Christmas on campus! Your guide to everything festive happening on Lancs campus

Yay, it’s Christmas at Lancs!

5 months ago | UPDATED 5 months ago

Most uni students have been thinking about Christmas for weeks – after Halloween, it was only a matter of time. It’s the time of year where you can forget about all your upcoming deadlines, cook a messy Christmas dinner with your flat, and collapse into a food coma, so who wouldn’t be excited? Christmas makes Lancs campus feel more homely, and brings a lovely winter aesthetic with it.

So, for everyone who has been secretly waiting for Christmas to become a socially acceptable topic of conversation since October, here is your guide to Christmas on campus. From LUSU organised events to things you can do with your flat, there isn’t a shortage of ways to feel festive this year at Lancs.

1. Decorate your uni flat

There is a really specific type of fun which comes from putting up cheap or makeshift decorations as we all wait for the next student loan to come through.

I am partial to excessive tinsel around the kitchen but honestly anything goes. (My next move is paper snowflakes…)

2. Ice-skate on campus

LUSU have organised a free ice-skating rink in Bowland until Thursday 7th December, and it looks incredible! Getting tickets, however, was a free-for-all. They are long sold out because who wouldn’t fight for ice-skating?

So, for those who didn’t get tickets, Lancaster On Ice is back in Dalton Square. This is off-campus, but needs must.

3. Enjoy a Christmas market

There is a Christmas market currently on campus, available from Tuesday 5th to Thursday 7th December. There will be stalls and societies and opportunities for a Christmas meal!

4. Get a festive hot chocolate from Coastal

If you haven’t got a hot chocolate from Coastal yet, what are you doing? I am a big fan of the caramel choice, but they all look incredible with a mountain of whipped cream and little chocolate embellishments.

Whether this is a treat to make it through a long day of lectures or a place to catch up with friends, this is definitely a good financial decision.

5. Holly jolly crawl

A bar crawl organised by our colleges, Lancaster Music Co-op and LU Folk Society is set to explore campus on Friday 8th December. It starts at County at 5pm, then onto Furness, Pendle and Cartmel. If Christmas jumpers and a raffle aren’t enough to convince you, there’s promise of free food and drinks at some of the bars!

6. Have a flat Christmas dinner

I’m not sure this one needs a big explanation: it will inevitably be funny and shambolic and memorable. This is the one I am most excited for. But if you’re traumatised from past flat Christmas dinners, there’s always the option to buy one from the Marketplace on the 7th and 20th of December.

7. Santa Dash

A 4km run, hosted by Sport Lancaster, is set to take place on Sunday 10th December. This was arranged with the Running and Athletics Club and the Student Union Active Lancaster initiative, and there is a free medal for all participants! There is a £5 entry fee to raise money for the charity, Defying Dementia, so if this sounds like your kind of thing, it’s for a good and festive cause!

8. Lights Out! Climbing Party

On Friday 8th December, there is an annual charity climbing session at the Sports Centre. The goal is to raise money for Climbers Against Cancer (CAC). This is such a fun and unique way to give back to the community this festive season.

9. An assortment of college activities

It feels like there’s never any shortage of things to do on campus – it’s impossible not to stay busy! And with many upcoming winter balls and final Michaelmas socials organised by our societies and colleges, there are so many things to look forward to! From bauble decorating in Bowland to baking Christmas tree brownies with Baking Soc, there are a range of activities on campus.