The Ultimate Guide To A Perfect Expat Christmas

Christmas is right around the corner, and as an expat you know what that means: it’s time to decide whether or not to travel home to spend Christmas with your family at home.

Every year, millions of expats around the world pack their bags for the Christmas holidays to travel back to their home country. It’s hard to say exactly how many expats travel home for the holidays, but in 2019 the Irish Post reported that around one million expats returned to Ireland – a country with a population of just five million – to spend Christmas with their families. The Christmas expat rush is real.

If you too are thinking of heading home for Christmas, we’ve prepared the ultimate guide to help you prepare. Here we’ll run through some expat Christmas essentials, from when to travel to get the best price on airfares, what to pack, and how to beat the dreaded ‘return culture shock’.

How to have the perfect expat Christmas

1/ When to travel

It should come as no surprise that Christmas is one of the busiest times of year in the travel sector. As well as expats returning home from around the world, many holidaymakers take advantage of the Christmas break to go abroad on a winter vacation.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, you can expect to see airports around the world packed with travellers, while airlines are also known to raise their prices as competition for seats heats up.

As an expat, you’ll want to avoid the mad rush for flights by planning your return journey strategically. Here are some ways you can book yourself the cheapest flight and the most pleasant travel experience.

Avoid the week before Christmas

According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, 18th–23rd December has historically been the busiest period for air travel over the Christmas period during the last four years in Britain.

ONS data show that flight departures and arrivals to and from the UK tend to spike during the week before Christmas Eve, before experiencing a sharp decline. The busiest day for air travel over the Christmas period in recent years was 20th December 2019, which saw 5,933 departures and arrivals to and from the UK.

If you want to avoid the hectic expat rush around Christmas, try to book your flight earlier in December.

Avoid the week after New Year

When the time comes to return to your expat home, the most natural travel window would be the week after New Year’s Day. But once again, ONS data shows that airline activity tends to spike between 2nd–6th January.

The busiest day for return journeys in recent years appears to have been 4th January 2019, which saw 5,588 flights departing from and arriving into the UK.

Once again, you’re more likely to find a quieter flight (and perhaps also a cheaper deal) if you can avoid these peak times and delay your return flight until later in January.

Top tips from Chelsea Dickenson, Cheap Holiday Expert

When it comes to getting the best deal on flights, no one is better than Cheap Holiday Expert Chelsea Dickenson. Here are some of Chelsea’s top tips for expats returning home for Christmas.

What to prepare in advance

While we’ve written before about how to prepare for moving overseas, few expats stop to think about what they should prepare when travelling in the other direction. Yet this can be a very important question, especially if you don’t make it back to your home country very often.

Some of these are things many expats overlook, so make sure to check whether you’ll need to add these things to your checklist this year.

1/ Passport renewal forms and appointments

If you are living abroad as a foreign citizen – in other words, if you retain your original nationality, and therefore the passport of your home country – you may want to check if your passport is soon to expire, or if it requires updating for any other reason, such as if you have gotten married and/or changed your name while living abroad.

Most passports are valid for around 10 years, and most can be renewed at any time, although it is usually recommended to wait until your passport is within 12 months of its expiry date until you start the renewal process.

If you need to renew your passport, returning home for Christmas is a great opportunity to get this done. By starting any necessary paperwork and booking an appointment with your passport issuer in advance, you can use your journey to complete this essential piece of admin.

Don’t worry if you can’t squeeze it in – many embassies will allow you to renew your passport in a foreign country, though this may require a trip to that country’s capital city.

2/ Minor medical appointments

Another appointment you may want to book in advance are small, routine trips to medical professionals such as the dentist, chiropractor, psychotherapist or the optician.

This can be especially useful if your medical files are stored with independent medical professionals in your home country, but it’s also handy if you just want to speak to someone in your native language.

Better still, if you have taken out international health insurance to cover the cost of your medical treatments while living abroad, you may find that medical services in your home country are included in your plan, helping you to cover some of the costs.

So, while coming home for Christmas, you could squeeze in a new set of fillings, a quick spinal manipulation, a round of therapy and a new pair of glasses. Just be sure to book these services well in advance.

3/ Loose ends

Perhaps you have a bank account in your home country that needs to be dealt with? Or maybe a limited company that needs to be wrapped up? Perhaps you own property in your home country that you’d be better off selling?

Whatever assets you’ve left behind, you might want to prepare for your homeward journey by locating any important paperwork and preparing to deal with your responsibilities. Whether that involves visiting your bank, accountant or estate agent, you’ll want to be sure you’re bringing any essential documents home with you to pass on.

Remember that the people you need to see about your business may be taking time off over Christmas, so be sure to book appointments well in advance. You may want to think about travelling home earlier, or staying later to ensure you have enough time to deal with any pressing business issues.

4/ Gifts for the way there – and spare luggage room for the way back

It’s Christmas, so of course you’re going to travel home with a few gifts for your friends and family. Small gifts that are symbolic of your life in a foreign country always go down well, so set aside some time before you leave for trinket shopping. Local food and wine is always a good choice (make sure it’s legal to bring these types of items into your home country), as is local clothing and ceremonial items. You could also look for local art, books and things that would be hard to find overseas, even online, such as local perfumes, toys and home decor.

Likewise, coming home for Christmas is a great opportunity to spoil yourself with produce you’ve been missing from your home country. Whether it’s sweets and treats, books printed in your native language, or styles of clothing you’re more accustomed to, you should use your Christmas break to fill your suitcase with all the bits ‘n’ bobs you’ve been missing.

Of course, there is another option. If you simply can’t miss out on all those home comforts, you can always pay to upgrade your baggage allowance on the way back!

Surviving the ‘return culture shock’

Culture shock is a common experience for many expats moving overseas. It’s a term used to describe a general sense of feeling out of place in a foreign country.

What many expats may not know is that culture shock can just as easily affect you when coming home, too. This phenomenon is sometimes known as return culture shock, reverse culture shock or re-entry.

Similar to culture shock, it results in a feeling of uneasiness when surrounded by unfamiliar stimuli. What makes it worse than culture shock, however, is that return culture shock happens in a situation that an expat feels should seem familiar.

Return culture shock is not to be underestimated. Many an expat has suffered an anxiety-riddled Christmas in their home country before, and it can impact even the most worldly of expatriates. The feeling can be so strong, people have written whole books to help expats cope!

The good news is that with a few simple steps, you can steel yourself against the risk of return culture shock this Christmas. Here’s how to prepare:

1. Be ready for change
2. Treat yourself as a tourist
3. Connect with other returning expats
4. Pack a few home comforts
5. Don’t take it personally

1/ Be ready for change

One of the most common ways return culture shock can affect you is if you are not prepared to find that things in your home country have changed while you’ve been away.

Whether it’s the physical landscape (new roads and buildings, for example), the nature of the local people, or new traditions and fads that have swept your home nation, you must be prepared for the probability that things – and people – have changed while you’ve been away.

To prepare for the impact of a changed world, look for things and places that will always feel familiar. For instance, while city centres may change, the natural landscape is likely to look the same. So, spending time in nature can help you to feel connected to your space and time, reminding you that there is plenty that still feels familiar about your home.

2/ Treat yourself as a tourist

If you’ve been away for a while, don’t expect to return home and instantly fit in. Sure, you may have memories and experiences that help you to connect with people, but having missed out on recent events, you may find it hard to connect with people instantly.

So, instead of arriving full of the confidence you’ll seamlessly fit into society, go instead with an open mind and a desire to learn. Ask questions, seek insights and make yourself a keen observer. Don’t try to influence the world around you, but rather try to absorb as much new knowledge as you can – the same way you would as a tourist in a foreign country. This way, you’ll gain a more complete sense of how things have changed, making it easier to fit back into ordinary society.

Best of all? You can have plenty of fun along the way, re-learning everything there is to learn about your home country while sharing your own foreign experiences to provide other people with a fascinating alternative perspective on life and culture.

3/ Connect with other returning expats

The great thing about Christmas is that it’s an opportunity for friends and family to come together. If you have made friends with other expats during your time overseas, you may want to take this opportunity to connect with them in your home country. As well as giving you the chance to introduce them to your friends and family back home, you can meet to share experiences about your homecoming and discuss what has changed.

Having your experiences validated by someone with a similar perspective will help to make you feel like your own experience is normal. This can help to stave off feelings of uneasiness and anxiety that can result from being in an unfamiliar place or situation.

4/ Pack a few home comforts

As an expat, you are in the unique position of belonging to two (or more) cultures. And while it’s nice to throw yourself headlong into the culture of your home country, it’s not unusual to find yourself longing for your new culture too. Remember, reverse culture shock is not just the feeling of being in an unfamiliar culture, but the feeling of being removed from your familiar way of life.

Therefore, you may want to think about certain home comforts you can bring with you when returning home for Christmas. These should be items that provide sensory memories of your new home, such as local foods, familiar smells such as perfumes, or even something as simple as photographs of your life abroad.

If things start to feel overwhelming in your home country, you can always return to these items to remind yourself that your new home will always be there and waiting for you to return.

5/ Don’t take it personally

Reverse culture shock typically occurs because of the various changes you’ve noticed in the world around you. These can be physical changes, such as the loss of iconic buildings or trees, or emotional changes, such as relationships being different or people having new attitudes and personalities.

No matter how big or small a change may be, it’s easy to slip into the belief that these changes occurred because:

• Things have changed for the worse
• You weren’t around to influence, or stop them
• Changes are inherently bad, because things were perfect when you left

When you start to think this way, it’s easy to see changes as a personal attack against you. Of course, it’s not true: things are always changing, everywhere in the world, and no one makes a change just to upset you.

Therefore, you must first prepare yourself for changes, and then approach them with an open mind – be ready to accept these changes for what they are, and ask other people still living locally what they think about them. That way, you can come to a more balanced conclusion about what changes represent and feel reassured that they have nothing to do with your absence.

The best bits about returning home for Christmas

Returning home for Christmas should be a magical experience for any expat. If you’re unsure whether returning home for Christmas is right for you, here are some of things that could persuade you to make the long journey home:

1/ The Christmas atmosphere

This is especially true if you are returning home from a country that doesn’t celebrate Christmas. The sights, sounds and smell of Christmas (think Christmas lights, Christmas carols, the snap of a Christmas cracker and the smell of a Christmas tree) will make any journey feel worthwhile. And of course, as a long-distance guest, you’re likely to find yourself quite spoiled when it comes to Christmas presents from your friends and family.

2/ The taste of local food

Nothing beats the taste of the traditional Christmas food cooked in your home country – whether that’s British pigs in blankets, German stollen, American candy canes or fresh Australian barbecued prawns. If you’re travelling home for Christmas, you can feast on familiar foods that you may have been craving!

3/ Catch-ups with friends and family

As soon as you arrive back on solid ground in your home country, don’t be surprised if your phone starts blowing up. During the precious time you have in your native land, your friends and family will undoubtedly be eager to see you. Why not to make it a little easier and throw yourself a homecoming party? That way you can have everyone in the same place at the same time, meaning you can make your catching-up conversations more efficient.

4/ Stocking up on supplies

Coming home for Christmas is your opportunity to fill your suitcase with all the things you’ve been missing from home. Local sweets and chocolates, copies of magazines you’ve been missing, and all those little home comforts that are so hard (not to mention expensive) to come by in a foreign country. Better yet, they’ll make great Christmas gifts for your friends overseas.

5/ The best sleep of your life

Christmas is your time to rest and enjoy yourself, and after a long year living abroad, you may find you sleep deeper and more soundly than you have in your foreign home. You can also benefit from a familiar sleep pattern, a familiar night time temperature and maybe even a familiar bed. Don’t think twice about that early night or long lie-in – you deserve it!

…and the worst bits

That’s not to say coming home for Christmas is all fun and games. As an expat, you may run into some difficulties when coming home for Christmas, so it’s best to prepare yourself for the possible downsides of a Christmas abroad too.

1/ Feeling homesick for your new home

As well as the return culture shock you may experience, there’s also the risk you’ll start to feel homesick for your new home abroad. Once you’re back home for Christmas, you may start to be reminded of all the reasons you left in the first place. Don’t worry – Christmas doesn’t last forever, and it won’t be long before you’re flying back to your real home.

2/ Catching a Christmas bug

Especially if you’re travelling home to a colder country, you may put yourself at risk of picking up a particularly unpleasant Christmas present – a winter illness. Researchers have found that as many as 80% of international travellers pick up an illness while abroad, and with flu more common around Christmas time, there’s a high chance you may pick up a bug.

3/ It’s a lot of work

As well as booking your flights (and perhaps also your accommodation), you’ll need to think about such things as:

• How to get around (will you need to hire a car, or insure yourself on a family member’s car?)
• How to stay in touch with people abroad (can you use your phone contract in a foreign country? Will you need to pack other telecommunications equipment?)
• What to do in case of an emergency (do you have a support network you can reach out to if things go wrong? Will you be able to access high-quality medical care if you need it?)

When you start to prepare for an expat Christmas abroad, you’ll soon notice how much work it can be – just keep reminding yourself that it will all be worth it in the long-run!

4/ It’s expensive

Even after paying for your flights, you may notice that Christmas in a foreign country is significantly more expensive than it is back home. This is especially true if you are returning to a country that is in the midst of the widespread cost of living crisis. Make sure you’re prepared for the additional expense, and don’t be afraid to lean on your friends and family for a few freebies here and there – Christmas is a time for sharing, after all!

5/ It can be boring

One thing you may not expect is how bored you’ll feel returning to your home country. Especially around Christmas time, when businesses tend to close and families tend to stay indoors (not to mention the weather, which can turn cold and wet), you may find that your Christmas routine involves lots of sitting at home on the sofa. Don’t set your expectations too high, and try to enjoy the peace and quiet. You’ll still have a fantastic Christmas.

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