LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — Happy holidays, Griffins! Finals week is here and soon so is winter break! It is time to get dressed in warm clothes, drink hot chocolate and participate in fun holiday activities, like the following:

1. Bake holiday cookies

Nothing is better than freshly baked cookies! With many different holiday themes, cookies can be a great way to show your holiday spirit while making something delicious.

According to Food Network, here are the most popular cookie recipes to spice up the holidays:

1. Penguin Slice-and-Bake Cookies 
2. Gingerbread Man Mug Mates
3. Classic Sugar Cookies
4. Red Velvet Christmas Tree Linzer Cookies
5. Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies

2. Drive around to see holiday lights

Another activity is to drive around at night to view the vibrant Christmas decorations on homes. This will surely be a fun activity with your friends — bring a steaming cup of hot chocolate, blast some Christmas songs from the radio and enjoy the bright, multi-colored glow of decorated houses. The Orange County Mom Collective website provides a list of some places where you can see Christmas lights including the following:

1. Candy Cane Lane in Brea
2. The Orange County Christmas Lights in Orange
3. Candy Cane Lane in Westminster
4. Candy Cane Lane in Garden Grove
5. Buena Park Calendula Drive Christmas Lights

Gallery • 3 Photos

Amelia Gutierrez

Decorative Christmas lights can be seen all over Orange County, such as in this Anaheim Hills neighborhood.

3. Go ice skating

Ice skating is a perfect idea for a Christmas break hangout with friends! Despite living in sunny California, it is a fun way to exercise, have fun and take holiday photos (at least if you’re not too busy falling over like me). Some ice skating rinks in the Los Alamitos area include:

1. The Rinks in Anaheim
2. The Ice Realm in Westminster
3. The Rinks in Lakewood ICE

4. Make a gingerbread house

Another delicious, food-related activity is making a gingerbread house. You could use a kit from Target, or be ambitious and make it from scratch. Here are some ideas from TikTok that can spice up your regular gingerbread house-making:

1. Make it into a competition! Compete with friends or family to see who makes the best house, the most creative and even the ugliest house!
2. Decorate using unconventional ingredients (Hint: be creative!)
3. Make it themed! Some good themes to use include Christmas movies and Christmas flavor-inspired.

5. Make a hot chocolate charcuterie board

A charcuterie board is a deliciously aesthetic way to drink hot chocolate during a Christmas party with friends. With a board of hot chocolate bombs, marshmallows, whipped cream and peppermint, you can enjoy all your holiday favorite movies like “The Polar Express” and  “Elf.”

And that’s a wrap on our five-holiday activity ideas! We hope you can enjoy a few of these during our upcoming winter break!