<p>OK —Thanksgiving was…, what?? The consensus seems to be that of the students who came back to the family home for Thanksgiving, the VAST majority spent most (if not all) of their time with friends from before college.</p>
<p>Now what? With a minimum for 4 weeks of winter “break,” it seems a little like “watch out for what you wish for.” Several parents have already said that winter break seems EXTREMELY LONG. A couple said their student had better get a job. Several Moms mentioned messy rooms, mounds of laundry and late (or no) hours.</p>
<p>I’ve already emailed S the agenda for the break: house parties, “special” dinners, visiting relatives and family gatherings. Gave him the dates and times and told him he was welcome to participate or not. His choice.</p>
<p>S asked for air miles as his major X-mas gift to get to Jackson Hole, WY for a week of skiing at the end of the break. He has a HS buddy who is taking a gap year and is a lift operator at the JH Resort and has invited him up to crash. He earned his spending money. It sounds like a “win, win” arrangement for S and me.</p>
<p>What else are parents of the Class of 2011 experiencing?</p>
<p>Our S decied to take an intercession course which means he will go back to campus 2 wks earlier. He figured that after a couple weeks of catching up on his sleep and relaxing, that it would be time to head on back.</p>
<p>I can’t wait until D comes home for Christmas! We will be travelling for about two weeks and then she will just relax at home. We’ll be renting movies and enjoying family time!</p>
<p>D asked boss before she left in August if she could work at old job part time at break. THey said yes (restaurant - they always need help at holidays) so we hope she can get a few shifts in… just <em>not</em> Christmas Eve or Day…I know, that’s exactly when they’ll need the backup.<br>
She’ll be home for 4 weeks, so the $ could be worth thinking about.</p>
<p>D will be home for 4 weeks, then we are taking a family trip and enjoying the sights and sounds of Washington, D.C. for her last week off before classes start again. She’s already “warned” us that she’s going to try to go abroad a year from now, for winter “session”…this may be our one and only. I do not, however, expect to see her very much. At Thanksgiving, she and her bf from hs were very much together, although they are very officially “not a couple” since they both left for their different schools. “It’s complicated,” she says!</p>
<p>Actually, my son is only home for 3 weeks. He will just rest, catch up with high school friends, and visit with family. Three weeks go by very quickly, but I knew that my son was missing his college life after about 2 weeks last year.</p>
<p>How’s my son’s Christmas break looking? SHORT, that’s how. A grand total of 2 1/2 weeks. Who made up that schedule, anyway? I’ve never heard of a university having such a short break. (Finals end on Dec. 22 and spring semester begins on Jan. 9)</p>
<p>I don’t think there will be enough time to visit as much as I would like. The Girlfriend will be in town also, as well as many good friends who were not able to get back home at Thanksgiving. Fortunately, our house has long been a common meeting place for all of his friends, so I’m hoping they hang out here enough for me to see all of them–and my own son.</p>
<p>Mathson is home from Dec 18th through Jan 14th. It’s nice because we should be able to spend a week visiting sister-in-law in DC and still have time for him to see his friends here.</p>
<p>week 1: visiting parents and sister in NYC
week 2: spending time with the boyfriend in NYC (4 days) and DC (3 days) [I lived in DC 2001-2007]
week 3: visiting parents and sister in NYC
week 4: skiing in Vermont with a friend from high school (now a HS senior) and her family</p>
<p>I am looking forward to weeks 2 & 4; weeks 1 & 3 will probably be excruciating (my family is very dysfunctional). I went to high school in Washington, don’t know anyone besides my immediate family in New York, and am pretty upset that I’ll only have three days to reconnect with high school friends, none of whom I’ve seen since June. :(</p>
<p>Can you tell I’m really not all that excited?</p>
<p>S will have only a 3 week winter break because he’s returning a week early to take a course during Rollins’ one-week intercession before spring semester begins.</p>
<p>I’m leaving for a retreat shortly after Christmas. Shortly after that, S and H will be heading then to see my in-laws. </p>
<p>S was a delight during Thanksgiving break. He has promised to have his friends overbefore I leave, and I’m looking forward to it. His friends are delightful.</p>
<p>He also has promised to finally clean his room. My fingers are crossed… I think he’ll also start looking for a summer job.</p>
<p>S has a wintersession term so he will not be home long. Must go back to school 1/2. D is going to London 1/1. We’ll just be able to say howdy, get ready for London and see some movies.</p>
<p>Boring consistency in this thread, but I’ll add another fillip: I know my son is looking forward to making some money while he is home for 3-1/2 weeks. He hasn’t gotten a job at college yet, and his discretionary cash horde is getting low. His high school job would give him 50 hours a week between now and New Year’s if he were willing to do that. He’s not, but he’ll be happy to work 20-25 (at a job, and with people, he likes).</p>
<p>My D is on quarters so had her long break at Thanksgiving. She doesn’t come home till Dec. 21 and returns Jan. 6. She worked a few days at Thanksgiving and got a job at school starting this quarter so I told her not to worry about working at Christmas - we just want her to enjoy the 2 weeks! With the holiday(s) thrown in there it will all go very quick!</p>
<p>She seems to love coming home and is very happy at school AND at home. But I have to admit she is so attached to her “family” at school, that I think she’d really start missing them if she was off for a month at Christmas!</p>
<p>S has to take 3 planes home, so I’ll just be glad if he arrives. For us, to quote a famous sage, everything else is just commentary.</p>
<p>His stated plans (5 weeks!) include: sleep, friends from other colleges, hometown g.f.,
visiting sibs and grandparents scattered in several other cities, playing with the dog he trained and left us to fill the empty nest.</p>
<p>My stated plan: looking at his handsome face and laughing at his jokes whenever he chooses to grace our dinner table.</p>
<p>JHS gave me an idea, however. S had a summer job moving furniture and the door’s always open. I’ll ask him if he wants to earn more spending money that month on a per diem basis.</p>
<p>DD has 3 weeks vacation over winter break. No formal plans except to get “tuned” up — DDS, DR, haircut–I figure she will sleep–hang out with friends. I can’t wait to spend time over tea catching up.Thanksgiving went by so fast-it will be fun to spend more time together.</p>