With Thanksgiving and Christmas break approaching, many students are already daydreaming about holiday plans. Some have movies in mind while others look forward to catching up on all the sleep they lost during the semester.

No matter what your plans are, this break will be much deserved. Eating leftovers in the middle of the night and watching “A Christmas Story” multiple times may seem like the perfect remedy for pre-finals stress. With that said, it’s easy to go overboard while on vacation.

Whether you celebrate these holidays or not, winter break can be a relaxing time away from daily schedules and responsibilities.

Although the time off for Thanksgiving is just a few days, it is just long enough to give you time to rest. In theory, this should revitalize your spirit and get you ready for the remaining weeks of school, but it often has the opposite effect.

I am speaking from personal experience. It is almost too tempting to forget about your “to-do” list during time away from school. When good food and neglected hobbies are readily available, one tends to rely on those things for ultimate comfort. Yet I’ve found that acting as if assignments don’t exist at all is more detrimental than relaxing.

College is a time for planning ahead. With all that students have to do, it becomes a necessity. The subject of final exams can be tiresome to think about, but facing them head on, rather than avoiding them, can soften the impact.

Students are in a constant state of completing assignments while halfway into the next one. Applying this mindset to finals can help you feel less overwhelmed when you return to school after a break.

Thanksgiving is not only a time for winding down, but also a time for eating. As the prime holiday for treating yourself to an extra slice of turkey, it’s exciting to think about all the possibilities the holiday has to offer.

While I am in full support of extra servings of food on any given day, I find that it’s best to limit myself. Though I don’t keep up with a strict diet, I do have a system for myself during the week that allows me to eat what I want without the 1 a.m. stomachache. However, holiday breaks often inspire me to forget about my dietary plans entirely.

Extra turkey can be a thrilling idea on the morning of any celebration, but once the afternoon rolls around, it will probably leave you feeling exhausted. Not overeating can be another way to enjoy yourself in that you’ll have more energy the next day.

Similarly, too much sleep can have a negative effect on the body during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. On one hand, sleeping in is a luxury. However, wasting too much of the day sleeping can truly spoil time off.

Even though staying up all night can be fun on occasion, giving yourself a limit on how late into the night you stay awake can help make the daytime more meaningful.

Though I am never one to wake up too early, I like knowing I have an entire day ahead of me when I decide to creep out of bed.

The most important element to enjoying your holidays is to appreciate the time you have. Think about all the things that mean something to you and use them to turn a miniature vacation into time well spent.

Whether you fill your break with family activities or decide to keep it low-key with solo nights at home, make sure you give yourself some time to plan.

Making the most of a few days off can elevate your spirit and inspire you to finish this semester with a positive attitude.