Celebrating the Holidays on Campus

If you are around the campus during this holiday season, there are some great activities that you can attend to get into the festive spirit. From ice skating, Christmas markets to New Year’s Eve fireworks display, Portsmouth has a lot to offer!

Here’s a classic Christmas activity for you - ice skating ⛸️! Right into the heart of the campus, the ice rink offers the perfect opportunity to show off your ice skating skills (or fight for your life trying not to fall). And what makes this even better - DJ ice skating nights 🪩💃🕺! You can get your tickets from their website for £15.

🎶 If you are looking forward to enjoying Christmas themed music, give the Christmas concert or Carolin events a try! The Christmas concert, led by the Royal Marines School of Music, will bring carols, choirs, soloists and the Corps of Drums for some festive fun on the 19th & 20th of December from 7:30PM. A standard admission ticket costs £13.70. The Christmas Carol service is free and it is taking place on the 21st of December at the Portsmouth Cathedral - no signing up required! The service includes reading seasonal texts as well as timeless carols to get into the spirit of hope and joy. If this sounds like something you would enjoy attending, you can find more information on their website - Christmas Carol Service. 🎶

Don’t fret - if you are looking to save some money and still enjoy Christmas events, there are plenty of free activities you can take part in!

What is Christmas without a Christmas movie marathon 🎬? Put your comfiest PJs on, invite some friends, grab some snacks and start your movie marathon. Home Alone 1 & 2 will 100% set the Christmas mood (definitely not a biased opinion 😆). Snacks can get as fancy as you’d like - from popcorn to air-fryer s’mores cookies along with some hot chocolate with whipped cream. Does it get any better than this? 🍪

If you feel like moving around, Portsmouth offers plenty of wonderful Christmas markets ❄️! The Christmas market on Commercial Road (on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays) is a small Christmas market that offers traditional festive treats from cheeses and churros to Bratwurst 🌭. Walking down the road smells so good, it’s very difficult to not order one of everything! You can enjoy a nice walk down a nicely decorated road buzzing with the Christmas vibe. A slightly larger Christmas market is just down to Gunwharf Quays. Of course, the traditional festive treats are present but this market has slightly more to offer. From the Observation Wheel, igloos to challenges such as Ball in the Bucket and Tin Can Valley - you can certainly have a good time strolling through.

🎆 Fireworks display 🎆

It’s been a long year and soon we will have to say goodbye to 2024 and welcome 2025. Watching a firework display is a great way to get into the feels and start the new year with a spark . You can watch the countdown and fireworks display in London on TV, but if you prefer seeing the show in person - Portsmouth is a beautiful place to do so. At the Historic Dockyard, the new year will be welcomed with music performances and a special midnight countdown.

Whatever you choose to do this Holiday Season, make sure you take some time to relax and reflect on how this year went. Why not work on your New Year's Resolutions meanwhile? Personally, I forget my resolutions 3 days into the new year but it's a tradition I can never skip!

Are you struggling with the cost of living in December? Have a read through this article for some tips and tricks on how to start saving.

(This article aims to include events that have a low entry fee or are free. For this reason, many events have been omitted, but if you would like to search further, you can have a look on this website)