Christmas Season in London
Hey Loves, so last week IÕve been to London and actually I was planning on taking you with me on IG stories and so on. But literally hours after I arrived on Thursday night , my phone completely broke and stayed that way for my whole trip until Monday. *bummer* 🙁 So you only find out how dependent you are on your phone when you cannot even check the time, set an alarm or remember any phone number apart from your own. 😀 lol . But anyways: I survived and I even enjoined the unplanned Digital Detox (at least a bit). Because I also just found out, how many photos I actually take with my phone ( a lot!). But this time, my friends phone and my Nikon camera had to do it, which was also pretty nice for a change.
But enough of my Phone issues: this post is actually for you to get into the Christmas mood and also to maybe think of visiting London during Christmas season. Of course, the weather might not be that perfect but the lighting and decoration is totally worth it! ?
Christmas shopping around Oxford Street & Bond Street
Of course this is a No-brainer in this list as you might already saw the amazing decoration, lighting and shop windows at Selfridges, Harrods, Liberty and many more department stores.
But also the big designer brand like Cartier, TiffanyÕs and so on are worth a visit at Old & New Bond Street. My favorite was definitely the Cartier shop which was wrapped up like a present as you can see below.
Notting Hill
Notting Hill has not directly a big Christmas decoration but many stores are showing decoration and Christmas specials by itself. For example you should definitely check out the Christmassy Cupcakes at Hummingbird Bakery (see below).
Also, the stores down Portobello Road are offering cute Christmas jumpers, decoration and souvenirs which are perfect for bringing home to your loved ones.
Ice skate rink at the natural history museum
Well, the ice skate rink was one of our long-term dreams that has been smashed within seconds with the words Òfully booked until 7pm! (Éit was 12pm at that pointÉlol). So we totally didnÕt see this coming, but it seems like that lots of children and tourists love to visit the ice skate rink even during the day. So if you want ti ice skate, make sure to book your slot online. Anyways, we made the best out of it and watched the (pro- or not-so-pro) ice skaters from the side, had a mulled wine and eventually took a ride on that cute carousel right next to it, which was sooo much fun! 🙂
Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park
Visiting from the “motherland of christmas markets”, the winter wonderland at Hyde Park was actually an interesting experience. Especially the huge ÒBavarian VillageÓ with original german signs, sausage and beer everywhere Ð lol. So it feels a bit Òtoo muchÓ in general, but what I did like was the live music on the different stages and the little streetfood village with delicious, extra-ordinary food.
AFTERNOON TEA IM PARK PLAZA
A british tradition, that everyone should do at least once during their London visit is the famous afternoon tea. Of course, we werte planning on going to the popular and all-pink ÒSketchÓ, but also this location has been booked weeks in advance. So accidentally but gladly I found this homepage with lots of afternoon tea options across London. In the end we decided to have out afternoon tea at the Park Plaza Hotel Westminster with a view over Houses of Parliament and Big Ben (which was under construction during our stay). The huge buffet etagere was offering lots of finger sandwiches, clotted cream, scones, various sweet cakes and of course many options for tea and coffee. So we were more than happy about our choice and a relaxed tea time whilst it was raining cats and dogs outside. 😉
So London is definitely worth a visit during Christmas season and I hope that I could get you into that cheerful mood and show you all the lovely lights and decoration. ALso, if you need more inspiration for your next London trip, check out my Top Recommendations here.
See you back on Christmas day here – as there will be a special post coming up on the 25th of December. ?
