Thanksgiving is coming and most college students can manage to get home for a long weekend. By now, they are dying for the easy life of home cooking, free washers and dryers, and full cable.
So, plan on a traditional feast. Maybe you’ve always wanted to have Thanksgiving at a restaurant, but this is not the year to try something different. Make your kids’ favorites. As an extra bonus, ask if any of their new college friends want to come along. This is a crucial time in their friendship bonding. If your kids can say, "Come home with me - the food’s great, and we have lots of fun," then you’ve done something right as a parent. Also, don’t forget to make extra and send the kids back to school with leftovers.
If they can’t make it home this year for Thanksgiving, then go visit. College campuses are ghost towns during holidays. There is nothing lonelier. So, this may just be the year to try a restaurant for Thanksgiving.
December: Fuel Finals
The kids are in college for a reason. To get an education. And December is the month when this education is put to the test. The dreaded final exams. So, if your kids are like most college students, they’re cramming. Studying is never harder than the first year’s finals.
So, they need brain food. Send beef jerky for protein, something with caffeine, and chocolate to combat the inevitable depression that comes from all work and no play. Also, keep in mind that the end of the semester is when all of the financial reserves have been spent. College students are terrible with budgets. So, make sure your kids haven’t used all of their points on their meal cards or that they can buy the supplies for their end-of-semester science project.
January: Enjoy Vacation
Your kids are on break, so let them take a break. The most recent sleep studies have shown that sleep can be banked. So, let them make some deposits. Don’t vacuum outside their bedroom doors at 11am. Instead, enjoy these people they are becoming. Listen to their stories about their new friends and their professors. Don’t worry about sleep schedules when there is so much to know about these new people in your home.
Also, this is a good time to reevaluate the old house rules. Your kids have been on their own without any rules. Certainly you can only bend according to what you’re comfortable with. But, you might want to consider doing away with the curfew.