Lady’s Guide to the Christmas Season in London

The Christmas season in London has begun. The city is buzzing with Christmas cheer, and if you want to know where to find the best festivities right now, read on for my guide.

Christmas Season in London

Celebrities are turning on the Christmas lights at the Westfield Stratford City and Westfield London shopping malls. Last night I walked around Covent Garden and saw long luminescent strings hanging from tinsel snowflakes.

Get into the spirit, people. It’s the Christmas season in London.

From decorations in shop windows to festive paraphernalia spanning Regent Street, you can’t go anywhere in London without being reminded of the impending Yuletide.

And it’s not just lights, either. It’s also sound. As big bands and pop stars switch on Christmas lights on Oxford Street and other thoroughfares, they play their latest hits and singles.

Ice Skating Rinks in London

Then there are the ice skating rinks in London. The Somerset House ice skating rink on the Strand is impressive, as are the rinks in Canary Wharf and at Battersea Power Station.

Christmas Markets and Festivals

And that’s to say nothing of London’s Christmas markets and festivals. From Hyde Park Winter Wonderland to the Winter Market on the South Bank, the city comes alive with cheer.

There’s a fun Christmas market by London Bridge, and others in Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, King’s Cross, and other parts of the city.

Every year during London’s World Travel Market I go to Canary Wharf and see lots of Christmas decorations going up there, too.

And that’s to say nothing of fun events like the Chelsea Winter Village & Illuminations, Christmas at Kew, and other annual extravaganzas.

Christmas Pubs, Restaurants, and Bars in London

Businesses all over the city are taking full advantage of the Christmas season, too.

Pubs have wasted no time in putting chalkboards outside with messages encouraging passersby that it’s never too early to book their Christmas party in London.

Restaurants have started promoting their special Christmas menus, and barmen are creating Christmas drinks.

I recently experienced this phenomenon at an early Christmas dinner at a hotel in London.

My group started out at the bar, where we enjoyed canapes and sipped festive cocktails. Bright pink in color, they were all raspberries and champagne, and were created just for Christmas.

From there we moved into a private dining room for a Christmas dinner in London. The space was decorated with traditional Christmas crackers, which we wasted no time in popping open to discover our toys.

We then enjoyed a meal of everything from cheese-and-onion tarts to pumpkin ravioli and decadent British Christmas desserts like yule logs.

To top off the menu, we were given mince pies to take home. It was my first of the Christmas season in London, and I have to admit that the tiny parcel of fruit and dough did a great deal to get me into the festive spirit.

London Christmas Season

I’m glad it did, too. This will be my first Christmas in London since I moved to the UK. I’m a bit nervous to brave the cold after spending the last four in Australia, Namibia, Madagascar, and Singapore.

But after all the build-up and anticipation, the lights and the ice, I look forward to seeing how British Christmas traditions compare with the celebrations in other parts of the world.

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