Making the season yours: How to embrace Christmas in a new place
Published: 19 December 2025
Jernie, an MSc student in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Canada, is spending her first Christmas away from home. She shares how to turn a lonely Christmas into a season of growth, joy, and new traditions.
Author: Jernie Friesen, MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice student
Like many students at the University of Glasgow, I’ll be spending my first Christmas away from family this year. My name is Jernie, and I’m from Winnipeg, Canada (or as we like to call it, Winterpeg), and I’m here in University of Glasgow (UofG) pursuing an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice. It feels weird, but since this is my first Christmas away from Winnipeg, it will also be my first Christmas without knee-deep snow!
If, like me, you're spending your first holiday season away from home, it can feel sad, scary, or lonely, or it might feel exciting to be able to experience the holidays in a new place with new people, or maybe you feel a mix of the two! Whether you feel apprehensive or excited about spending Christmas away from family for the first time, there are a lot of ways to make it a fun and memorable holiday season and ward off loneliness. Here are 5 things I have done to help brighten up my first Christmas away from home!
1) Try something new
Spending Christmas in Glasgow for the first time means lots of opportunities to try new things! Maybe you’ve never been ice skating before and want to give it a go, or perhaps you want to try cooking a new festive or traditional Scottish recipe, or maybe a new hiking trail in the Scottish Highlands is calling your name. There are so many things to do in Glasgow and in Scotland, and the Christmas break is a perfect time to try something you wouldn’t have time to do during the term. Making plans to try something new also gives you something to look forward to, and afterwards, you can look back on (hopefully) fun memories! And who knows, maybe you'll discover your new favourite hobby!
2) Be creative
If you love little crafts as much as I do, then getting into some festive crafts is a great way to fill yourself with Christmas spirit! The sky is the limit with this one – Christmas cards, Christmas decorations for your flat, vision boards, Christmas baubles, scrapbook pages with mementos from your time in Glasgow, the possibilities are endless.
I love to do crafts with friends so my flatmates and I recently had a day of doing Christmas crafts together, but this could also definitely be a fun solo activity for some quiet rest time after a busy term.
Doing Christmas crafts with friends.
3) Connect with others
This one is very important – isolation makes loneliness stronger, especially during the holiday season, so it is important to connect with others. While phone and video calls with friends and family from back home are a great way to connect and celebrate the holidays, it is also important to connect with people face-to-face. This could look like going out for coffee with friends or classmates, going for a walk or cooking a meal with flatmates, or even inviting your neighbours over for a board games night! If you’re still looking for another way to connect, the University of Glasgow offers lots of opportunities.
International Student Support at the UofG runs events and programs throughout the year for international students to connect with one another, and many UofG clubs and societies also offer lots of opportunities to connect with other students who have similar interests or experiences. You don’t have to fill your break with socialising (unless you want to), but try to plan at least a handful of activities where you can connect.
4) Participate in festive events
Taking in some festive and holiday-themed events, especially with friends, can help to brighten the Christmas season. The UofG hosts many Christmas - and holiday - themed events to help you get into the Christmas spirit, and Glasgow offers many other festive events such as Christmas markets, festive movies in the cinema, and many more. If you like music, my suggestion is always church Christmas concerts – even if you’re not religious, choral Christmas music in a beautiful church is always an amazing experience.
Ashton Lane in Glasgow lit up for Christmas.
5) Do something to help out
The Christmas season can be difficult for a lot of people for a lot of different reasons, and doing something to help someone else not only helps them, but it can also help you to forget about your own troubles. Volunteering at an organisation you feel passionate about, bringing a meal or a coffee to a friend who is struggling, or even writing encouraging notes to hand out are great examples of ways you can support others during the holiday season. This doesn’t need to be extravagant, but even doing something small to help those around you can bring a lot of good to someone’s Christmas and will probably help you feel good too!
Spending your first Christmas away from home can be a big challenge, and while I hope that you are able to have a great Christmas season and make a lot of fun memories, it’s also okay to feel sad or lonely or homesick. If you’re struggling during the holidays, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a loved one or the services offered by the UofG’s Counselling & Wellbeing Services for support.
I hope these 5 tips for spending your first Christmas away from home have given you some ideas of how you can brighten up your holiday season. Giving yourself new and exciting things to look forward to and supporting those around you can help you have a fun and memorable first Christmas away from home. I wish you lots of fun experiences for your first Christmas in Glasgow!
Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
First published: 19 December 2025
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