Home is where Christmas is.

Last Tuesday, I heard that two of my lectures later in the week had been cancelled and one was optional. So on Wednesday, I packed my bags and headed back to my cosy little home town three days early, to surprise my family and enjoy some home comforts.

It was exactly what I needed. I was able to get into the festive spirit, listening to nothing but Doris Day's holiday songs CD, decorating the tree with my little sister, watching my high school's annual pantomime and burning 'Noel' oil on the mantelpiece so the whole house smelled like Christmas.

When I walk back to my halls after a day of lectures, I see the whole main street of the student village joining in the festive frenzy. There are paper snowflakes stuck on windows, streamers hanging in the kitchens, twinkly lights adorning the balconies, fake snow covering every inch of glass, and even a few Christmas trees are visible here and there. My housemates, bless them, in their abundant social awkwardness have slapped a few scraps of paper saying "Merry Christmas" on the fridge and hung a token glittery snowflake and star from the ceiling. At least they tried. I often wonder, as I watch student houses gradually transform, one by one, into Santa's Grottos, if I am the only student on campus feeling a little less-than-merry at the moment. Am I the only one who thinks that Christmas is a time to be spent at home with our families, not in a house/flat full of people we've only known for three months? Are the other students frantically decorating every inch of their temporary accommodation simply because they are trying to make themselves feel more Christmassy, when deep down we know that we will never be truly festive as long as we are away from home?

December 17th cannot come quickly enough. I'm sure by December 25th, I will have eaten my weight in advent chocolate, played the guessing game with all my presents under the tree and watched 'Elf' a couple million times; then and only then, will I feel truly Christmassy. x