I’ve spent weeks and weeks bemoaning the fact that Christmas commercials were airing in November. Macy’s has had their holiday decorations up for months. The Starbucks baristas have been wearing Santa hats since the day after Halloween. “It’s not even Thanksgiving yet,” I kept saying. “Why are people already doing their holiday shopping, why are the decorations already up? The holiday season starts after Thanksgiving. That’s the way it goes!!” The early start seriously upset me. And I refused to take part in it. But now, it seems, I have nothing to complain about.

Thanksgiving is over.

We’ve watched the parade. We’ve carved the turkey. We stuffed ourselves with stuffing and cranberry sauce and ate pumpkin pie until we wanted to puke. And then, when the feeling passed, we ate more. The holiday season is upon us. So I better just get in the spirit. Here’s how.

10. Watch a Christmas movie. Everyone has a favorite holiday movie. So what better way to get into the holiday spirit than by watching Tim Allen in The Santa Clause or the Olsen twins in To Grandmother’s House We Go? There’s always the recently made into a musical, Elf, or the kind of creepy but still enjoyable The Polar Express. Everyone has a favorite. Just find yours on YouTube and enjoy.

9. Order a peppermint mocha or a caramel latte. These have been available since the first of November and although I drank my coffee from Starbuck’s Christmas cups I refused to indulge in a peppermint mocha until the day after Thanksgiving. So after I did some cyber shopping, I went out and got one. It was worth the wait.

8. Decorate your dorm room. Don’t wait until you’re back home to decorate for the holidays. Get into the spirit now. Studying for finals and finishing out a semester that should have ended the day before Thanksgiving is depressing enough without prolonging your holiday cheer. So don’t. Hang twinkle lights. Make paper snowflakes. Throw tinsel everywhere. And while you’re decorating…

7. Blast that holiday music. There has to be at least one station in your range that plays annoying, nonstop Christmas music from Thanksgiving until New Years day. Embrace it! Or if you want something a little more specialized, download your favorite artists singing holiday tunes. I’m not going to lie; I’m listening to Kurt and Blaine sing “Baby its Cold Outside” as I type. Glee’s Christmas album is totally worth the $9.99 on iTunes.

6. Drink hot chocolate. Nothing says winter quite like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold, snowy night. Curl up on the couch in your favorite sweats, with a warm blanket and your hot chocolate, topped with whip cream and marshmallows. Mmm. Sounds fabulous.

5. Make a wish list. I know. I know. This is the season for giving, not for getting. But once upon a time your wish list was the most important part of your holiday season. And who’s to say that Santa still can’t use a little help finding you the perfect present. If you hadn’t told him, he never would have known you wanted that Cabbage Patch doll back then, and he won’t know you want those patent leather pumps now. Write a list. Mom and Dad will get it to Santa. They always do.

4. Plan the perfect holiday party. After your brief reunion with your high school BFFs on Thanksgiving Eve you remembered just how much fun you use to have with them. What better way to start off a month of hanging out at home than with the perfect party? Peppermint flavored cocktails and an excuse to eat all the candy canes you want. Do you need another reason? How about an excuse to…

3. Find the perfect party outfit. Every store I step into, every magazine I open, all I see is sparkles. Bright speckled dresses, and black satin, and red silk. My InStyle is constantly reminding me of my need to find the perfect party dress. And frankly, I can no longer resist. I want a pretty dress. And I want one now.

2. Make some break and bake cookies. Around the holidays, baking can sometimes become a mix between an art form and a competitive sport. But if you just want something sugary sweet to indulge in during your movie marathon, try some break and bake cookies. Pillsbusry and Tollhouse make it easy for use college girls, simply break apart the brick of cookie dough decorated with Christmas trees, candy canes, and reindeer, place them on a tray, and put them in the oven. Of if you really can’t wait just break and eat, salmonella be damned.

1. Start shopping. Right now. Right this second. In fact, you should have started shopping already, because everyone else has, and you’re never going to be able to catch up. You have gifts to give. Lots of them. Mom. Dad. Brother. Aunt. Boyfriend. Cousin’s boyfriend. Boyfriend’s cousin. These gifts are not going to buy themselves. And no, you can’t get away with homemade cards and free hug coupons like you use to be able to.

You’ve got to love the holidays, huh?

[Check out Jenn's other musings-in-the-form-of-a-list here.]

And with my luck, I always end up with a final on the very last possible day, which has me rushing home on the 23rd and trying to cram all of my holiday activities into 48 hours.

It just isn’t right.

But just because I’m holed up in my dorm studying during the most wonderful time of the year, it doesn’t mean that I (or anyone suffering like me) can’t enjoy a little holiday cheer. Since most of us won’t be seeing much of the world outside of the library over the next few weeks, here are some ways to bring the holidays to us:

Decorate.
Yes you live in a tiny box and chances are your school has 8 million rules about what you can’t bring in to the dorms. But there are still ways to deck out your room for the holidays. The best $15 I have ever spent was on a mini Christmas tree from WalMart. You can also get them at Target and Borders. They come in a variety of colors (of course I bought it in hot pink) and come with the most adorable mini ornaments and tinsel to decorate. If a tree isn’t a thing, why not relive your glory (read: kindergarten) days and make a snowflake chain? It’s super cute and festive, and a fun way to take a break from the studying and recharge that noggin.

Make it smell like home.
One of the best things about the holidays is the smells that come with the season. Mom’s homemade pie floating through the house, the fresh pine coming from your tree in the living room and the spicy potpourri that used to make you gag, but now you secretly miss. You may not be home for the real thing, but you can fake it. Flameless candles and plug-in air fresheners are sold in every drugstore and the winter scents are freakin’ amazing. Glade is seriously your new best friend. Why? Apple Cinnamon, Homemade Gingerbread and Peppermint Crush, are just a few of the reasons. And trust me, studying is so much more bearable with the smell of Christmas overriding the scent of 2 weeks worth of unwashed clothes and the garbage you are too busy to take out.

Secret Santa.
It’s corny, but that’s why we love it. (We also love it because we get to open a present before heading home for the real thing.) It is just so much fun to draw names from a hat and then torture each other trying to guess who has who. Being able to sit around your room and watch everyone open a present totally keeps the holiday cheer alive. Spice up your secret Santa this year but picking a theme. Make it “mixed CD year” and have everyone customize a CD for their recipient. Pick an alcoholic theme and have everyone give a basket with the ingredients for their person’s favorite cocktail. (Bonus: chances are you’ll break those babies open and all end up sharing! Drinking helps aid the stress. Totally acceptable).

Baked Goods Swap.
Holidays are all about the cookies, cakes and pies. Throwing a swap party is a fun and inexpensive way to get into the spirit of the season. Pick a date where you can all take a much needed study break and invite your friends over for a holiday party, telling each person to bring one of their favorite baked good for each attendee. Then have everyone swap, leaving each of you with a huge tray of assorted goodies. Which will come in handy for those late night study sessions on the horizon.

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If you had fun on Halloween, just wait and see what the Festivous season has in store. Here are some ideas so you can throw your own rager for Christmahannukwanzakuh… or whatever you celebrate.

Tacky Christmas Party

Now’s the time to dig out the sweater you got last year from Aunt Millie – the one with real pom poms sewn on to represent snowflakes, with bedazzled reindeer flying across the front. If you don’t have your own tacky Christmas sweater, rummage through your mom’s closet or hit up the Salvation Army. These parties have been gaining quite the reputation over the last few years, with party goers trying to out-ugly each other. Decorate with lawn ornaments from the Clearance rack at K-Mart, and serve Malt Liqour to your guests. Who doesn’t love a white trash Christmas?

Hannukah Song Party

Who says you have to put your Halloween costume in the closet on November 1? Give your best celebrity costume another go by throwing a party where everyone goes as their favorite character from Adam Sandler’s “Hannukah Song.” Once everyone gets nicely buzzed, the phrase “OJ Simpson- not a Jew!” will echo through the halls, and “Put us together- what a fine lookin’ Jew” will be the pickup line of the night.

Gingerbread Tran Party

Cross-dressing meets Christmas. Need I say more? If you love Angel from Rent, this party will be right up your alley. Another fun evening? Rated X holiday baking. Who ever grows out of decorating pervy gingerbread men and women? Throw on an apron, grab a rainbow of frosting choices, and let your dirty little imagination run wild. Then hand out the tasty treats to everyone on your floor. See if your RA turns as red as Rudolph’s nose.

Naughty or Nice Party

Which list are you on this year? Think of this as the holiday version of a “Heaven and Hell” party. It’s a great excuse to wear your red bikini in December. Other costume party ideas? Dress up like your favorite Christmas song (and yes, Justin Timberlake’s D*ck in a Box counts) or your favorite holiday story character (Ralphie, anyone?).

Of course, with limited time, and in the midst of finals, you may opt to have a straight holiday party, where everyone can wear their normal clothes. That’s no reason to forego the holiday drinking games just because you don’t have time to plan something elaborate.

Play “Drinking Dradle,” where every side of the dradle is designated with a rule, e.g. “Drink one shot” or “Social.” Better yet, play it just over a week to put new meaning to the phrase “Eight Crazy Nights.”

Have a Liquor Grab Bag. Have everyone bring something potent and throw it into a box, still in the brown bag. After everyone’s chosen their “gift” for the night, you can be a Grinch, and make everyone take a swig without opening the bag to see what they’ve chosen, or you can play Tiny Tim and let your guests trade to promote some good old holiday cheer.

Still too busy to really get into the holiday spirit? Half-ass the party by making red and green jello shots or serving up some warm, wintry cocktails. The best part about a holiday party? You can splurge for an ice luge on the back porch, and it won’t melt until spring.

Happy Black Friday! Are you out soaking up the sales and bitchy soccer moms Christmas Spirit at the mall? Or are you home attempting to digest the 6 pounds of food you ate last night? Maybe you are spending the day with family and friends.

Whatever you are doing, welcome to holiday season! Sure, you may not be able to shop, shop, shop like you usually do this time of year (thank you, Wall Street!), but that doesn’t make it any less glorious! There’s the music! And the movies! And the general good mood of everyone around you. We, like everyone else, loooove this time of year…and we don’t even celebrate Christmas!

What is your favorite thing about the holiday season? We asked our writers and here is what they had to say:

K – NYU: I love going home and catching up with the fam. Sometimes you just need a break from work/studying/life…

Kelly – UMass: My favorite thing about the holidays is watching my family open the presents I picked out for them!

Kathryn S.: Open-bar office Christmas parties! Woo hoo!

Carly – Grinnell: I know this is cheesy, but I live away from home and have for a while now, so my favorite thing is the feeling that comes from sitting in my living room back at home with my dad, my mom, and my brother. It’s just the best.

Lauren – University of Michigan: Holiday sales! (And not for gifts…for me!)

Elizabeth – UC Berkeley: An excuse to belt out Bing Crosby’s entire “White Christmas” CD.

Britt – Northern Virginia Community College: Christmas in a cup from Starbucks. I know it’s awful for me, but it tastes just like Christmas in a cup should taste. For a Grande: 3 pumps Vanilla, 3 pumps Gingerbread, Breve, No water, With whip, 4 pump Chai. Mmmm.

Elise – UCLA: Cinnamon and pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING! And scented candles!

Suzanne – Tulane: The constant replaying of Mariah Carrey’s Christmas song on the radio. “All I want for Christmas is yooooooooooou.”

Alex – Cornell: My favorite thing about the holiday season is candy canes…in ANY way, shape or form. Giant candy canes, candy cane hot chocolate, candy cane bark, candles, wrapping paper. What can I say; I’m obsessed!

Olua: I know I sound like I’m coming straight out of YET another Christmas Story, but I love how happy it makes everybody. Unlike a lot of people I know who share this sentiment, though, I really DON’T want it to last all year long. That ruins the special feeling-of-the-now, don’t you think?

Noa – CU Boulder: Mistletoe. And the Egg Nog milkshake at McDonalds.

Sara – NYU: Taking ridiculous pictures of my boyfriend and me for the “cards” I will definitely “forget” to send out.

Liza – Grove City College: BAKED GOODS! And a license to be totally sappy and cheesy without (too much) judgment.

Sara C – Fordham: Watching “It’s A Wonderful Life” on television with my family. It’s my absolute all-time favorite movie, and it just doesn’t have the same resonance if you watch it in July.

What’s your fave?

Between study sessions, first dates, meetings with professors, or catching up with a girlfriend I hadn’t seen in awhile due to crazy schedules, there was always a reason to meet for coffee.

Because coffee is such a central part of my life, any new stories or research relating to it peaks my interest. My personal favorites are the health reports that suggest coffee may actually be good for you because it makes me feel okay about my obsession. But, on a recent perusing of Slate.com, I came across a new take on coffee culture that never even crossed my mind: Who gets better service at coffee shops, males or females?

The first thing that ran through my mind was, is there really a difference? I mean, making coffee-related drinks is pretty straightforward, so why would one gender get better service than the other? Apparently, there is a bit of a discrepancy.

An economist in the Boston area and her students staked out eight different coffee shops and watched how long it took men to get served compared to women. She found that men get their coffee 20 seconds before women. You can check out the whole report here .

What could the possible explanation for this be? There are a number of theories such as whether women were held up by male staff because the men viewed them with contempt or because the male staff members were flirting furiously. The article goes into other possible ideas, but to me, it’s definitely not something I’ve ever noticed, but an interesting concept to consider.

As long as I get my steaming hot, tall sugar free gingerbread skim latte in a relatively short amount of time, I’m a happy camper for the morning.