Balancing Books and Baubles: Christmas Revision

Seasonal Studying.

The Christmas holidays offer a much-needed break from the academic grind. But a bit of revision over the festive period could prove to be a real gift come exams.

For teenagers, this time is crucial for recharging batteries, connecting with family, and enjoying seasonal cheer. As well as simply being a break from school. But for parents, there’s often an underlying anxiety: Shouldn’t they be doing something?

The simple answer is yes, ideally. But if your teen is a strong advocate of “pens down while the tree is up” then the key is simple: Maintenance, not marathon.

This article is designed for parents whose children need a break but are also conscious to avoid the ‘January shock’. It’s not just the risk of forgetting what they learned last term it’s also about building habits. We’ll show you how to weave short, low-pressure study sessions into the festive fun, ensuring your teen starts 2026 refreshed, but not rusty.

The “Little and Often” Rule

If your teen plans on spending most of the break relaxing, that’s perfectly fine. Most doesn’t have to be all! Encourage them to adopt the “Little and Often” rule. Instead of multi-hour study sessions, aim for short, frequent bursts of focused work.

The Sweet Spot: 30 to 45 minutes, maximum. This is long enough to consolidate a topic without causing mental fatigue or cutting deeply into family/PS5 time.
Optimal Timing: See if they will tackle this small block of revision early in the day. Getting it done before lunch means the rest of the day – and all the fun – is genuinely guilt-free. This is known as Eating The Frog.

Parent Tip: Frame the study session as a daily check-in on their knowledge, not a punishment or a chore. “Let’s get your study sprint done, then we’ll crack open the mince pies!”

Focus on Review, Not New

The Christmas break is not the time to introduce complex new topics or start heavy learning. The brain is tired, and motivation is low. The most effective use of this time is consolidation and review.

Four low-effort, high-impact tasks to suggest:

Organisation Day: Encourage them to spend some time simply organising themselves. Filing messy papers, rewriting key summaries neatly, or creating an index for a binder. A tidy study space sets the scene for a productive January.
Confidence Cascade: Time spent working through previous topics and marking how confident they feel about each one is an excellent way to end the year. It gives a feeling of control and will be used to prioritise revision effort. (See our Complete Course Checklists to get going quickly.)
Flashcard Fiesta: Ask your teen to identify the three tricky concepts from the last term. Have them create physical flashcards for key terms, formulas, or dates. Then go through them as a family – five in a row gets a mini Heroes chocolate!
The Quick Quiz: Review short-answer questions from past papers or end-of-term assessments. Doing one or two questions—rather than a full paper—keeps the topic fresh without the stress of a mock exam.

Strategic Scheduling for Stress-Free Days

To make revision non-negotiable without causing a fight, plan around the main events.

Schedule Study-Free Zones: Mark out days like Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day as absolutely work-free. This gives the brain permission to completely switch off.
Use the Weekly Plan: Sit down together at the start of the break and agree on the days and exact times for their revision sprints. Knowing ahead of time when and what reduces the barriers to revision.
Hold the Line: Once the time is agreed, try to stick to it. Consistency is the key to maintaining momentum. Try having a 20 minute check-in at the end of each week to see how things have gone.
Celebrate Effort: It is critical that any and all effort is acknowledge. This is so much more important that praising results. It builds an internal motivation to try.

A balanced approach allows your teenager to genuinely enjoy the holiday while keeping their academic ‘muscles’ warm. They will return to school in 2026 feeling rested, festive, and ready to pick up exactly where they left off.

Why not take a look at our FREE TO DOWNLOAD Festive Revision Bingo game. An easy way to engage this Christmas.