With the annual Tree Lighting finally having taken place, we as Columbia students find ourselves in the midst of two seasons: cuffing season and finals season.

It’s very easy for the Type As among us (which, if we’re being honest, is 95% of the student body) to retreat to Butler with a laptop, a pillow, and a two-week supply of CLIF Bars and camp out for the entire first two-thirds of December, but we all need to take breaks from studying and writing and cramming other than crying and Juuling. And is there any better way to forget about finals season by embracing cuffing season, to go out into the cold (or stay indoors in the warm) with someone special who is also looking to de-stress by embracing New York winters, be it a long-term partner or the guy from Hinge you’ve been texting on and off and on and off and on and off for a few months.

We asked Bwog staffers to share some ideas for how they recommend mitigating the stress of finals season by making the best of cuffing season. Here are some suggestions:

• Sit on a bench together on the Upper East Side and talk shit about the old ladies and their dogs that pass by.
• Pick out ugly Christmas sweaters for each other at a thrift store. (There are a few good ones on 96th and Broadway.) Bonus points if you find weird winter housewares! I think fondue pots should have a renaissance.
• Do your own 2girls1snack of your favorite seasonal foods: hot chocolate, hot cider, etc.
• Do a triple feature of all three Christmas Prince movies on Netflix. Curl up under a blanket with hot chocolate or a bottle of wine and make a drinking game out of all the ridiculous Hallmark movie tropes.
• Go ice skating at Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center.
• Go to the Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center.
• Go to Trader Joe’s and try their holiday-themed food.
• Make peppermint brownies and drink spiked hot chocolate.
• Go to SoJo Spa in Edgewater, NJ for a day of relaxation.
• Take a weekend trip to a nice cabin upstate. (This probably isn’t a great first date idea).
• Bake pies together.
• Get ice cream and go walk by the water in Williamsburg and become really cold so your partner is forced to hold you and keep you warm.
• Make mashed potatoes and marathon Twin Peaks.
• Check out the newly renovated Museum of Modern Art.
• Lie on the ground together and let the snow submerge you both.
• Make homemade mac and cheese (or add breadcrumbs to boxed mac and cheese) and watch movies together.
• Nap together.
• Go to any of the outdoor winter markets throughout the city. There are markets in Bryant Park, Union Square, and Columbus Circle.
• Go uptown to the Cloisters and enjoy views of the Hudson while looking at medieval art.
• Hole up in a cute cafe in the Village and people-watch while downing cappuccinos.
• Go to Metrograph on the Lower East Side and catch a showing of a film in their holiday series (e.g., The Nightmare Before Christmas, Phantom Thread, The Apartment).

Rockefeller Center Ice Skating Rink. Prometheus by Paul Manship by Bruin