Normally at this time of year, Jack Latawski is preparing for a night out in the pub with his school friends. But this year, Covid is on his mind.
Jack is one of thousands of students travelling back to their family homes from university for the Christmas holidays.
But with the emergence of the Omicron variant, some have told the BBC they are being extra-cautious this year - from social distancing with mates to staying away from grandparents.
"I guess my Covid concerns are the same as [those of] most people my age," Jack, 21, tells the BBC.
"We want to see our friends, go out drinking and make memories, but at the same time Christmas is a time of year you spend predominantly with family."
Jack, who is in his third year at Arts University Bournemouth, has been looking forward to catching up with friends from home after returning to Emsworth, in Hampshire, this week. They don't get to see each other much in term time.
"I'm still planning on seeing them, just being a bit
more cautious about social distancing, making sure we're all testing negative,
things like that," he says.
"To catch Covid around this time of year - especially the 10-day period leading up to Christmas Day - would pretty much ruin family Christmas."
The number of daily coronavirus cases has been on the rise again since early November in the UK, and the emergence of the new Omicron variant means new measures are being put in place.
Omicron is most widespread in London. More than 70% of coronavirus cases in the capital are now likely to have been caused by the new variant, according to UK Health Security Agency data.
One London student, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was weighing up his options this week before heading home to Somerset.
The student, who studies engineering at Brunel University, says he sat an in-person exam on Friday with other students who he says had tested positive.
He believes some were concerned that if they failed to take the exam, they would get only one chance to resit, in August, although that has been denied by the university.
Brunel says: "The need to self-isolate after a positive Covid test has been communicated extensively to our students, and academic support is available to those who are self-isolating."
But the student, who is travelling back this weekend, says he is still concerned.
"I'm not particularly worried about myself getting coronavirus - I'm triple-jabbed. It's my grandparents and my mum who I'm more concerned about," he says.
He says he usually spends a lot of time with his grandparents - both in their 80s - over Christmas, and that his mother - who has a heart condition - is "really worried".
"She said to be really careful, put on two or three masks if you have them... and just sanitise everything - and just for a couple of days when I get home, don't speak to my grandparents at all."
