University Students: Making The Most of Your Christmas Break

Woop woop! Its almost time for Christmas! Uni students around the country are preparing to go home for a break, what they will do over the holidays, or perhaps even staying in their student accommodation. Whatever you are up to this Christmas, we have some tips for you – not only to make the most of your time off but to also stay motivated for when you have to go back to Uni.

Leaving Your Student Accommodation For Christmas?

If you are leaving your student accommodation this year and so are your housemates, then you will want to ensure that you have left your rental house/flat safe so that you don’t return to a disaster in the new year! Here is a quick checklist if you are leaving your house for more than a week:

Make sure no pets are left behind…yes, we know this may sound ridiculous but if there is a miscommunication about who is taking care of the cat or your fish over the holidays…
Consider turning off the water if the weather forecast is looking particularly cold. If the pipes freeze and burst while you are away the damage will be minimised.
Have a big tidy up. There is nothing worse than coming back to a dirty, messy home so before you go, arrange with your housemates to have a big clean.
Work out who needs what keys. If you don’t all have your own keys, establish who will be the last to leave/first back or who may need their own key.
Finally, remember to lock the doors…yes, another obvious one but again, miscommunication could lead to doors or windows being unlocked. Check all the windows and secure the doors before you leave.

Not Going Home This Year?

If you are staying in your student house this Christmas then you may feel a little sad, especially if your housemates are all going home for the holidays. However, there are plenty of things you could get up to over Christmas! Find out who else is staying at Uni over Christmas and make plans to do something, how about a communal Christmas dinner or boxing days games night? Check with your student union too if they have anything planned for students. If you are in Sheffield, there is still loads to do over the holidays, especially nightlife. Whatever you do, don’t sit making yourself miserable!

Tips For Staying Productive and Enjoying Your Break

The best thing about the Christmas holidays, aside from all the food and drink, is not having any lectures or assignments!

But, as they say, too much of a good thing isn’t actually that good for you. laze around and relax too much and you may end up feeling so unmotivated in January that you can’t face going back to Uni. But it isn’t healthy to spend the holidays worrying and working either…here are a few tips to help you get the balance right this Christmas.

Take some light reading home with you. don’t pack up all of your books but just ten minutes of reading each day will keep your brain ticking over.
Stay in touch with other students over the holidays so you don’t feel out of touch with Uni life.
It might be tempting to succumb to erratic sleep patterns or lounging around watching Netflix all day and if you want to do that its fine, but make sure you keep some sort of routine.
Make a list of things you need to do once you are back at Uni but then fold it up and forget about it. Worrying about things you can’t do now isn’t productive and will just make you stressed.
Get fresh air and exercise – locking yourself in the house and eating leftover turkey for two weeks would demotivate anyone so make sure you get out and enjoy some crisp winter air.
Do a little bit of work. Sounds mad, eh? just have half an hour per day doing a little bit of work and then you have the rest of the day to binge watch your favourite tv show.
Above all else, enjoy yourself and make the most of being able to catch up with old friends and family.