How to feel festive during exam season

It’s that time of the year! Yes, Christmas, but also exams. It sucks, but here at the picturesque, ancient, prestigious University of St Andrews, most of us have to suffer them every semester. Whilst your friends and family are happily settling into the festive season, sharing pictures on Facebook of homemade mince pies and decorating the tree, we’re stuck in the prison of tears that is the library.

However, to revive the festive spirit we may have once felt before Uni, there are a few things we can do.

‘Procrastibaking’ (Procrastinating-baking)

Gingerbread is the festive classic, but it’s sometimes fiddly to make…

You can’t work all day. You really can’t, or you’ll explode. So why not take a break to bake some Christmas treats? Fill the house with the smell of ginger, share the Christmas love by giving your friends some mince pies. Take out some of that exam frustration by kneading gingerbread dough.

Wintry walks

Leave nothing but your footprints

One of the best ways to take a step back from work is to get fresh air. Wander round Lade Braes, or maybe sit in St Salvator’s Quad and survey the beautiful frosty scenery. Unless it’s pouring with rain: in which case, this is definitely not advised!

Decorate your flat

Our house decorations

This takes time, yes. And it might mean buying some decorations if you don’t already have some old ones lying around- but it definitely lifts the place a bit. What better revision break than to put up tinsel in your living room? You can search the parks and woodland walks of St Andrews for holly and ivy, too. Whether you’re doing it alone or with mates, it’s good fun.

Write some Christmas cards

You might not have done it since primary school, or maybe you still do it every year. Either way, buying cards and writing them to your friends makes Christmas feel far more real. If you’re feeling a little short on money, try getting some from charity shops- cheap, and virtuous! It’s also nice to receive them and form a collection, so if you don’t usually get them, start writing them and start the trend amongst your friends and family!

Watch your favourite festive film

Everyone has a favourite. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, you’ve probably seen Home Alone more times than you’d care to. Just don’t watch it whilst revising- make sure you’re removed from work, snuggled under a blanket with a hot drink, and really absorbing the festivity.

Christmas Potluck

It’s great fun, until you need to clean up the crackers and empty bottles of wine…

Not everyone has the money to make a big dinner for your friends. So, how about make it a pot luck? It’s less stressful when you have fewer things to cook, and nice to know that you’re not spending hundreds of pounds on ingredients. Be cheeky and let your friends make half of the meal for you. Besides, isn’t giving what Christmas is all about?

Festive music

Party on

Baking pies for you and you friends or decorating the house might mean spending a little money, but listening to Christmas music certainly doesn’t. Search Youtube, Spotify, and your music collection to find some of the classics. Warning: keep Christmas music to a minimum whilst revising. We don’t want to associate the holiday with work and stress!

Various hot drinks

It’s Winter: It’s the perfect excuse for you to fill your cupboards with mulled wine, mulled cider, hot chocolate and marshmallows, tea – whatever floats your boat. You can get most of this for under £5 in Morrisons and Tescos, so why not stock up?

Christmas telly

There are some shows that are just essential for Christmas. For me, it’s Morcombe and Wise, and Nigella Lawson’s cooking show. If you don’t have a lisence, you should be able to find a lot of good stuff on BBC iPlayer for free.

Christmas sandwiches

This has definitely helped me feel festive in the past. When you’re in the library and you’re craving Christmas dinner, why not make a Christmas sandwich? Chicken, bacon, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and whatever else you like – it beats the library café festive sandwich.

Remember that exams don’t determine your entire life

Wine always helps

Last but absolutely not least, try not to stress about exams. Impossible, I know. But if you really want to be happy when Christmas rolls around, you need to remember that these are just exams – whether your in fourth year, first year, or trying to get a first for a masters course- and that your happiness is more important than your grades.

If you have the time, you should definitely give the various Christmas markets a visit too, but time is always an issue. At the end of the day, don’t let the exams get you down – dive into them feeling happy, relaxed, and ready for Christmas!