London does Christmas beautifully. The city lights up, which is really nice considering there are many hours of darkness that time of the year. Because I had just had a baby, and we had two months of family visiting, I didn’t get around to blogging about everything we did at Christmastime in London. But we actually did a lot! So I’m just going to post some pictures of the various things we did, so there’s a record of it and I can remember someday. Hopefully I’ll do a better job of blogging about London at Christmastime in 2017!

Christmas Lights in London

There are lots of Christmas light switch-on events in late November/early December. You can find lists published online with the dates and locations (check TimeOut). We went to the one on our local high street (the lights were a bit underwhelming but the real reindeer didn’t disappoint), and we also went to the one at Duke of York Square in Chelsea, which is an easy bus ride from here. Market stalls set up with food and mulled wine and cider, and there’s usually live entertainment and Father Christmas in his grotto (when you go see Santa in London, you visit Father Christmas in his grotto).

Christmas Light Switch-on at Duke of York Square

Christmas Lights on Regent Street and Carnaby

Regent Street, Oxford Street, and Carnaby comprise the major shopping district of London. No surprise, then, that these streets go all out with their Christmas light and window displays. The angel lights sweeping across Regent Street were my favourite.

Fortnum & Mason Window Displays

Nutcracker-Themed Window Displays at Liberty