Things to do in London on Christmas

I know what you are thinking if you live in a not so big American city. Do have those daunting impressions about London and England of being a cold, typical aristocratic British city? Do you also look at it as an industrial and financial hub that is awfully huge, with crowded underground trains (metros as you would call them in America), traffic jams and finally are also worried about the famous unpredictable English weather?

How could you ever spend a Christmas in London? But, seriously, think about it for a minute, you can travel to London in lesser time than going to some other European destinations, where they don't speak English. You would normally not have any issues with visas and finally you would know, what is Britain really, as I think it is the place, where you can simply be happy, if you know to live it the British way. There are so many fun things to do in London on Christmas and you would be surprised to know, what this happening city has got to offer.

London is not only the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, but also an ancient city on the banks of the river Thames. It is a global metropolis and one of the world's major financial centers. It is the city for everything, you name it and it has to be there - arts, media, academics, science, technology, entertainment, fashion and culture. People from all over the world have settled here since ages and call themselves Londoners. The Queen's palace and residence, the Buckingham palace, is also here. So when you have so much, you would be wondering what is special about London at Christmas.

One of the best things to do would be to plan and do some London Christmas travel if you love traveling. You can check all the London travel information and London hotels online before you depart. But if you don't, you can pick up many free brochures and booklets immediately, when you fly into the Heathrow airport. London is so amazingly friendly and helpful by itself, that even if you go into a big railway station or bus station you would find ample help. When you get confused, which you would definitely be due to the numerous bus and train routes, just ask and you would find that people and the staff on duty are always ready to help you out.

My Unique Suggestions

Although your travel would include everything that a normal London sight seeing trip would include, you should plan to visit a few different places when you want to spend the Christmas day in London. From 21st November 2009 to 3rd January 2010, the famous Hyde Park would have an ice skating rink, a Snow Ball Bungee Dome and an Observation wheel with various views over London by the annual Winter Wonderland. Not just that, but there would also be a German Christmas Market, with stalls of lovely art and craft, food, music and all the fun that your kids would also enjoy. There would also be bands, choirs, lots of Christmas treats, mulled wine, open restaurants and bars to provide you with the festive spirit. Winter Wonderland would have free entry, but you need to have advance booking for some attractions, which you can find at their site. In addition to this, there are many Christmas Markets and Christmas Fairs around the city, so search online for the ones closest to you.

Christmas Lights
One might think, its expensive to spend time in London for Christmas. No doubt it is, but there are many free things to do in London at Christmas. Personally, I love Oxford Street and the Regent's Street; they are so good just to spend an evening. But Christmas time certainly offers a lot more than just shopping and eating there. There are Christmas Lights at these 2 famous places, the switching on ceremony has already happened on the 3rd November, 2009. But you can go and see the display till 5th January 2010, any time after about 6 pm. Another place I love is Convent Gardens. There is also the Convent Garden Market and this year, they have chandeliers made from 600 LED tubes in the Market Building. There is also a 40 ft Christmas tree and a 37 ft topiary reindeer followed by visits from a live reindeer! I'm sure your kids would like it. The lights would be until 4th January, 2010 and to entertain visitors, there would be choirs, Convent Garden real food market, special things for children like storytelling, workshops to make gingerbread men. What else? Reindeer petting on West Piazza on 5th, 12th and 21st December 2009, 12 pm to 5 pm. All the places discussed above have the best of restaurants in London and I would recommend anyone who plans to have a Christmas dinner in London, to try them.

Winter Activities in the Season
One of the best things to do is go ice skating with your family or friends or your special someone. Every year, there are ice skating rinks all over the city and you can research online for the places. One of them has been already mentioned above. However, also check out rink at Somerset House, Natural History Museum for its 1000 square meter rink, the one at Hampton Court Palace, rink at the Tower of London, Royal Windsor Castle for a royal experience of skating, the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, where they would also have heritage rides with traditional horses and carriages around the gardens. If you want to watch winter views, head to the Old Royal Naval College at Greenwich and the Greenwich park. Look out for the beautiful landscapes, trust me, you would not want to leave! Another thing I loved to do in Christmas winters - cycle around the awesome cycling routes in the city or go walking in any of the Royal Parks.

English Christmas Culture
If you like ballets, classics, drama and theater, there are a list of things to do in London. There is the annual pantomime at Hackney Empire, very English, not for very young kids though. There is also the English National Ballet Christmas season, that includes The Nutcracker, The Snow Queen and Giselle. Besides this, there are many performances going around the whole of December and into the New Year's. So finding out after getting there would be a good option. There are numerous events like the Great Christmas Pudding Race, which is quite fun and a charity and fundraising event for the Cancer Research, UK. The 12 period rooms at the Geffrye Museum are decorated every year to show, how Christmas was celebrated in the olden times and in the recent past. This can be quite interesting too. Christmas songs and Christmas carols have always been at the heart of Christmas celebrations for many years. There are Christmas carol events at almost all city centers in the UK during Christmas. In London, carol singers from all over the UK sing at the Trafalgar Square for fundraising. You can also visit carol performances at St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. Trafalgar Square also has a huge Christmas Tree, that has been gifted by Norway to the UK for assisting in the World War II. The tree has a height of 20 meters and is almost 60 years old.

Christmas Feast
If you want to have a Christmas lunch in London, take the Christmas Day Lunch Cruise on the River Thames. A lot of cruise lines offer these cruises. Treat yourself with a traditional English breakfast and then an English Christmas Lunch, while watching the city along the river. Also get into the London Eye, located at the Southbank of Thames to watch the panoramic overviews of London and moreover the lighting and glittering London, that you would see during Christmas. You can imagine, what it would be like to watch a city like London up to 40 kilometers in all directions from above from the world's tallest wheel of observation!

Lavish London Shopping
Shop a lot and be in the shopping malls to check the latest fashion trends, shop for apparel, consumer electronics, Christmas gifts or practically anything you want and avail good discounts at the Christmas sale, then get going to the departmental stores in London. One must visit and shop at the lavish and expensive Selfridges, Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Hamleys, Marks & Spencer's Flagship Store, Harvey Nichols, Topshop, Liberty etc., if you have the money of course. Your kids can also meet Santa Claus there!

There is an endless list of what you can do in this city, not just for Christmas, but all round the year. But, Christmas and New Year's is like a time Londoners would not be busy taking buses and trains and running to work. Instead, you would see a different London, extremely busy as usual, but enjoying the festival. I initially wanted to give just the 10 things to do in London at Christmas. Nevertheless, you can clearly see I simply cannot do that, as there are too many things. So now it's your turn to choose your thing to do! I'm sure you would enjoy your Christmas in London exactly the way you would want to!