Plan to perform Umrah in December specifically in Christmas Holidays is a great choice. As during the Christmas Holidays schools and offices remain close. During the Christmas holidays, schools and offices remain closed. Christmas Holidays is a great time for the Muslims to perform their religious activity Umrah. Here is the step-by-step guide of “How you would perform Umrah in December, specifically in Christmas Holidays.”

Planning Your Umrah Trip from the UK

Selecting Umrah packages for December 2025 from the United Kingdom (UK) involves vigilant scheduling and homework. First of all, you have to agree the day of the week on which you are going to perform Umrah. If you are planning to perform Umrah with family, then you should select dates in consent with your family members. After the selection of the dates, the main and most important thing is to choose a trusted and verified travel agency.

In the United Kingdom (UK), there is only one travel agency on which the pilgrims of Umrah have complete trust. The official market name of the travel agency is Islamic Travel Agency. Many people also know this travel agency by its old name, i.e., Times Travel Ltd. Islamic Travel Agency is the top travel agency providing Umrah services in the United Kingdom (UK).

This travel agency has been operating in the Umrah field for more than four decades (more than 40 years). The Islamic travel agency also has certifications of Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL) and International Air Travel Association (IATA). These certifications are legally required by any travel agency to operate in this field.

The travel agency considers its customers as their family members. Staff of the Islamic Travel Agency is so cooperative and helpful in every matter. You can ask any query from the staff at any time because staff is 24/7 available on their helpline service. Moreover, Islamic Travel Agency also has strong relations with the local residents of Saudi Arabia. These Saudi locals provide assistance to the Umrah pilgrims during their performance of Umrah. This travel agency is the only one in the United Kingdom (UK) that has relations with hotel management and transportation providers in Saudi Arabia.

Flights and Accommodation

Accommodation is very important for the people who are planning to perform Umrah. Like if they have accommodation near the Haramain, then it will be easy for them to perform Umrah. The travel agencies provide you with good accommodation, but usually those hotels are away from the Haramain places.

However, on the other hand, Islamic Travel Agency has great relations with the hotels that are near Haramain. You would need a 5-6 minute walk from your hotel to reach the Haram Sharif. The accommodation that the Islamic Travel Agency provides to its customers is the best for the price tag that they charge.

Christmas Umrah packages of the Islamic Travel Agency are cost effective and best option for booking in your Christmas holidays. Accommodation that the Islamic Travel Agency offers usually includes luxurious rooms such as 3-star rooms, 4-star rooms, and 5-star rooms. Other travel agencies charge extra for such types of accommodation. However, Islamic Travel Agency provides such top-class rooms in their standardised Umrah packages.

Moreover, you can also customise the rooms as per your budget. Such as if you book a 5-star Umrah package and you want to change only the accommodation from 5-star to 4-star or 3-star. Then Islamic Travel Agency provides you with such an option for customisation. You can change the accommodation while keeping the remaining things the same.

Flight tickets (return flight tickets) are also covered in the Umrah package. The only thing you need to do is to select the package as per your budget and make the payment. Islamic Travel Agency will book your tickets with the airline on their own without making trouble for you.

Obtain Your Umrah Visa

A visa is an important document that confirms that you are now eligible to enter the boundary of Saudi Arabia. Without any visa, no one can cross the boundary line of a country. Obtaining an Umrah visa is the indispensible step of your expedition. Based on your nationality, the process of attaining a visa may be diverse. Complete guidance regarding obtaining a visa is given below:

First of all, inquire whether Saudi Arabia issues the Umrah visa to the Muslims of your country. Saudi Arabia lets many countries to perform Umrah centred on the sightseer permit. As you are scheduling your excursion from the United Kingdom (UK), Saudi Arabia permits the Muslims of the United Kingdom (UK) to accomplish Umrah on a traveller visa. For a comprehensive tour of the divine places, you must acquire an Umrah visa.

The documents that the Saudi government requires for the processing of Umrah visas are as follows:

● Passport-size pictures of the applicant
● Passport of your country (i.e., United Kingdom (UK))
● Vaccination proof of COVID-19
● Return airline tickets
● Visa application form

You can apply for an Umrah visa through an authorised Umrah travel agency or even through the online portal. Islamic Travel Agency is the only agency that provides you a visa within a period of 2-3 working days. What you have to do is visit the Islamic Travel Agency office and consult with the staff. The staff will fill out your visa application form, attach the required documents, and submit your application after the payment.

Vaccination and Health Requirements

To ensure a smooth and wonderful journey, then, you have to consult your family doctor regarding the health measures. Get an insight on health measures you should adopt before going to Saudi Arabia and during our Umrah journey. Your vaccination and medicals are important for visa booking. After submitting the vaccination card and medical certificates, now you only have to visit the Islamic Travel Agency office. There you will collect your visa after 2-3 days of submitting documents.

However, you can also apply for the Umrah visa through Saudi Arabia’s e-visa portal. Now you have to apply online on the portal, submit the documents, and pay the fee. The portal will generate a payment slip ID (PSID) against your application. You have to pay a fee for your PSID; otherwise, your application will not be processed further. After payment, you will receive your e-visa within 24-72 hours.

There are some necessary and mandatory vaccinations you should have to do before boarding the plane. Keep vaccinations against the polio, COVID-19, and other similar vaccinations as suggested by our family doctor. Health and vaccination requirements should be fulfilled in order to obtain a visa.

Therefore, it is necessary for you to complete the required health and vaccination process of Saudi Arabia. Moreover, you should carry essential medicines with you, such as Panadol, Disprine, Arinac, etc. Whether you have any disease or not, must carry all these medicines with you irrespective of any disease. Try to book Umrah packages for December 2025 from an Islamic travel agency, and they will guide you completely about necessary precautions.

Preparing for Your Spiritual Journey

Umrah is a religious activity of the Muslims; therefore, Muslims have to prepare themselves before the performance of Umrah. Preparation not only includes packing essential things, but Muslims should also have to prepare themselves mentally and physically for the performance of Umrah.
Make your spiritual readiness strong by increasing your prayers. By increasing the recitation of the QURAN and Zikr-ul-Allah in the Haramain, you will feel yourself close to Allah SWT. Beg for forgiveness for your mistakes from Allah Almighty and promise to Allah SWT not to repeat your past sins.

It is an emotional time for the Muslims as they wait for this moment very impatiently. To see the house of Allah Almighty (Kaaba) is the wish of every Muslim. Therefore, if you get an opportunity to see that beautiful Kaaba, then have humbleness and patience in you. Umrah requires calmness in pilgrims. Otherwise, you will not enjoy the journey.

On this spiritual journey, you have to walk miles from one religious place to another. Therefore, prepare yourself for this by practicing regular walking before going to Umrah. If you are not able to walk for miles, then the spirituality of the journey will be missing.

Your Intention (Niyyah)

Niyyah is very important in Islam. In Islam, actions are rewarded on the basis of niyyah. As the beloved Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) says,
“Intentions are the basis of judgement of your actions, and every person will get the reward according to what they intended.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

You should clean yourself and wear Ihram (a white piece of cloth, which Muslims wear). Then stand facing the Kaaba and make your Umrah niyyah from the bottom of your heart. Make pure niyyah, which is solely for Allah. In the month of western celebrations, make niyyah of Umrah and prefer it over Christmas. You can avail yourself of the amazing Christmas Umrah packages offered by Islamic Travel Agency, which is the most trusted one.

Understanding the Rituals

As Umrah is a sacred religious act of Muslims, it is significant to understand the traditional acts of Umrah (rituals). Following are the main rituals that the Muslims should have to understand before going to Umrah:

● Ihram: Ihram is the unstitched pieces of cloth that are worn by the Umrah pilgrims. Men wear 2 pieces of clothing, and women wear white clothes that properly cover them. After wearing Ihram, pilgrims make niyyah and recite “Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik.”.
● Tawaf: Tawaf is the 7 anti-clockwise rounds around Kaaba. These rounds start from the black stone (Hajr-e-Aswad). Hajr-e-Aswad is sent from the Jannat. After completing the 7 rounds of Kaaba, if conceivable, then offer 2 rakats of nawafil adjacent to Maqam Ibrahim.
● Sa’i: Sa’i means walking flanked by the mountains of Safa and Marwah. It is the act that the wife of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) formerly executed in hunt of water for her youngster. Allah Almighty loves this act so much that it becomes part of Umrah and Hajj. You have to complete 7 rounds of Safa and Marwah.
● Shaving/Trimming Hair: The last step to complete Umrah is to trim your hair. Men have to shave or trim their hair properly. However, women have to trim a small portion of their hair.