Christmas break is one of the things that most of us look forward to all December, if not the whole year. The week-long vacation- excluding weekends- from school is pretty awesome and usually much needed. However, the week following Christmas almost always results in either extreme boredom or spending all the money that is received during the holiday in record time. That’s why this year I’m hoping to avoid both of those problems by creating a guide to help keep you thoroughly entertained for the entirety of Christmas break, without spending every last penny Grandma just gave you. That way, when January rolls along, we aren’t all completely broke again. Dec 23 – Sleep in! It’s Thursday, you don’t have school, and Christmas Eve is tomorrow. You’ll probably spend the day getting ready for whatever festivities you have going on, but in between helping your parents, I recommend you get most of your homework done today. It’s easier said than done, but it will pay off when you have an entire week of homework free days ahead of you. Dec 24 – It’s Christmas Eve and you probably already have plans of your own for later in the evening. During the day, watch all of your favorite Christmas movies that are playing on TV. Dec 25 – Surely you have plans for today too. Enjoy your family’s company and have fun. Dec 26 – Christmas is over, but don’t fret, you still have New Year’s to look forward to. Today is one of the best days to take advantage of stores’ sales, so if you didn’t get everything on your wish list, get it now while it’s relatively cheap but don’t buy everything in sight. Dec 27 – Go to a museum or an art gallery. There are a ton of museums around the Pittsburgh area. One of my favorites is the Andy Warhol museum. It’s only $8 for people under 18 and even if you’ve been there before, they always have new exhibits. Dec 28 – Since today is Tuesday, every movie is only $5 at Cinemark in Monaca. There are always new movies out around holidays, so check the show times and go see one for a fraction of the regular price. Dec 29 – In case of snow, today would be a great day to go sledding. There are a couple of good places to go around here if you don’t have any hills nearby. If you can get access to them, parks are awesome places to sled. Economy Park has some big hills, and Green Valley would be the perfect place to build a massive snowman. Best of all, snow is completely free. Dec 30 – Call up a friend or significant other and go ice skating at PPG. You probably haven’t been ice skating since middle school and for $10 per person, including skate rental, it’s a few dollars well-spent. If you’d rather not go out to Pittsburgh two days in one week then there are a couple local ice rinks that can be just as fun. Dec 31 – While you anxiously await the New Year’s Eve party you’ll be attending tonight, entertain yourself at home. Create a collage out of magazine clippings. Send some letters to your favorite celebrities – check out www.fanmail.biz. Look through old photo albums or get some digital photos printed and make a new one. Jan 1 – Happy New Year! Celebrate by going out to dinner with a big group of friends and share your New Year’s Resolutions. Jan 2 – Christmas Break is just about over and you’ve probably already begun counting down the days until June 9. Since school starts again tomorrow it might be a good idea to get started on that homework that you were supposed to do two Thursdays ago.