the ones in Bad Homburg, Wiesbaden & Frankfurt. My favorite part about visiting a Christmas market must be the food. You can never go wrong with chocolate covered strawberries, Crêpes with Nutella as well as “Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelmus”. These are potato pancakes that Germans traditionally eat with applesauce and I think that they even serve it in the cafeteria sometimes. The Christmas Market in Frankfurt is huge and is also spread out across the Römer where you will come across a very tall and nice-looking Christmas tree. 

Now, if you prefer staying indoors because you are not a big fan of the cold or want to spend a day at home, I recommend doing a movie night-in. There are so many movies relating to Christmas and Winter on Netflix that I don’t even know where to start but I put together my Top 5 Christmas movies that are appealing to all age groups: 

1. The Christmas Chronicles: It’s my number one movie, as it’s funny and super entertaining but also has an emotional side to it. There is also a second part in case you like it as much as I do.

2. The Knight before Christmas: If you would like to go on a trip back in time to the 14th century and see how a knight makes himself in modern-day Ohio

3. Home Alone: This is a classic but definitely a movie you can rewatch so many times and never get tired of it

4. The search for Santa paws: How could you say no to a Christmas movie about golden retriever puppies going on an adventure to find their lost friend?

5. The Grinch (2018): This more recent, animated version of the Grinch captures the spirit of the original children’s book by Dr. Seuss (“How the Grinch Stole Christmas”) 

Something that you can do when you want to get out of the house and do something more active is going ice skating. Ice skating is a super fun activity even when you are not a professional or hockey player. The ice skating rink in Frankfurt has 5 huge areas, indoors and outdoors. At first it might feel a little difficult but once you practice a bit and feel more familiar on skates  you will see that it is easier than you think. When feeling the need for a break, you can get some refreshments at the stand outside which sells crepes, baked goods and hot orange juice (which surprisingly is very good) or you can get something to eat in the restaurant inside. 

Last but not least, bake! Baking is one of my favorite things to do over the holidays as it’s a lot of fun, you can bake together with your friends and just be creative. There are lots of different recipes that you can try like “Vanillekipferl”, sugar cookies or even gingerbread men. You can also create your own gingerbread house or simply buy a gingerbread house kit. This way you only need to decorate and glue your house together and trust me, this is not as easy as it may sound. When you are done baking you could also put your cookies in a nice box and give them away to your friends, neighbors or any person in your community that you appreciate. I’m sure that this will bring them great joy and you are able to  spread the cheerful spirit that this holiday season brings to the people around you.

These were my recommendations for things you can do over the holidays and I hope that you have found some inspiration on what to do when feeling bored. Enjoy your holidays!