Christmas at home vs Christmas at Uni: picking what’s best for you

Not everyone goes home for Christmas, and, quite honestly, the idea of staying at uni over Christmas should be more normalised. The older you get, the more common it becomes to skip out on going home altogether over the winter holidays. So if Christmas at home just isn’t for you, why shouldn’t you stay at uni once you move out?

There are many reasons why you might want to stay at university- at least, for the majority of the Christmas holidays- that doesn't necessarily mean you hate being around your family. For one, life back home can transport you back to your childhood- a life where you had no agency to do what you wanted. There is nothing worse than having to live with your parents,  in bed by 10 pm or asking for permission to leave the house, after having spent the last semester stumbling back home at 3 am. They mean well, but parents often have 9-to-5s that they’re still working over Christmas, or just like getting an early bedtime. It’s great to see family at Christmas, but sometimes it's better for you and for your parents to have minimal time in the house together- particularly as New Year's comes up. Having your parents asleep by 11 pm and no one else to celebrate with is just downright depressing. 

Similarly, is it a crime to want to rest over Christmas without your family asking increasingly personal questions? Some of the classic questions asked over the Christmas period include:

• Have you been eating well at university?
• Have you found a partner yet?

And the worst of all:

• Do you know what job you want to apply for once you’ve graduated?

Sometimes, a few weeks over the Christmas holiday spent at uni can be more of a rest than spending it at home. With no awkward questions or judgment about your new, adult life, spending some quality time in your uni city with your friends can be just what you need before beginning Semester 2. We should all be thankful for family, but it’s also important to know when you’ve had too much of being asked to clean your room, or bumping into people in your hometown that you’d rather never see again.

Calculated time away has proven to make some families closer. Not having to quarrel over Christmas dinner or put up with your grandparents’ questionable political views can definitely make the heart grow fonder. After all, isn’t Christmas about being grateful? Sometimes, it's okay to be grateful from a distance.