I recently just got back from London over the winter break and it was AMAZING.

If you want to do what the Brits do in London during the holidays, then you’ve come to the right place.

Here are my six top tips as a Brit that lived in London:

Nobody takes Christmas quite as seriously as the Brits! We have an unhealthy obsession with mulled wine and mince pies!

If you know of a friend attending a Christmas party – tag along! You won’t regret it.

We take festive cheer to another level in the UK. At our Christmas parties, be prepared to play lots of drinking games, get merry AF in cheesy Christmas jumpers and eat EVERYTHING in sight.

Ditch the diet, going to the gym and staying fit is a January problem.. #newyearnewyou

As a Sindhi I’m naturally attracted to bright and shiny things - Christmas lights are no exception.

There’s something beautiful about London lit up at night. The best lights to see in London are the ones at Kew Gardens and on Oxford Street.

Regent Street light set up is like the UK equivalent of watching the ball drop in Times Square, New York. Arrive early for a good spot and stay warm. This year the lights went up on 21 Nov 2019.

Kew Gardens, a royal botanical garden transforms overnight into the most magical light show. It’s so popular that you have to buy tickets well in advance to attend. Sign up to their mailing list to be in the loop when the next tickets drop in October. Christmas at Kew took place this year between 20 Nov 2019 and 5 Jan 2020.

Rockefeller centre skating in NYC ain’t got nothing on London ice skating. There are three places that I would recommend to do this:

-       Natural History Museum, Open: 19 Oct 19 - 20 Jan 20

-       Somerset House, Open: 13 Nov 19 - 12 Jan 20

-       Winter Wonderland, Open: 21 Nov 19 - 5 Jan 20

I’ve only been skating at Winter Wonderland, but what I love about skating here is that you skate under fairy lights and in that in the middle of the rink is a live band. It’s super magical and romantic. It’s the type of place that you pretend you can’t skate at, because all you want to do is hold your partner’s hand.

Located at the Bloomsbury Hotel close to Tottenham Court Station, Dalloway Terrace transforms into a ‘White Christmas’ themed restaurant with gorgeous white flowers/plants climbing the walls. It’s the perfect place to take a picture for the gram during your visit to London.

Side note – food is alright, but nothing to cheer about. But your pictures will be Lit AF.

If you are social media savvy, you should know about Winter Wonderland as it’s all over your Instagram feed.

Winter Wonderland is London’s infamous Christmas market located in Hyde Park. It typically runs from 21 November to 5 January. `Here, you can visit market stalls and barter for deals, eat great food (Best Churros in London!), get drunk, ice skate (Or get drunk and ice skate), watch a live circus, wonder at the ice sculptures and test your thrill seeking side on a multitude of rides.

My favourite part about Winter Wonderland however, is the Bavarian Village. The Bavarian Village is styled like the Oktoberfest village in Munich. Inside the main beer hall is where the real party is at. But don’t worry you can also get mulled wine and jager bombs if you’re not a big beer fan.

The hall gets busy in the evening so if you’re looking for a lively vibe to have a few cheeky beverages, get there early, around 5pm. If you arrive late, you can pay £20 for queue jump into the main hall. Last round is around 9.30pm on week days.

The best Xmas themed store, in my opinion, is Selfridges. It has a full Christmas floor where you can buy customised presents for loved ones during the holiday period.

If you’re looking for a great deal and can wait until after Christmas, Boxing Day (26th December) and New Years Day sales are where the main discounts are.

As it’s often cold during this time, I would recommend visiting Westfield White City or Westfield Stratford if you’re staying East. It has all the high street (i.e. Oxford Street) stores except it’s indoors, so you won’t freeze to death on the side of the road!

You can also beat the queues during the sales as the stores here open at 8am instead of 10am. There’s also place to park your car!