Get ready for Raisin – sustainably!
Raisin is a beloved academic family tradition unique to the University of St Andrews, and has changed a lot over the years. The University aims to to minimise the environmental impact while maximising the enjoyment across St Andrews.
This year, Raisin Weekend takes place Sunday 19-Monday 20 October 2025.
Pre-Raisin
Costumes and decorations
- Keep costumes simple and avoid buying new – use pre-loved and second-hand materials
- Bond as a family by DIY-ing your Raisin outfits!
- Visit St AndReuse for free decorations, £1 clothes, and creative inspiration! Mondays and Fridays, 12:00-13:30 at the back of University Hall.
12 easy DIY Raisin outfits:
- Where’s Wally? – a black and white stripy t-shirt, drawn-on glasses and red or white beanie.
- Rainbow Pablos – a Union classic! T-shirts for each colour of VK, matching face paint and a sign.
- Crayola Crayons – rainbow t-shirts, DIY Crayola signs.
- Barbies – pink t-shirts and second-hand blonde wig or face paint/make up.
- Condiments (ketchup, mayo, mustard, burger sauce, etc.) – coloured t-shirts and DIY paper heinz sign to stick on.
- Playing cards – white t-shirts with red and black washable fabric marker designs.
- Teletubbies – t-shirts for each colour and DIY wire headbands.
- Seven Dwarves – green t-shirts and fabric marker labels with white pillowcases.
- Ompa Loompas – green temporary hair dye and orange face paint.
- Peppa Pig – a British classic! T-shirts for each member of the pig family, pink face paint, and draw on pig noses.
- Aliens – purple t-shirts, green face paint and tinfoil hats (recycle after!)
- Corona bottles – yellow t-shirts, draw label with fabric marker, paint cardboard hats as bottle caps.
Raisin Sunday
Beaches and bonfires
- Do not use wooden pallets with nails for bonfires. If left in the sand, these can get buried, harming people and wildlife who come across them.
- Try not to break any glass and leave no litter.
Scavenger Hunts
- Remind your kids to pick up food bank donations as their Raisin Receipt – make it part of the hunt!
- Be respectful of noise and other town residents.
Games
- Find free/cheap toys from St AndReuse and charity shops. Give toys as prizes and family keepsakes to your kids.
- For germs: soak them in a bowl of warm water with some laundry powder, rinse, wring out, and hang them up to dry.
- Use leftover cardboard (e.g. move-in boxes) as game materials:
- Construct a board game: have your kids come up with penalties and decorate your cardboard together. Life-size snakes and ladders anyone?
- Play the cereal box game: have your kids try and pick up a cereal box using only their mouths (hands behind back, only feet allowed to touch the floor). Keep ripping strips off it and see how low your kids can go!
- Play ‘What’s in the box?‘: have your kids guess what you’ve put inside without looking.
Food
- Opt to make vegetarian snacks and meals for your family events. It can be cheaper and more sustainable to feed your kids this way! Food ideas include:
- Pizza (kids can bring their own toppings?)
- Cheesy pesto or tomato and vegetable pasta.
- Oven chips and cheese.
- Pancakes (sweet or savoury)!
- Vegan protein sausages/burgers and buns – you could have a barbecue!
- You can find plenty of inspiration online for vegetarian and vegan party food ideas.
Raisin Monday
Raisin Receipt
- Raisin Receipts – the appreciation gifts from academic children to their parents (traditionally raisins) – are now donations for Campus Larder and Storehouse St Andrews.
- Bring your Receipt to the foam fight entrance at Lower College Lawn on Monday 20 October.
- Last year, we donated five large boxes to the food bank! We would like to increase the donation amount this year. We welcome donations from community and University staff members.
- Consider donating Fairtrade goods if you can!
Donations most needed by Storehouse:
- UHT milk.
- Toilet roll.
- Baked beans.
- Tinned meats.
- Custard.
- Rice pudding.
- Washing up liquid.
- Jams.
Foam fight
- You can bring in two foam cans.
- Remove the caps and recycle them at the entry point.
- Make sure your costume is safe for entry. Leave sharp items, string/rope, balloons, large cardboard pieces, and valuables at home to avoid confiscation (or losing your grandma’s ring!)
- After the fight, please take your cans with you and recycle them. It saves us a lot of time and effort in the clear up!
Volunteers
- Interested in the action but not in getting foamy? We are seeking people to help us set up, run, and clear up the foam fight.
- Let us know through [email protected] if you can help out at any point!
Post-Raisin
Recycling
- Correctly recycle your plastics, paper, cardboard, cans, and food waste.
- Arrange a collection for leftover glass from Green Start or take it to your nearest Fife Council recycling point.
Repurpose decorations
- Make the lifespan of your decorations go beyond Raisin Weekend.
- Reuse cups, tablecloths, banners, and other items at birthdays, society events, and house parties (the list goes on!)
Repurpose costumes
- Wash and incorporate the elements of your costume in your day-to-day wardrobe.
- Upcycle the items into something you will use.
- Save/swap with a friend for your Halloween costume at the end of the month!
- If you really don’t want to keep your outfit, donate it to charity rather than bin it.