Christmas is by far one of the best times of the year to be dating and you're never short of Christmas activities in London over the festive period. However, with so much on, it can be hard to know where to start. So I'm gonna tell you about a great little date I had over the weekend at the Ice Skating rink at the Natural History Museum and why it makes for a great date idea this Christmas.
Ok so we've probably all heard of the Ice Skating at Somerset House, I mean if you haven't seen the videos of probably the most Christmassy place in London all over Facebook, then you've been living under a rock! The problem with Somerset House is if you do manage to get a ticket and are willing to pay the high price tag, you will be like ice skating sardines moving round as one large shoal of fish, all at the same speed. Now don't get me wrong it is beautiful but I would prefer to not only enjoy the view but the ice skating as well, for a reasonable price, so the Natural History Museum is a very close second choice.
I was treated by my lovely date to the Natural History Ice Rink, after we seen it on Facebook and we were not disappointed. The trees wrapped in Christmas lights popping out of the night sky like illuminated silhouettes, a 12 foot Christmas tree slap bang in the middle of the ice, making for a perfect photo opportunity and Christmas tunes banging through the speakers makes you forget you're actually in South Kensington and not Lapland.
So apart from the wonderful setting what makes ice skating a perfect Christmas date idea is that there's nothing more romantic than skating round an ice rink together. Now some people will take to the ice like a duck to water or maybe you will be like Bambi, either way it's fun. If you happen to be a good skater you can always help your date to find their feet or catch them when they fall (or not if you happened to be looking the other way) or maybe you need to be the one who gets caught. The beauty is you will be slipping, sliding, laughing and falling over together while having a great time.
At the Natural History Ice Rink you're asked to arrive 40 minutes before you're allotted time after purchasing the £15 tickets, which I would recommend to cut your queue time down. You will get a solid 50 minutes on the ice which is more than enough time to grab a few pictures and a video of your pupil going it solo on the ice. You can get pictures by the ice rink staff but they will cost you a few bob or ten.
Afterwards you've got plenty of pubs to choose from in the South Kensington area and warm up with some pub grub. If you're looking for a date idea this festive period, then look no further and most ice rinks will be open till mid-January. I couldn’t recommend it enough and if you're looking for someone to take then why not try one of our speed dating nights!
WORDS BY STUART GRAHAME
Stuart is one of our regular hosts and over the years has become something of an expert in dating. Watch out for his regular posts full of dating tips and advice.