A Christmas Date Night In London – By Kip
The festive Christmas period is also known as “cuffing season”…basically, when everyone gets all coupled up (excuse the Love Island reference, we couldn’t help it) and breakups are forbidden! We’re all freezing cold, looking for someone to spoon, and romantically walk around London drinking Baileys hot chocolate and looking at the Christmas lights. So, naturally, this means a lot of date nights are going to be taking place. Organising a date night can be stressful at the best of times, add on to this the expectation to be all happy and festive…it’s A LOT. As always, we’ve got you covered, here’s Kip’s suggestion on how to do a Christmas Date Night…
P.s. it’s going to be extremely festive and cliche…we apologise.
Go Ice Skating
Ice Skating is a must if you want to make a point of having a proper Christmas date, it’s so cliche it’s almost not! Plus, if you’re just getting to know one another, ice skating is a great way to avoid any awkward silences, and get up and close and personal without it feeling full on. (Unless they ice skate over your fingers of course, then it’s a real problem.) There’s loads of ice skating rinks popping up around London at the moment, but we’ve narrowed it down to a few of our faves:
The Natural History Museum – the most Christmassy spot in town, skating in front of the Natural History museum alongside the dinosaurs is an experience you CANNOT miss, it’s as stunning as it sounds
Skate at Somerset House – a glass of Champagne whilst skating in a classical English courtyard, and one of London’s most stunning buildings
Alexandra Palace – skate inside North London’s iconic palace, and if you’re feeling especially flirty then the ice skating disco is for you
Canary Wharf – ice skating in the middle of the city, inside a glass dome – so it really doesn’t matter what the weather is doing, you can still hold hands and glide across the ice with your lover…
Wine and Dine
Wine and dine…Obviously dinner is an essential part of the date night, and seeing as it’s Christmas, it’s got to be Michelin star. Behind restaurant is one of our favourite East London Michelin stars, it’s super intimate, specialising in fish and located right next to London Fields (a very short walk from our hotel in Hackney), it’s basically all you’ve ever wanted from a Michelin star restaurant. The East London food scene in general is incredible, so you can expect the very best from Behind! We’d recommend the tasting menu, it’ll get you out of your comfort zone, trying brand new flavours, and you’ll be totally ready to be much more adventurous in the New Year…maybe.
Browse the Christmas markets
A Christmas market is necessary, and we’ve got some great ones in East London! Old Spitalfields market is a classic anyway – think Victoria East London marketplace , but add a bit of Christmas spice and it’s another level. Another great spot is Columbia Road, well known for its fresh flowers on a Sunday, but fast becoming one of the cosiest roads for a cute Christmassy evening. Get yourself down to Columbia Road for some glorious festive energy! Every Thursday Hackney Bridge Festive Fair Market is where you want to be, it’s great for cute Christmas gifts and Christmas cocktails.
Find a cosy pub
A classic pub is probably one of most typical East London Christmassy things you can do, so it’s got to be part of the date. Victoria Park village is cute, authentic and quintessentially English. We’d recommend The Lauriston, and Royal Inn On The Park, they’re cosy, chilled, and not too far from Kip…where you’ll inevitably be coming back to, to get cosy with your lover…