Christmas at home is made all the more special once you get to
University – home comforts are ten times better, with mince pies, puddings and
heating! The importance of family is made more significant by the distance and
stress of studying at University and by the sentiment of the season. Christmas
at home becomes even more important thanks to the impending return to studies
in January.
Our Christmas tree at home, taking pride of place in our living room
Unfortunately, Christmas as a university student is also synonymous
with deadlines. Whether you have essays due in December before the holidays
begin, or essays and exams in January, the festive period comes with work. Free
time is not really ‘free’, and time spent enjoying what Christmas has to offer
can often be followed by feelings of guilt. I tell myself that this won’t be
forever – once I am employed (hopefully!) my free time really will be mine. But
for now, time spent not watching films and visiting family will have to be
spent researching and writing essays on War texts and Wollstonecraft. After
all, that’s what I’m here for!
So what happens in my household at Christmas, aside from assignments
and research? Well, there’s lots of baking – mince pies, sausage rolls, pastry
whirls and gingerbread biscuits. The decorations go up just over a week before
the big day, and the Christmas wrapping is done in front of It’s a Wonderful Life or Nightmare before Christmas (as we
struggle to untangle our maniac of a cat from the ribbon!). Board games come
out of the cupboard, festive tunes play on the CD player, and our open fire is
finally put to use. Nothing makes me happier than being surrounded by friends
and family, laughing at the awful cracker jokes and playing New Market with our
old pennies when we’re feeling full of food!
And what food… Biscuits covered in chocolate, crisps, coated peanuts
and tins of celebrations; Christmas
pudding, chocolate yule log and mince pies; and not forgetting the turkey,
roast potatoes, parsnips, pigs in blankets and of course the humble brussels
sprout! And sometimes, there is nothing better than a good cup of tea next to
the Christmas tree.
One of Mum’s delicious Christmas puddings with plenty of brandy!
Sadly, the Christmas cheer seems to finish on Boxing Day – the sale adverts
begin, bargain shoppers get up at obscene hours of the morning to save some
pennies, and you won’t hear a Christmas song on the radio until November the
next year. Christmas decorations start coming down, and suddenly all anyone can
talk about is their plans for New Year. And so it will all be over for 2012.
So let’s make the most of it – play Christmas music to your heart’s
content, make the most of all the food available, the family comforts of
heating and the Christmas films and TV specials. And most of all make the most
of being with your loved ones; after all, that’s what really makes Christmas special.
Not everyone is so lucky – and we must spare a thought for them all.
To all you students out there: work is still important, and projects
and essays must be completed. But we must still make sure that we spend the
Christmas period doing what we enjoy. If things are getting stressful, make
sure you have a mince pie or chocolate to keep you going with that revision;
having the Christmas holidays off is one of the perks of being a student (even
if you do have work) and once we enter the working world we’ll wish we still
had this time off – so let’s make the most of it!
In a similar way to Robin, I’d like to quickly wish a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year to my mum, dad and sister, as well as all my family, and
my friends both at uni and at home.
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
Joanne
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