Looking to get into the holiday spirit? Here a few of my favorite ways (and you can even plan ‘em on the fly!):

The White Elephant gift exchange is one that is always interesting.  Some people end up with some pretty awesome, useful gifts and others…well not so much.  At a White Elephant gift exchange, each party-goer brings a gift, usually a gag gift or something that will put a smile on everyone’s face.  Then once you pick your gift, you have a choice to keep it or trade it for something you really want. But watch out and keep your gift guarded because that $15 iTunes giftcard you snagged may turn into someone’s grandma’s antique porcelain statue. Ew.

Christmas Cookie Exchanges are Christmas parties you don’t want to miss out on.  With chocolate chip, peanut butter cup, and sugar cookies galore, be prepared to leave with a full stomach and a sugar high.  So here’s the deal, each person brings one dozen cookies (and a couple to sample,) then the exchange begins! You can swap cookies, mix and match with your friends, or grab one of each. Just be sure to leave with how many cookies you came with…but if it were me I would most likely leave empty handed. What? I like cookies!

The Tacky Sweater Party is the tackiest party that you’ll go to all year.  So you’ve been invited to this party and have no idea where on Earth you can find a tacky Christmas sweater.  That’s exactly what I thought to myself when I was invited to one last year. Luckily, I hit up the local Goodwill (man, I love that place) and low and behold I found the ugliest, most grandma, Christmas plaid sweater ever made.  It was pretty gross and I had my Christmas tree pin to top off my tacky outfit.  Be sure to take pictures at this party because it will definitely be a something to laugh about.

What are your favorite holiday themed parties of the year?

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Do you have a large group of friends you want to buy gifts for this holiday season, but lack the cash to get a great gift for each of them? (Editor’s Note: Story of my life, people. It’s hard being this popular!) Secret Santa gift exchanges are a fun solution!

If you’re not familiar with Secret Santa (also called Pollyanna or Kris Kringle), it’s a type of gift exchange where everyone in a group draws the name of someone else to purchase a gift for, instead of each person having to buy multiple gifts.

Elfster makes planning a Secret Santa exchange so much easier! To use Elfster to plan your Secret Santa, get started by registering for the site.  Once you do that,  create your gift exchange by filling out the name and description of the exchange, setting a spending limit (optional), and setting dates for signing up and exchanging gifts.  Then, use the site to send your friends an invitation e-mail to sign up and join your Secret Santa!

Once everyone has signed up, Elfster will randomly select names and send them to each participant in a confidential e-mail.

Next, search for gifts by category, price range or keyword, and add them to your own wish list that your “secret person” can use to help select a gift for you.  The site also has a feature which allows you to ask your secret person anonymous questions to help you decide what to get him or her!

By doing all the hard work for you, Elfster lets you focus on the fun parts of Secret Santa: getting (and giving) presents!

Check out what other awesome websites have been getting us all hot and bothered.

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.

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.

Let’s begin with the love triangle.

Julia, Christian and Sean were seemingly adorable with their litte secret santa tradition. But beyond who’s buying what for who (like it’s hard to figure out with 3 people), Julia and Christian were secretly falling in love, leaving poor, mid-life crisis Sean out in the cold.

I couldn’t believe it took him so long to figure things out. But I guess it was quite appropriate for him to realize the truth once they revealed their gifts to each other. Merry Christmas Sean. Although it seemed like he was willing to accept the circumstances, I doubt Sean will give Christian his blessing.

Side note: Was this episode all about Julia or what? Not only were two guys practically fighting over her, but Eden was out to get her with her homemade fruit cake.

Honestly, what in God’s name was this about?

We see Eden pour a little something into her batter, but what was it? It seems like Julia only experienced some nausea. I was expecting her to drop dead or something. I mean I was on the edge of my seat until the last milisecond of the episode, and nothing happened. However, Eden did bring the rest of the cake the Christmas celebration, so I guess I forsee a slow, painful poisoning? Hmmm.

Overall, the episode did display moments where everyone got over themselves and took the time to appreciate the holiday seaon. Sean swallowed his pride, Matt grew some balls and Eden played nice. The ending was the most pleasant I’ve seen in a while.

Happy holidays, indeed.