London has well and truly entered into the Christmas spirit – everywhere you look there are festive lights, Santas, and (fake) snowflakes.  As this is my first winter Christmas I’ve really appreciated that London goes all out – it is helping to distract me from thoughts of the summer swims and barbeques I’d normally be enjoying by now!

I decided to make the most of all this festive cheer by devoting a Saturday to two classic London Christmas experiences – the Southbank Christmas market, and a walk enjoying some of the many light displays.  We got to Southbank about 1pm and discovered half of London had the same idea – it was packed!  Undeterred, we dove into the crowds to check out the wares at the cute wooden stalls and sample some of the many delicious goods on offer.  Of course, glühwein was a must to warm up our hands and bellies.

Nicole and me about to dig in to our delicious currywurst

Glühwein is my favourite hand and tummy warmer – delicious!

Next stop on our list was Winter Wonderland, and our journey there took us through Trafalgar Square and then Piccadilly Circus where we admired the giant snow globe – although I was not a big fan of the not-so-subtle branding.

The view from Trafalgar Square down to the Elizabeth Tower (aka Big Ben)

Beautiful window displays at Fortnum & Mason’s

Markets have sprung up on around all sorts of random corners and it seems that every building is festooned with lights and baubles – gorgeous!

Along the way we took a few moments to absorb the New Zealand War Memorial.  It is simple in design, but if you look closely the stories of New Zealanders are written on every cross.  Very moving.

When we got to Winter Wonderland we just about had heart failure at the length of the queues.  On reflection, mid-afternoon on a Saturday three weeks before Christmas was never going to be the best time to go… the families were still out in force and more people were arriving every minute.  We came up with an alternative that was a firm favourite with all – we went to the pub.  If you’re ever in Belgravia I highly recommend the Star Tavern – it was super cute and had a roaring fire, perfect for defrosting for a bit.

Fortified by mulled cider, we headed into the evening on a voyage of Christmas Lights discovery.  In this we were well-assisted by referring to This City Life London‘s Christmas Lights Tour.  We did it backwards, started near the Star, and skipped a couple of bits… however you use it, I highly recommend having a look if you want some ideas on where to go for the best displays.  Below are some of my favourite spots.

Motcomb Street

South Molton Street

Selfridges

Regent Street

Carnaby Street

Kingly Court, Soho

I loved our festive day – it definitely got me into the Christmas mood and now I’m getting more and more excited, and thinking less of the summer I’m missing.  I’m very lucky to be heading to my Welsh family for Christmas so I won’t be a Kiwi Orphan in London – I’m looking forward to finding out the Welsh Christmas traditions!