By Serena Wong, BA International Business Management with Study Abroad
The holiday season is finally here- which means it’s time for all things red, green, merry and bright. However, that’s not all there is to this wondrous season of the year. Christmas is not only the perfect excuse to sate your appetite with mulled wine, honey-glazed gammon, and all the dessert one can possibly eat, it is also the perfect opportunity to spend quality time with your friends and family.
As an international student who’s not going home this Christmas holiday,
I knew that this season of joy and giving can be equally lonesome if not for having friends to celebrate with! I am incredibly grateful to have commenced my winter break with a Christmas dinner together with my flatmates.
However close you are with your flatmates, it’s always a brilliant idea to gather everyone for a Christmas dinner. Since none of my flat mates mentioned having one, I decided to propose the idea. Lo and behold, everyone was so excited in the preparation for our dinner. We went grocery shopping, cooked, played some games, had some drinks and ate until we felt like throwing up!
Amidst the preparation, I had learned a little more about how cherished the Christmas spirit is in the UK. My friend and flat mate, Nicole, guided us in making many traditional English Christmas delicacies such as roast gammon, Yorkshire pudding and pigs-in-blankets. She taught us local games and traditions which everyone enjoyed learning. My highlight of the evening was seeing all our international friends embrace new delicacies and traditions because our first Christmas in the UK will forever be remembered.
If this is your first Christmas in the UK, I hope you will fill this time with new experiences, good food, and good company. It’s perfectly normal to 
miss home – more so if you’re an international student who’s not going home (like myself). But I truly believe, if you treat yourself to a good cup of hot chocolate at Sheffield’s Christmas Market or take a short trip to a different city, you’ll start feeling the Christmas spirit (and dance to Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You).
During this festive season of giving, let us take time to slow down and enjoy the simple things. May this wonderful time of the year touch your heart in a special way. Wishing you much happiness not just today, but throughout the New Year!