Christmas revision is a uniquely grim experience. One minute you’re surrounded by fairy lights, Quality Street and family members asking “so how’s uni going?,” the next you’re trying to memorise lecture slides while someone puts The Snowman on for the sixth time.
For Glasgow students facing January exams, revising over Christmas is unavoidable. But it doesn’t have to turn you into the family villain. Here’s how to get through festive revision without falling out with everyone you love.
Accept that revision won’t look productive
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If your idea of revision includes colour-coded notes and eight hour library shifts, let it go. Christmas revision is shorter, messier and fuelled entirely by leftovers.
A couple of solid hours in the morning beats pretending you’ll “start after dinner” (you won’t).
Claim your revision territory early
Whether it’s the dining table, your childhood bedroom or the one café in your hometown pretending to be a study space, claim it fast.
If you’re still in Glasgow, the Mitchell Library and student-favourite cafes will save you — but be warned: Everyone else has the same idea.
Noise-cancelling headphones are not optional.
Set boundaries before the Bucks Fizz hits
Nothing derails revision faster than relatives who assume you’re “free” because you’re at home.
Get in early with lines like: “I’m revising until two, then I’m emotionally available.”
It’s about communication. And self-preservation.
Embrace the chaos (within reason)
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You will revise while Christmas music plays. You will revise while someone loudly peels potatoes. You will revise while being asked to “just help for five minutes”.
This is character-building. Probably.
Schedule guilt-free breaks
There’s no point refusing every festive activity and becoming unbearable.
Build in breaks for walks, leftovers, and the annual family argument that starts over nothing and ends with someone storming off.
Balance is key.
If you’re staying in Glasgow, you’ve already won
It might feel a bit lonely watching everyone head home, but revising in a quiet student flat with a Tesco meal deal and no distractions actually makes life easier.
Put the heating on, light a £3 candle, and let the calm do the work — sometimes the soft, slow Christmas is exactly what you need to get things done.
Remember: It’s temporary
Christmas revision feels endless, but it’s not. In a few weeks, you’ll be done, free, and probably celebrating surviving January exams in the pub.
Until then, stay calm, stay focused, and resist the urge to snap when someone asks “are you still studying?”
Because yes. Yes you are.
And one day, you’ll look back on this festive trauma fondly. Maybe.
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