31 ways to have fun with your friends on winter break!!!

The inspiration for this blog post came from a recent outings with my friends to the Le Chateau Interior Design Holiday party & a tour of The Atlanta Holiday Homes followed by lunch in Buckhead with friends! We had so much fun, I thought I would curate 29 suggestions for YOU to try.

If I am not busy coaching girls or leading my team this month, these 31 ideas have likely been completed myself! I get SO INSPIRED when traveling and enjoying the season, that I love to share with you all!

I am confident at least one of these will resonate with you..

1.) So if you saw the our latest Instagram reel we highlighted the first activity!! Go to a holiday show house together and enjoy all the lovely interior design! If you are local to Atlanta, I personally love the Atlanta Fine Homes & Lifestyle House that benefits Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Wherever you live, there is bound to be a show house. If not..it might be the excuse you need to hop in the car and day trip with friends for the day!


2.) Volunteer your time together! Grab your girlfriends and spend time serving others in your community. This could look like making wreaths for the elderly or serving at your local church! You will never regret the time to give to others!

3.) Hop in the car and drive around to look at holiday lights together. Bonus: make this Southern Living hot chocolate recipe ahead of time to enjoy in the car!

4.) Have a pajama party day together. Pick a day over winter break to stay in your pajamas later than usual, make pancakes, play Christmas music a little too loud have fun with it! For the pancake recipe I recommend this Elisabeth and Butter one! 

5.) HAVE A MOVIE MARATHON! Pick a Sunday night in which you watch 2 Christmas movies back to back. Each of you gets to pick the movie. Elf, Christmas with the Kranks, Christmas Vacation…. so many funny movies to pick from!  

6.) Go shopping at your local boutique together. Tis the season to support local! Make an effort to go support a local boutique and if you enjoy your experience, let the owner know. Supporting small business makes all the difference this time of year! 

7.) Plan a day trip to a near by city that’s new to the both of you! If you are from Nashville, try visiting this resort for a day. If you are in Atlanta, try visiting Serenbe for the day! If you are in Houston, try visiting the spa at The Four Seasons for the day. If you are from Knoxville, visit RT Lodge or Blackberry Farm for the long weekend!

Oh and you can’t go wrong with 30a in December! See below! :)

8.) Host a cookie swap with friends! This is fun and easy! Make an e-vite and text your girl friends! Tell them to bring two different types of cookie to to the cookie swap. Enjoy some cookies at the party and let the guests take home a different cookies than they came with! Cookie recipe linked here!

Sally Baking Addiction Photo Creds

9.) Bake bread for your neighbors together! Head to Trader Joe’s and get easy bread mix. Have a morning of baking together. Wrap up the bread in cute paper, tie a bow and print your name on the card. Go door to door together and drop off this happy treat. Giving is better than receiving! 

10.) HOST A TEA PARTY! I am getting EXCITED thinking about this! Ask your mom for her fine china and make a variety of teas to enjoy. Invite all your girlfriends over and carve out a couple hours to enjoy time around the table together. If you need more inspo: check out the St. Regis tea party affair in Atlanta. It’s always the best! 

My bestfriend and I at the St. Regis in Atlanta at Christmas!

11.) Here’s a unique one-reach out to a busy young mom you know and offer to watch their children at your house! Sounds weird?! It doesn’t have to be! Young moms are often overwhelmed and this kind gesture is a tangible way to support others during this season. You likely already have baby-sitting experience so this isn’t much different!

12.) Make homemade mint chocolate chip nice-cream together! It’s healthy and it’s easy and it’s festive! Here is my personal favorite recipe. Bonus tip: Add green food coloring to make it even more festive! 

13.) Go to dinner in a pop-up igloo at a local restaurant. Auburn has the cutest option for girls at the Collegiate Hotel & “spoiler alert” you just might find me there this week myself!

14.) Build a box for Operation Christmas Child together. This was always one of my favorite activities my mom and I did together growing up! Go to their website and pick an age group of the child you want to shop for together. It’s impactful and fun! 

15.) Go to the movie theater together! It looks like “Mufasa: The Lion King” just came out! With the reclining chairs and personalized service at a number of movie theaters, this is a fun way to get out of the house and enjoy an activity together on a cold day! 

16.) Get dressed up just to go to brunch! Ditch the athleisure wear for a couple hours (although I love my yoga pants) and get dressed up together to go enjoy a lovely brunch. You don’t have to have a reason to get dressed up! Click here for outfit inspo!  

17.) 2025 is right around the corner! Carve out time to recap the highlights of 2024 that you two enjoyed together. Think of your favorite trips, funny moments, and good times. Bonus: make a TikTok recap that is trending right now! Use this free planner to help map your goals!

18.) Hand paint a mini canvas together! You might be thinking “I am not an artist?!” Well, everyone has to start SOMEWHERE! Hop on amazon and order the mini blank canvases with paint and brushes. Paint something festive..a cross, or a star! Give it as a gift or keep it for yourself! 

19.) Reach out to your cheer team, tennis team etc and invite the girls on the team over for a White Elephant Christmas gifting party. My favorite white elephant gift if a mini waffle maker! I am actually bringing one to a party this week (shhh, don’t tell anyone)!

Here’s to hoping it snows this season like it did winter of 2020 in Knoxville, TN! Throwback photo!

20.) Take a hot yoga class together! Mentally you are somewhere sunny and 75 together! Just because it’s the holidays does not mean you need to ditch moving your body and getting exercise. Taking a hot yoga class together is a fun way to get moving & feel rejuvenated! 

21.) Make copycat Starbucks drinks at home! This medicine ball recipe is the perfect drink to make at home together when you want Starbucks & are feeling curious in the kitchen! 

22.) Have a homemade spa night!!! How fun does this sound? Get face masks at Target and cut cucumbers to cover your eyes. Invite a couple friends over to make it all the more merry! For a little extra glow, use these tan drops post spa day!

23.) Try a new coffee shop with friends! This inexpensive outing can be the perfect occasion to support a local coffee shop and try a new holiday latte! Le Bon Nosh is a gorgeous one if you find yourself near Atlanta!

24.) Take a candle making class together! What a fun way to have a take-home that will fill your house with the scent of the Christmas season! You will not only make a fun memory together, but you will have something to fill your home for weeks to come! 

25.) Are your nails done?! NOW is the time to book your Christmas nail salon appointment ASAP! Go together to get your nails done for the season. I always go with classic red! Bonus: get a pedicure to match and swing by your favorite local bakery for a festive treat after! 

26.) HOST A SOUP SWAP! This is so fun and easy for winter nights. Invite other friends over and have them bring over their favorite soup. Make sure you have tons of extra bowls and spoons so everyone can try each other’s. I hosted this last winter and it was SO MUCH FUN! I love this soup recipe if you are looking for one to try! 

27.) A number of the girls we work with in 1-1 coaching live in the South and it’s not cold enough for snow to fall (talking to my San Antonio clients!!) No snow is a bummer, but you can make SNOW CREAM! Here is the recipe. 

28.) Make a Christmas playlist together. Sit down and pick out your favorite Christmas songs together and put save the songs on Spotify so that you can go back and listen to the playlist you both curated and enjoy! 

Colorado Family Ski Trip

29.) If you live near the mountains, go skiing!! It’s such a great workout and so fun! Don’t be afraid to sign up for ski school, too!

30.) Do you remember the whipped coffee recipe that went viral?!? Bring it back!!! The Christmas season calls for caffeine (no shame) so you might as well make it tasty. Here is my favorite recipe for the whipped coffee! 

31.) This last one is totally biased but brush up on your etiquette skills with this online course, here or start your recruitment prep with our most popular package for girls rushing! Downtime over winter break is a GREAT time to get ahead!

I hope this post gives you inspiration to make memories together!! If you try one of them, tag us at @recruitment.ready! 

I would LOVE to see how you enjoy this season together! 

&&…are you in need of a stocking stuffer? Recruitment Ready makes a GREAT gift. One she will benefit from for YEARS!

Merry Christmas, friend!