From quizzes to crackers: The best things that made my York Uni Christmas Day

Christmas is fast approaching and that means only one thing, uni flats and houses all across York will be attempting a to all cook Christmas dinner. Now this sounds stressful, however, it can be a lot of fun.

My house and I decided not only to have the full Christmas dinner but made the whole day a fake Christmas Day (minus the family arguments and your grandparent snoring on the sofa). It became one of my favourite days of the semester and I would recommend to anyone!

Here is a list of all the fun things we did that made the day so special:

1. Christmas PJs

Now, matching Christmas pjs on couples make me feel slightly ill, however, when it is the whole girls house matching, suddenly it is the most adorable thing ever. We just got a cheap pair each last year from Primark and kept them again for this year! We watched movies the night before (or Christmas Eve) and woke up and had breakfast in them.

2. Christmas decorations

We all went on a girls trip to B&M and bought fairy lights, a Christmas table cloth, a paper chain set, tinsel and even a mini tree with baubles. We didn’t have an angel or a star for the top though, so we narcissistically put a pic of ourselves! You don’t have to go all out, but it definitely has made our house feel more festive and cosy this month and set the mood perfectly for our Christmas Day.

3. Nice breakfast

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We started the day with croissants from Lidl bakery and fruit. The Lidl breakfast goods are not only delicious, but also are incredibly cheap so you can feel practically Parisian on a budget. We also needed some energy for all the food prep. Of course we accompanied our breakfast with lots of bucks fizz because Christmas is the only day where drinking with breakfast is not considered problematic…

4. A fantastic food prep plan

I cannot take any responsibility for the time stamped food prep and cooking schedule, however, it made the whole cooking process so much less stressful. My housemates did a wonderful job of organising us like elves in Santa’s workshop, chopping, peeling and seasoning.

5. The ultimate Christmas lunch

It would not be fake Christmas Day without an epic roast and boy was ours great. We collectively decided what we wanted/ what we could fit in our tiny uni oven and it was a great spread. Again, I cannot take much credit for the food as my job was more entertainment rather than chef, however we all pitched in and had a great time.

Last year, none of us were up for cooking so we all went to Toby Carvery instead. This can be a great alternative if, like me, you’re not the most talented chef.

6. Christmas crackers

You cannot forget Christmas crackers with your dinner! We gout ours from B&M so they were super cheap but provided us with those gorgeous hats that somehow are always too tiny or humongous.

7. Christmas film

After lunch, we were rightfully stuffed so we decided to watch a Christmas film while we recovered. We chose the absolute classic Nativity! It would not be Christmas without Mr Poppy. We had a sing along and tried to quote the most niches lines we could.

8. Christmas quiz/games

This is very extra, although I did previously state my strengths lay in entertainment rather than the kitchen. I created a powerpoint quiz with different rounds for my housemates. I did a Christmas round, a music round, a round on our memories as a house and even a guess this person round, where I took pictures of our friends and zoomed in and they had to guess who was who! It was a lot of fun and filled that lull in the afternoon that happens on Christmas. We even brought a chocolate orange as the prize for the winner, so naturally it got extremely competitive.

If you are not as extra as me, a good alternative is to play some board games or cards.

9. I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here final

As big I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here fans, we purposefully put our Christmas day on the same day as the final so we could all watch it together. We had snacks and drinks and all commented on the campmates and judged what they picked for their last meals in the jungle. It was the perfect way to finish the day.

I would highly recommend doing a fake Christmas to anyone at uni. You could make it your own and add in Secret Santa or any other Christmas traditions you love! I am so sad that this is my last Christmas living with all my friends but we made the most of it. Fake Christmas was the best way to end the semester and get ready for the festive period!