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The sentence:
マイクは冬休みでわくわくしています。
Is it "Mike is thrilled for winter vacation"?
If I change it to マイクは冬休みにわくわくしています, does it become "Mike is thrilled in winter vacation"?
I learned that "で" can mean in, e.g. "I make food in the restaurant", レストランで料理をしています; at, "I'm at school", 私は学校でいます; or by, "I will go to school by car", 車で学校に行く
Using で or に in the sentence won't change the meaning. Both would be understood as Mike is excited because of winter vacation.
Both で and に can mean a reason or cause. The following is from the entry に. All the に used here can be replaced by で without changing the meaning (much).
6〔理由，原因〕for；with
恥ずかしさに赤面した
She blushed for shame.うれしさに躍り上がった
He danced for [with] joy.寒さに震えた
They shivered with cold.彼らは飢えに苦しんでいた
They were suffering from hunger.警報に驚いた
We were startled by the alarm.
On the other hand, 彼はがんで死んだ (He died of cancer., で is used for a cause) can't be ×彼はがんに死んだ. So it ultimately depends on the verb whether で/に is used.
BTW 私は学校でいます is not acceptable. It should be 私は学校にいます.
