Staying During Winter Break

As per the Residence Contract, students pay for their housing and meal plans on a per-term basis; Term 1 ends on Dec. 23, and Term 2 begins on Jan. 8. For those students in exceptional circumstances, stay-through housing may be offered for a fee of $300. As these dates fall outside of the Residence contract, the $300 fee covers the basic operational cost of keeping the residence buildings open and staffed (i.e., meal plan costs are not included)

For the weeks in between Terms 1 and 2, the campus is closed. That includes food service locations, the library, bookstore, and other amenities usually in operation during an academic term.

Students who meet the criteria to stay and have been given permission to remain in residence during the winter closure have been granted an exception due to very specific circumstances, on the understanding that the campus community closes down for the holiday break, and minimal services are available.

The $300 fee for staying in residence covers housing only. Students who remain in housing during the winter closure must procure their own meals.

All Food Service locations on campus – including Pritchard Dining Hall – are closed during the winter break. More information about specific location hours, as well as ways to order food for delivery, can be found further down this page.

• To see all hours for the various locations, please visit Food Services.
• Or see the UBCO Food Services hours at the bottom of this page.

• The Front Desk is open 24/7 until 6 pm on Dec. 24, 2022
• Dec 24, 2022 | Open until 6 pm
• Dec 25, 2022 – Jan 2, 2023 | Open 10 am – 5:30 pm daily
• Jan 3, 2023 | Open 7 am, return to 24 hours

• Mail will be delivered to the office during regular office hours and will be processed throughout the day during the Winter Break. Electronic mailboxes are accessible 24/7, but only in-person pick-ups will be available during office hours. While every effort will be made to have mail processed the same day, please be aware that processing of mail may take longer than usual.
  
• Should you be ordering grocery delivery or meal delivery, please be sure to use your building address and be available for contact with the delivery drivers. The Student Housing office cannot accept grocery and or meal service deliveries such as Instacart, Uber Eats and Skip the Dishes.  

The Winter Advisors will be On Call 24hrs/day for the entire Winter Break beginning Thursday, December 24th at 12:00 pm (noon). Should you have any questions or concerns, they will be your first point of contact. They will be able to assist you with:

• The Winter Advisors will complete rounds of residence daily, and will need you to check in with them a minimum of two times during the break. Should you need assistance during this period, please contact the Winter Residence Advisors (250-317-9064).
• Security is also always available should you need their services. You can reach their emergency number at 250-807-8111 or the non-emergency number at 250-807-9236.

• December 12-22: Regular support hours
  • Phone Support: 7:30 am – 4:30 pm
  • Walk-up Support: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm (pending resourcing)
• December 23: Early closure of phone and walk-up support
• December 24 to January 2: Closed
• January 3-6: Phone support only from 7:30 am – 4:30 pm
• January 9:  Resumption of full service offerings pending resourcing

• Closed December 24 – January 2
• Regular hours to resume — January 3
• Extended back-to-school hours — Monday January 9 – Friday Jan 13: 9am -6pm

Over the course of the Winter Break, the Global Engagement Office run a host of events that you are welcome to participate in. Want to have some fun, stay connected and enjoy some free food over the holidays? Check out what UBC has planned for you over the Winter Break, including opportunities to Volunteer at the Food Bank!

Our Residence Advisors typically run daily events in the evenings. These can range from movie nights, cookie decorating, games and more! We’d love to have you attend! Please share this invitation with other UBC students who are around campus over the break.

• Festival of Trees at Mission Hill Winery. More info here.
• Wild Lights at Kamloops Wildlife Centre. More info here.
• Candy Cane Lane, Rutland. Free, but donations of non-perishable food kindly welcomed. More info here.

• Stuart Park Ice Rink, Downtown Kelowna: Open for free, drop-in skating daily. Food Truck open during peak hours. More here.
• Apex Skating Loop, Apex Mountain Resort, Hedley: Glide through the forest on this 1 km zamboni-maintained loop. Open daily. Tickets and skate rentals available in the Village. More info here.
• Skating Pond, Big White: Take a spin on Canada’s highest outdoor skating rink, then warm up by the bonfire. Open daily. Free for all to use. More info here.
• Silverstar Skating Pond, Vernon. Lace up your skates and glide across Brewer’s Pond’s 2.5-acre natural rink. Tickets are $8 per participant. Rentals available. More info here.

• Half hour, one hour, private, and dining tours available at Big White. More info here.
• Choose from a hot chocolate tour, fondue tour, or charcuterie tour at Silverstar. More info here.

• Many find that the holidays bring as much stress as they do joy. But there are ways to ease through the season. Click here for some some mindful tips to make the holidays brighter.

Learn more here

If you have access to an equipped kitchen and plan on making your own meals, consider ordering groceries online for delivery to your door. A popular and near-by option is Save-On-Foods (select “Kelowna” and “UBC” when ordering). We recommend you order well in advance of your preferred delivered date. Take a look at the blog post below for advice on what to cook.

Skip the Dishes has a huge variety of restaurants (including fast-food and local restaurants) that deliver to campus. 

Popular Meal Kit delivery services (requires equipped kitchen) include:

• Chef’s Plate
• Fresh Prep
• Hello Fresh
• Good Food

These links may also be useful: meal kit reviews, comparisons and discounts.