Celebrating Flatmas

2020 has been an unexpected year for all of us, which is why its more important than ever to boost morale by celebrating Christmas with those closest to you. Whether you’re staying at uni for the Christmas period or want to celebrate with your friends before you head home, here’s how my flat celebrated Flatmas and how yours can too!

First up was presents. We knew we couldn’t do Christmas without the presents, but we also had our ever-growing overdrafts to consider. We eventually decided to go for Secret Santa with a £10 spending limit, so started off our day by taking it in turns to open our gifts.

Next was the decorations. As we were all leaving so early into December, we decided that small and simple was best, so of course, we hit Poundland. It’s surprising how festive the kitchen felt after a few simple decorations; tinsel, a red tablecloth, some festive cups, and a tiny tabletop tree alongside our fairy lights made the flat feel cosy and warm. We also placed Christmas crackers alongside the table settings and of course spent the rest of our day wearing the paper hats.

Then came the Christmas dinner. Considering nobody in my flat had tackled the task of a roast dinner before, I didn’t have high hopes for this at first. We took a big shop to Aldi that morning and loaded up on all the Christmas dinner essentials; meat, vegetables, desserts, and lots of mulled wine and prosecco. The more capable cooks of our flat took on the challenge of cooking, and after some careful planning it actually turned out really well. Split between my 10 flatmates, dinner didn’t even have to break the bank!

After dinner (and a few too many drinks), the girls had a cheesy sing-a-long and of course, the boys had to watch the football. We then played a classic Christmas day game of charades and decided to call it a night.

Celebrating Flatmas was definitely a highlight of my first semester in Sheffield, it helped me to get into the Christmas spirit at a time when I’m sure most people have felt their least festive.

Edited by Victoria Sales