The winter break can be quite long or short, depending on your plans. It can be rather relaxing or stressful, given who you spend it with. And it might also be quite productive or dull, assuming you take your time to plan in advance. As an international student at LSE in 2022/23, the thought of being away from home for the first time during the holidays was certainly unsettling. So here’s an unordered list of things you should remember when preparing to spend the holidays in London as an international student.

First of all, bear in mind that some to most of the friends you make and the classmates you have at LSE will be travelling home for the break. Either because they don’t live very far from the UK – what might not be your case – or because a five-week break is simply too long of a time for them to spend away from home. Either way, you might end up with a lack of companionship to enjoy the holidays with. So make sure to ask around during Autumn Term to check who’s staying in the city during the break. This way you can plan ahead a lot of exciting things to do. Christmas-themed parties, a visit to Hyde Park, and home gatherings are always a fun way to spend time with the friends who are staying in town. 

Also, the winter break can be a great opportunity for you to visit that museum you just didn’t have enough time to go during the term, or to take that short field trip to that place you’ve always dreamt of visiting. Depending on your visa status, you can even plan a trip to the continent to visit that city you grew up seeing in films! If you plan ahead, you can find good deals for plane tickets. After all, London is just a few hours away from pretty much anywhere in Europe. 

Another way of spending the break if you’re not going back home is having people over. As a worldwide known city, I’m sure some of your family, friends or even partner back home would love to visit you in London – and get to know an exciting new place! This is surely a nice way to enjoy the holidays and winter time in the city, especially if you come, such as myself, from a country in the southern hemisphere where we have summer around Christmas time. Sharing memories with people you cherish will certainly turn your holidays in London into something memorable. 

Finally, the winter break is not really a break from your student life. And it’s important to remember that! During this five-week time, make sure to arrange your schedule in a way that lets you prepare for the summative essays and the exams that will be coming up in January. So don’t go about making all sorts of plans that will take up all of your time because there’ll be LSE coursework waiting for you when the break is over! So make up some time to do your readings, finish up your essay writing, and review everything before the exams. 

As for myself, I tried to squeeze in all of the tips I gave away in here into my winter break. And, at times, it felt like five weeks was a short break after all. Of course, you don’t have to follow this list back to back for your holidays. The most important thing is that you make something memorable for yourself. However, if you find pleasure in visiting new places and getting to know new cities, doing some of these things can be quite relaxing. Having family over is also a nice way to get that taste of home that’ll recharge you before next term. All in all, one thing is for certain: if you plan ahead, your winter break can be anything but dull.