Originally published in the North Norfolk News. Restored from the surviving column copy, with light typo corrections. Prices, predictions and opinions reflect the time.
Itâs true what they say about Christmas â the older you get the less important it becomes.
Now Iâm not about to go all Scrooge on you a week before the big day, but as a student this theory becomes more prominent.
First of all, when you are on a tight budget and limited funds because of extortionate tuition fees, it becomes difficult to find the right presents at the right prices in the shops. It means a student is either faced with the option of buying online or extending their overdraft limit! As a result the stress of hunting for the right present in the winter weather, and hearing the same old Christmas songs on repeat in the shops is lost.
Although websites such as eBay prevent the stress of queues and the impulse buys that often leave you wondering why you bought the present to start with, it is often this element of Christmas that you often miss.
As a teenager the novelty of writing on Christmas cards fades too. There is either a shortage of exciting festive cards to buy, or they cannot be bothered to write on them. Even those who do manage to get around to doing them often end up with several left in their bag because they havenât managed to hunt down the recipient. Instead one is left sending messages to their friends via the medium of text, or even less thoughtfully, through Facebook!
And once they arrive home, the prospect of drinking wine or a favourite tipple over the festive period is also ruined by the fact that a student lifestyle may involve weekly trips to the bars in the city or nights spent in the university bar. This will no doubt be the same for the junk food too with most of a shopping list comprising of the cheap goodies that a supermarket offers.
While many parents will be relishing at the thought of a few lie-ins over the next fortnight too, students again will already have had that covered throughout the year. Unless they are unlucky enough to have early morning lessons, many will know all about late evenings spent tucked up in their duvet after a late night, but the thought of a few more will only provide comfort to those like me!
The student is also the rare exception to the rule that will begin its full-time work over the holidays as opposed to those who are winding down their work until the New Year. In amongst their essay writing they will be raising funds to keep them afloat with money for food, phone bills, and nights out by working the unsociable hours that no one else will take.
It may seem like a tough life for us, but of course this is just two weeks out of a pretty easy year. Christmas is not all doom and gloom, and what this next week will bring to students across the country is a chance to spend a few days with their loved ones watching television, sharing presents, and scrounging more money off sympathetic parents. And that, for many, will make the holidays well worth waiting for!
On the subject of the holidays, I know times are hard at Anglia Television, but could someone consider getting hold of a new coat for their political correspondent Emma Hutchison? She only seems to wear the same coat, admittedly in different colours, in every broadcast. One would assume there would be more glamour to having the job of reporting from Westminster every night.
I would like to wish all North Norfolk News readers a very merry Christmas, and a prosperous New Year.