It’s that time of the year again. The Christmas ads are back on telly, you’re binging on family share-boxes of chocolates, and your parents have once again turned your living room into Santa’s grotto. But what’s Christmas like when you’re a student at uni? For most of us, it’s a little bit like this…
1. You can’t afford to splurge on food
You promised your flatmates you’d contribute towards a hearty fat Christmas dinner before you all go your separate ways for the hols, but when you’re scraping at the bottom of your student loan, suddenly beans on toast seems the more likely food you’ll be resorting to living off for the last week or two of term. Chicken? That’s a luxury you won’t see until you’re back home with your salary-paid parents.
2. You’ll openly confess to doing your Christmas shopping at the pound store
Because what friend or family member won’t appreciate five slightly random items at add to their Christmas presents hoard? I’m talking flimsy notebooks, cheap foreign chocolate brands you’ve never actually heard of, and novelty toilet brushes. And that’s a whole present sorted for just a fiver for you- it’s a win-win situation, clearly.
3. You and your friends decide when it comes to buying each other’s presents, Secret Santa is definitely the way forward
Thankfully, it’s not just you who can openly admit that if you were left with the task of buying every one of your pals a prezzie this Christmas, they’d probably all end up with a Terry’s chocolate Orange from the ‘reduced’ section in Lidl. Secret Santa ensures only one of your friends receives a (marginally) more expensive and thought-out gift. Brilliant.
4. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines
Christmas is a time for relaxation and de-stress, right? Wrong. Not when you’re a uni student, anyway. Luckily for us, our lecturers like to shower us with the best gifts of all come the beginning of December: word counts, theories, and Harvard referencing. So consequently you spend every breathing hour in the run-up to Christmas frantically trying to finish off your assignments (and getting very little sleep in the process) so the fun can finally begin.
5.You haven’t eaten a mince pie yet this year.
Because you can’t afford one. The sad truth.
6. Suddenly, though you tell your mates you’re dreading it, you can’t wait to go home.
Yes, you’ll admit it- you’ve actually kind of missed your parents while you were away. And the vision you have of cuddling up on the sofa in your jammies watching a Christmas film with your little bro, while your mum tackles your laundry and cooks you that hearty Christmas dinner you’ve been so longing for, is a prospect that fills you with absolute excitement.
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