Remember what you've bought

5. 

6. Clear your room of festivities

   
   If you've had a tree and decorations up in your student digs, as painful as this might sound, you may want to think about taking them down just before you head home.
   You don't want to come back in January with the post-Christmas blues, only to discover that you still need to take the tree down and hoover all the glitter up.

7. Make a list, check it twice

   

   Credit: 20th Century Fox
   Make a list of everything you're taking back home (just like the one you make for what to take to uni). This will help immensely when it comes to packing your case again.
   When you get home and take everything out of your luggage, everything blends in, making it easy to forget what you actually need to take back. But whatever you do, don't forget your flat keys! We've all been there.

8. Don't waste electricity

   
   Just before you leave to go home, make sure everything is turned off.Electricals? Off. Heating? Off. Taps? Tightly closed.
   And remember, this includes turning things off standby – you might want tounplug everything to be extra sure.
   You don't want to come back to a mass of scary utility bills 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 samein their rooms!
   If you want more tips on how to save on electricity over winter, then check out our energy saving advice.

9. Empty the fridge

   

   Credit: Warner Bros
   The worst thing you can do is head home for three or four weeks, only to return to milk that's turned to cheese. Make sure the fridge is completely empty 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 thosestudent Christmas dinner leftovers before you head home.
   If you do come back to stale nosh, don't chuck it away straight away — check out our tips on how to bring back old food from the dead!

10. Lock up securely

    

    Credit: 20th Century Fox
    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.
11. Don't fall off when you get home

Credit: Channel 4

For many students, Christmas is the first time they'll be heading back home since summer – especially if you moved to a uni on the other side of the country.

Try to remember that although your family will be happy to see you, they've just gone three months without you living at home, and you've probably adapted to living away from them, too.

Make every effort to fall back in line with how your parents expect you to be in their home, and accept you've both probably changed a little during your time away.

In a nutshell: do your own dishes, wash your own socks and don't drunkenly wake them up in the middle of the night.

5. Checked? Check. Double checked? Check.

   
   Just before you go, double-check you have all your important little bits and pieces, such as your purse or wallet, phone, train tickets and laptop.
   It sounds stupid, but you don't want to get to the train station only to find out you don't have the 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 a bomb)