International students in Portugal to spend Christmas with Portuguese families

International students spending Christmas in Portugal can celebrate the festive season with Portuguese families through an initiative that brings students living away from home together with local households.

By TPN/Lusa, in News · 04 Nov 2026, 10:03 · 0 Comments

Credits: Unsplash; Author: Anthony Cantin;

The “Christmas with Portuguese Families” project, promoted by the Erasmus Student Network Portugal (ESN Portugal), aims to give participants a Christmas experience in a family setting by sharing a meal and Portuguese traditions.

Registrations for families and students opened on 1 October and run until 30 November, with matching expected to be completed by 12 December, according to information released by ESN Portugal.

Unlike previous editions, when matching was done automatically, a team from the association now selects pairs manually.

ESN Portugal says it changed the method because it considers the personal aspect essential to giving participants a better experience.

The initiative, launched in 2019, gained greater prominence between 2023 and 2025, with the latest edition involving 84 international students and 44 Portuguese families, according to the organisation.

This year, ESN Portugal aims to expand the project to 20 cities and involve students from more than 40 nationalities.

The organisation's goal is to ensure that no student spends Christmas alone, even if this means travelling longer distances or a family hosting more than one participant.

The 2025 edition report nevertheless identifies difficulties in the registration and matching process, including participants who were unable to find a match, and highlights the need to improve communication and reach more families.

Participants also reported language barriers and difficulties integrating students into family dynamics as challenges, aspects the organisation considers important when preparing host arrangements.

As well as providing students with a Christmas experience in a family setting, the initiative seeks to promote intercultural contact and combat loneliness during the festive season, including among Portuguese families.

“Our goal is always to ensure that no student is left alone. Even if they have to travel a few extra kilometres. Families have already opened their doors to more than one student. Not only are we, as an association, willing to adapt, but both families and students are always ready to adjust to the specific circumstances so that the project's goal is achieved,” Diogo Rodrigo, from ESN Portugal, told Lusa.

In a survey conducted after the 2025 edition, 33 of the 35 students who responded said they felt welcomed and integrated into a family environment, while 28 said they felt included and supported during the festive season, according to the report.

According to ESN Portugal, some participants remain in contact with their host families after Christmas and return to visit them on other occasions.

ESN Portugal believes the initiative can help create relationships that extend beyond the Christmas period through contact between people from different cultures.