Merry Christmas: Kiel is looking for host families for international students!

Merry Christmas: Kiel is looking for host families for international students!

The International Center (IC) of the Christian Albrechts University of Kiel (CAU) is looking for host families in Kiel and the surrounding area for the upcoming holidays. The aim of the program is to invite international students to celebrate Christmas together on one or more Christmas days. According to the IC, this program is based on voluntary participation and individually agreed activities, which allows for flexibility.

Jan Bensien, an IC employee, emphasizes that a genuine interest in joint activities is desirable. These encounters are intended to give international guests insights into German culture and non-university life. Both sides benefit from this campaign: the students experience Christmas with a German family, while the German families have the opportunity to get to know the culture, customs and religion of their guests better. The campaign has been successful in recent years and the IC is hoping for numerous registrations this year.

How does the program work?

Interested families can download a questionnaire from the IC website and send it to ic-tutors@uv.uni-kiel.de by November 15, 2025. The IC will then select suitable students and place them with the families. Further information and the family questionnaires are available on the IC website, which makes the registration process easier.

The initiative pursues a similar goal Friends for dinner, which also offers a platform for meetings between international students and German families. This Christian initiative is organized locally by volunteers from churches and communities. Their goal is to show hospitality to international students during the Easter and Christmas periods and to make friends with Germans. For many students, it can be a challenge to live in a foreign country without family and friends from home and to integrate into a new culture.

Friends for Dinner has existed in Germany since 2022 and offers a structured program that promotes contact with German families. This initiative helps international students to better navigate their new surroundings and facilitates cultural exchange.

Importance of host families

The role of host families is also in the context of exchange programs organized by AJA -Member organizations are organized is of central importance. Every year, these organizations enable around 2,000 guest students from over 50 countries to stay in Germany. Hosting a guest student not only shows openness to the world, but also broadens the horizons of the host families. Through the exchange you actively contribute to social openness and intercultural learning.

Staying with a host family gives exchange students access to new lifestyles and cultures. This often leads to intense bonds that last beyond the exchange. Many host families and host children remain connected through lifelong friendships, which really rounds off the enriching experience for both sides.