The holidays is not just precious time off-work. It’s also a time for students to get out of campus, bade farewell to homework blues for a while, and run back to the one place they’re safe–home. Here are a few guides to parents in preparation for this grand homecoming.

Call them up. Ask about their schedule on going home so you can expect them on their arrival date. It’s good to talk to them in advance so that you will know if they’ve made other plans for Christmas. No doubt, your kids have made more friends this year, so don’t be surprised if he wants to spend Christmas somewhere else. But if it’s really important to you that he spend Christmas at home, tell him straight.

Let him go out with his old friends. Going home not only means he’ll get to see his family; it also means he gets to see his neighborhood and his old buddies. Let him hang out. He wants to share his university experiences other people and it’s good because it means he enjoys his classes.

Plan an out of town Christmas. Give your family a whole new Christmas experience by spending it somewhere else.

Give him gifts he can use in school. The gifts you should give him are things he both need and want. How about a laptop or an extra book allowance? It’s hard to be a student with very limited funds, so think of gifts which can make school easier and more manageable for him.

Ask him what he wants for Christmas dinner, and ask him to help out with the cooking and documenting the party. Being involved with the preparations will make him feel that he’s still a very big part of the family.

Ask him about school. You have to know what’s new with him and what’s going on in school. So talk to him so that you’ll know if he’s coping well with college and the stress. Make it known to him that he has your guidance if he needs it.