Things to Remember before going home for Christmas.

Book your travel home ASAP.
If you haven’t already sorted out your travel arrangements, make sure you do it now!
If you’re travelling home on the train, remember that the earlier you book your journey, the cheaper the tickets will generally be.
Plan the dates you’ll be travelling and try to be as flexible as possible to avoid any peak travelling times as much as possible. Try and reserve yourself a seat as soon as you have a date in mind. You’ll be most grateful for the seat when you see people resorting to sitting on the floor or suitcase because the train is so overcrowded!
Most train ticket websites like Virgin, National Rail, TransPennine and Northern allow you to book journeys up to 12 weeks ahead – and you can save up to 40% depending on where you’re travelling to and from.

The same applies if the Stagecoach, Megabus or National Express coaches are more your style, as seating is very limited.

Clear your room of festive decorations.
If you’ve had a tree and decorations up in your student accommodation, as painful as this might sound, you may want to think about taking them down and packing them away just before you head home for the festive holiday.

You don’t want to come back in late January with the post-Christmas blues, only to discover that you still need to take the tree and decorations down and Hoover all the glitter up.

Be Eco friendly and Don’t waste electricity & water.
Just before you all leave to go home, make sure everything electrical is turned off.
Electricals? Off.
Heating? Off.
Taps? Tightly closed.
And remember, this includes turning things off standby – you might want to unplug everything to be extra sure.

You don’t want to come back to a scary utility bills allowance usage when no one has even been at home over Christmas, or suffer that wave of panic where you’re 200 miles away but think you’ve left the iron on.
Also, if you’re living in shared accommodation, get everyone to do the same in their rooms!

Empty the fridge of any perishables and empty kitchen waste bins.
The worst thing you can do is head home for three or four weeks, only to return to milk that’s turned to cheese and the stench of food waste in the kitchen bin. Make sure the fridge is completely empty and the kitchen bins are emptied before you go. You’ll thank us for this later!

The fridge will absolutely stink if you don’t, so make sure that you use up that student Christmas dinner leftovers before you head home.

Lock up securely.
Make sure all windows and doors are locked. If you’re in shared accommodation, make sure that everything in your room is locked away safely, and that the windows are shut.

If you’re super worried about your items, double-check that you have them covered with some decent contents insurance.
Avoid telling the world via Social Media that you will be going home for Christmas and you’re Flat, Apartment or House will be vacant for any opportunist to pay a visit. You never know who you can trust these days…

Before you leave, Check and Double Check.
Just before you leave to go home, double-check you have all your important little bits and pieces, such as your passport and visa, purse or wallet, mobile phone, train, coach or airline ticket, ect.

It sounds stupid, but you don’t want to get to the airport only to find out you don’t have the documents or tickets to actually go anywhere.
This stuff happens, and if you’ve bought an advance ticket, the odds are that you’ll need to buy a brand new one on the spot which will cost you a fortune.

And Lastly, Remember.
On your return back to your student digs after your well deserved Christmas break, go through your checklist again to ensure you have all you need to take back with you.

You will be surprised on how many students return to their digs late at night to find that they have left the keys to the accommodation miles away at home and cannot get in!

All information sourced and shared by Unipad Student Housing Lancaster.