Why do we love Christmas? Because it’s a holiday that gives us more reason to eat. And shop.

Also because we get to fawn over pretty lights. And pretend we’re in a winter wonderland when it’s actually hot af.

Remember the Christmas Wonderland event at Gardens by the Bay last year? Yes. The event that had some 1.6 million visitors (!!!) last year.

It was also the same event that gave us such spectacular illumination.

And quite literally transported us to an Alice-in-Wonderland like world with this.

So if you enjoyed the event last year but absolutely hated the crowd, you should be delighted to know that this year, the event will be ticketed.

Even better, admission tickets and entry to fringe events can also be bought online in advance.

“Walao, so must pay money la isit!”

Yes…. but it also means there will be crowd control. And hopefully none of that yuuugee crowd from last year.

Here are some tips to make the best of your Christmas Wonderland ticket this year.

1. Go early.

And when we say early, we don’t just mean early in the day (btw, the event starts at 3.30pm daily) -- we also mean early in the month.

For the first week of the event, the tickets are priced at $4 and the subsequent week, $6; from 16 December to 1 January, the tickets will go for $8 each.

So if you’re torn between going to see the pretty pretty lights and having to pay for it, just go early. It will lessen the pain.

2. Don’t drive.

Needless to say, parking at a tourist attraction like Gardens by the Bay might incur needless parking charges.

(Visitor Centre Basement Carpark, 5am-6pm, $1.50/hr for the first 5 hours | 6pm - 2am $1.20/hr for the first 5 hours; Bay East Carpark, 5am-12am, $1/hr).

Not to mention you’d have to pay for ERP when you enter the downtown area.

You’re already paying for the tickets. You don’t wanna pay for this nonsense too, especially when you could be spending the money playing carnival games.

So have faith in our public transport system and take the train. It’s really quite easy to get there from Bayfront MRT.

3. Be prepared to pig out.

Being a ticketed event means there should be none of that ridiculous crowd from previous years -- which also means you won’t need to jostle to get in line for food.

Your food’s gonna taste even better than it already is.

So you probably should be making a beeline for the Festive Market. There’s something particularly charming about sipping hot chocolate and having a waffle under the twinkling lights and Christmas-y atmosphere.

And with Christmas specials like apple cinnamon tsukune sliders and honey glazed turkey ham, you’d probably not be able to resist it anyway.

4. Dress comfortably.

If you’ve never been to Gardens by the Bay, you should know that it’s a gigantic open-air space.

Given the amount of ground to cover, strutting around in heels might not be the best option (we hear athleisure is in vogue anyway).

You probably don’t need us to tell you to wear long pants if you are going ice skating at the Ice Palace. Unless you want to end up with cuts and bruises on your knees.

And since it’s the monsoon season, the possibility of rain is quite high. So you’d want to bring an umbrella -- even if most of the attractions this year are sheltered.

Why? Because Singaporeans are always prepared. We strive to look out for ourselves.

So to keep things (and yourself) in good spirits, dress comfortably and be prepared.

5. Bring your children along.

Before you think us mad, hear us out.

While it might not seem like a great idea to parents, it actually is. Why?

Because Christmas Wonderland is probably the closest thing to Disneyland that your children will get in Singapore. And we all want to keep the wonder and magic of Christmas alive for our young ones, don’t we?

Another reason is because you can bring up to 3 children below 0.9m for free with every adult ticket.

But of course, that’s not the main reason. Ahem.

6. Take advantage of all the activities available

While Christmas Wonderland is all glitzy and overflowing with the Christmas atmosphere, there’s one obvious thing that’s missing -- the chilly weather we associate with the season.

While it’s not exactly winter, there is an Ice Palace at Christmas Wonderland where your children can live out their Disney inspired winter fantasies at the Snow Playground.

And while your kids go crazy, you can *literally* chill at the alpine lodge by French patisserie Paul with their signature pastries and hot chocolate.

Or attempt ice skating.

7. Do your homework.

A key attraction at Christmas Wonderland is undeniably the Spalliera, a stunning installation modelled after a 13th century Italian castle, where you’d get the best Instagram-worthy shots.

To up your Instagram game, the best time to take a photo would be during Blizzard Time -- where fluffy little flakes of foam snow will create a snowscape just perfect for a photo.

The wet aftermath of all the foam is a small sacrifice for a photo like this:

Faces of pure bliss during Blizzard Time at the Spalliera! Blizzard Time timings for today (Sunday): 8pm, 9pm & 10pm Amazing shot ? by @julian_cheong We're keeping a lookout for amazing pictures to share with our fans so be sure to use the hash tag #ChristmasWonderlandSG #sgchristmas #letitsnow #spalliera #luminarie #christmaslights

A photo posted by Christmas Wonderland Singapore (@christmaswonderlandsg) on Dec 6, 2015 at 2:55am PST

Just bring along tissues and you’ll be all set.

So make sure you know when Blizzard Time is happening so you won’t miss the photo opportunity. Because that’s unbecoming of a true Instagrammer.

* Blizzard Time @ the Spalliera takes place three times daily; 8.00pm to 8.05pm, 9.00pm to 9.05pm and 10.00pm to 10.05pm.

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Having to pay for entrance this year shouldn’t put you in a dilemma as to whether you should go. In fact, with the controlled crowd and some strategising, you should have an even better experience than the last.

Visit here for more information and to get your tickets now.

This sponsored post allows Mothership’s writers to spare some extra cash this Christmas season to get through the year-end parties.