Far from home, Christmas can feel lonely. This piece explores how one woman’s journey led to an international celebration of joy, connection, and belonging in Sheffield.
by Livia Barreira
Think about this scenario: you are a migrant woman and move to the UK, coming from a culture where things are quite warm on a daily basis. Not just the weather, but also the people. Suddenly, every reference you have about celebrating Christmas with your friends and family disappears. You are miles away from your “old life”. You already have spent a few Decembers living in British culture and watching your partner going out to their “Christmas do” with colleagues from work. You are a freelancer and don’t even have a workplace that would invite you to an end of year celebration. It hurts. However, you keep up your best smile, so people will never imagine that invisible pain is happening.
It was my own journey during my first seven Decembers in the UK. However, I have used my lived experience, my skills in communication and community engagement, as well as my best Brazilian energy, to create a Christmas celebration that I always dreamed about since my first difficult Decembers in the UK.
The 2025 International Women’s Xmas Party in Sheffield
Turning Lived Experience into Collective Celebration
I moved to Northern England, more precisely to the city of Sheffield, back in 2016, but it was only in 2023 that I finally had the courage to organise the 1st International Women’s Xmas Party.
In the first year, it was a small sit-down gathering for 30 people in a space I could use at a local food hall. In 2024, this event needed to move to a bigger venue and I was able to offer a better experience with more structure, including music and a dance floor, a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses and organisations and a buffet of food. We had about 50 attendees.
In 2025, I can proudly say that this Christmas gathering grew even more with nearly 70 people attending. I could even offer more international catering, provided by diverse female-owned businesses. We had everything from Brazilian rabanadas and brigadeiros to Nigerian puff-puffs and Middle Eastern samosas, Asian spring rolls and pakoras.
The only thing that really mattered was our desire to just be! Just be ourselves in a safe and joyful space.
We also had DJ Palanca Negra or, as she would prefer to be called, our “vibe maker”. Angelina Abel, also known for her great work in Sheffield with Mulembas D’Africa dance school, beautifully created a genuinely joyful atmosphere for us to dance in, with songs from Latin America to Africa.
On that dance floor it didn’t matter where we came from, our age, skin colour, faith, sexual orientation, languages spoken, socioeconomic status, if we had a university degree or not, if we had children or not… On that dance floor we didn’t find boundaries or the bureaucratic British system. The only thing that really mattered was our desire to just be! Just be ourselves in a safe and joyful space. The magic of an international Christmas gathering was there and the Livia that one day felt lonely and depressed around this time of the year could clearly see purpose in her own journey of connecting people in the UK. I am also very grateful for the amazing people who offered to volunteer at this event.
Livia Barreira and DJ Palanca Negra
A Growing Celebration of Shared Cultures
All I want for Christmas is community. This was absolutely the best Christmas gift I could have.
While the diverse setlist of music was playing, we could just dance different choreographies together with old and new friends in a global Christmas celebration.
The “island of strangers” started to finally make sense in the upstairs space at Hagglers Corner. I would prefer to call it the island of diversity or the island of love or the Island of Joy celebrating Christmas together. Yes, the last one is more appropriate. Our energy was the best connection in that room. No words actually needed.
I started to organise this year’s event back in September. I started with the feedback I got from people who came last year. Many said that they would like the event to have more group activities (and we did a Christmas themed people’s bingo), a dance floor and perhaps more diverse food. I do agree, as the event has the name “international” in its title. In my own capacity, as I didn’t get any funding to put this party on, I started to plan the event.
My aim was to have it as if we are welcoming friends in our living room. That level of warmth reminds us about home. A cosy home that we warmed together.
I am also so proud of myself for delivering an event that people said felt welcoming and festive. And I personally believe that the decorations (the tinsel, lights, candles and other Christmas bits) in the space also contributed to creating an intimate feeling, especially because it is not an easy time for many migrant people to be away from their families. Many migrants also don’t feel included in Christmas gatherings in the UK.
My aim was to have it as if we are welcoming friends in our living room. That level of warmth reminds us about home. A cosy home that we warmed together.
To be even more international, we also had a playlist of Christmas songs in different languages. Everyone there was united with the values of inclusivity and community, and we are absolutely better when we are together.
Why Events Like This Matter Now More Than Ever
My vision in Sheffield (or anywhere) is to create genuinely safe, inclusive and joyful spaces where everyone can be themselves. Especially in the current political climate with so much hostility going on against migrant communities in the UK and a lack of mental health support, events like this one gain extra meaning.
It was not just a party. It was much more. People of course experience different paths on their migration journeys, with many going through really difficult issues with visas, depression, racism, xenophobia, discrimination in the labour market, lack of friends… The reality is that there are many challenges going on for the majority of foreigners in the UK.
I hope this event can inspire people all across the UK (and beyond) to also create spaces of multicultural connection.
So this event was built because I genuinely wanted to make a contribution in providing a wellbeing moment to heal, a moment for a powerful group of diverse women to build memories together around Christmas, a moment to resignify Christmas in another country. It is a cold time in the northern hemisphere (in more ways than one) but we were warm for a few hours.
Of course, I don’t know about all the Christmas events happening in the UK on that same night, but for sure the International Women’s Xmas Party in Sheffield was one of the most special, meaningful spaces to be. I hope this event can inspire people all across the UK (and beyond) to also create spaces of multicultural connection.
I am now looking forward to organising an International Women’s Summer Party for my beautiful community in 2026 and, if my wish comes true, an even better Christmas Party too. There is a strong demand for these gatherings.
The UK has many diverse communities of women and we definitely need more cohesion between us in joyful international settings. Just a bunch of strangers together, healing each other. I can guarantee it will be a great experience.
If you want to support Livia’s work in delivering upcoming inclusive events for the international women’s community in the UK, you can get in touch with her via liviabarreira3@gmail.com, via her website livinginsheffield.co.uk or via her Instagram page Living in Sheffield.
Livia Barreira is a Brazilian-British journalist, writer, community engagement and communications strategist. She runs the online platform Living in Sheffield, where she celebrates and promotes the Global Community. Livia is also the Migration Matters Festival Audience Development Manager and member of Culture Sheffield Strategy Action Group.
Find Livia’s book “Living in Sheffield: Our Journeys as Migrant Women” here.
