By Jenna Renaud

Happy Friday, Wildcats! After a year off, Falvey Memorial Library is bringing back Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen to, and watch over the weekend. Jenna, a graduate assistant from the Communication department, scours the internet, peruses the news, and digs through book stacks to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you for the upcoming week. 

Thanksgiving is over, and it’s officially December, which means it’s fully time to celebrate the holiday season!

This weekend I’m providing recommendations to get you ready for the most wonderful time of the year. Take a break from studying to get into the Christmas spirit–I promise it will be the perfect stress reliever and put a smile on your face. Whether you have less than 10 minutes or the whole weekend to relax (if that’s you, tell me your secrets!), I have the perfect recs for you! 

If you have 5 minutes… and need to prioritize studying next week, stop by Falvey’s Carrel-tas Commitment station and enter to win a drawing for an exclusive study room for one night next week. In addition, you’ll be entered in for the grand prize that gives you access to the Falvey room 206 study suite for you and five of your friends during the entirety of finals week (Dec. 10-17). Read more about the contest here. 

If you have 20 minutes or a whole evening… drive around the area and look at people’s Christmas lights and decorations! Get some inspiration and then bring it down to a smaller scale to decorate your dorm room or apartment.  

If you at least 90 minutes… watch one of the movies on Den of Geek’s Christmas Movies: A Complete Holiday Streaming Guide. Seems like a big claim to have the complete streaming guide of holiday movies, but they definitely did have some good ones on the list! 

If you have 2 hours… read The Father Christmas Letters by J.R.R. Tolkien. A quick read, the book is a collection of letters that Tolkien, as Santa and Santa’s right-hand polar bear, wrote to his children and their responses. The book is available in Falvey’s collection! 

If you have 4 hours… drive into the ‘burbs and visit Shady Brook Farm’s drive-through light display! The display is on most Philly-area Christmas lists and is a must-see if you haven’t been before. After you drive through the lights, park to walk through their market, grab some hot chocolate or other drinks, and cozy up around one of their many fire pits.  

Jenna Renaud is a graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library and a graduate student in the Communication Department.