NIU students already are counting the days, hours and minutes until the start of Thanksgiving break at noon Wednesday. The overwhelming majority of them are headed home for this holiday break.

“I am very excited to see my family; it has been two months since my last visit,” said Nicole Gile, a junior elementary education major. “I am going to visit my parents and four sisters. I plan to eat a big turkey and sleep a lot.”

Not everyone has the same idea.

“I am not really excited about seeing my family,” junior education major Matt Zedrow said. “It’s boring.”

Some holiday plans seem more like a to-do list.

“My plans for Thanksgiving break are going to consist of cooking, cleaning, spending quality time with my three-year-old son and beginning my Christmas shopping,” sophomore English major Nikuya Williams said.

Mario Hampton, a junior business administration major, plans to find time for academics.

“I plan to take some time out to study for my classes,” Hampton said.

For many, Thanksgiving means a certain Sunday staple.

“I’m planning to go Greyhound to get home, relax, eat a home-cooked meal and watch some NFL Football,” said Brandon Simmons, a freshman political science and public law major.

Those who do stay in DeKalb for break will find the university almost completely shut down. The Campus Life Building, information desk, University Bookstore, computer labs and TCF Bank are among several NIU institutions that will be closed until Monday, Nov. 26.

Freshman nursing major Diana Meza thinks her friends would be better off going home with her for break.

“I think that my friends who stay at NIU would have more fun if I take them with me to my family to celebrate Thanksgiving,” Meza said.

As break ends, so does enthusiasm for the Thanksgiving holiday. The excitement of Christmas starts to show as families put up Christmas trees.

“The day after Thanksgiving we will put our Christmas tree up for the holiday season,” said Jennifer Hineline, a sophomore elementary education major.

With all this talk of turkeys and trees, some still find time to focus on what is truly important.

“Overall, I think that family is what it’s all about,” Williams said.