Results tagged “Christmas”

Christmas Decorations at Eastcote House Gardens

In mid-December, I visited Eastcote House Gardens for some quiet time. I took a look at the Christmas decorations that are hung up on a pine tree near the gardens over the festive season. Below are some of the photographs that I captured of the decorations.

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At the end of November, I visited National Trust property Petworth to see the house decorated for Christmas. Unfortunately, only a few of the rooms were decorated as the decorations were in progress in the other rooms. The theme at Petworth for Christmas was "Christmas Colours". Each room had a different colour for the decorations. I managed to see four of the rooms decorated.

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One room had red decorations.

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The beautiful gallery hall had white lights and wood carved decorations to match the panelling in the room.

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The next room used orange and cinnamon and other festive flavours or smells.

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The chapel had three green trees which were probably set up but not yet decorated.

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For more photographs from Petworth House and Gardens, see the following posts: 

Elmer's Art Parade at Petworth (National Trust, West Sussex)
A Morning At Petworth (National Trust, West Sussex): Lockdown Edition.

London's Festive and Christmas Treats 2023

Welcome to the 2023 edition of London's festive and Christmas treats that I enjoyed this season. There's many more places that I did not cover, but below are a list of ones that I snapped this year and tried, including some firm favourites. Keep reading to see the list below of festive and Christmas treats in London.

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Peggy Porschen Cakes: The popular cafe is a photograph spot because it decorates the cakery shops each year. There's one on Elizabeth Street around the corner from Victoria Bus Station and another one on King's Road in Chelsea. They had a large selection this year, including some favourites from past years but also some new recipes. 

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I had the Bailey's chocolate cupcake, which I washed down with a delicious pistachio hot chocolate. This hot chocolate came with a pistachio macaroon.

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Crome: Crome is known for its French toast creations, and they also have croissants shaped like wheels and cubes. For Christmas, they had a festive French toast creation, which I had to try: the Gingerbread French Toast. It was delicious but very sweet, and I would have been more than happy to share as I could not finish it. It contained whipped cream, French toast, Gingerbread cream, ice cream, and a gingerbread biscuit. I washed this down with a toasted marshmallow hot chocolate.

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Local Markets - Duck Pond Market in Ruislip: At any local market, buyers are likely to find festive creations like these cupcakes.

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Whipped!: I've been a fan of Whipped! for several years now, since they had a cafe on Drury Lane. This was then moved to another location in Covent Garden before moving to Brixton for a few years. They reopened in a new area of Covent Garden. Cheesecake is the speciality, but cheesecake it's what I enjoy. For those looking for alternatives, the cakes and cookies are delicious. I also had the festive hot chocolate, which comes with a gingerbread and Christmas candies. I tried two of the creations, which were cookies and brownies and their (non-Christmas) pistachio cookie, which is one of my favourites ever. They had a large range of festive items.

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Chin Chin Labs: There's two branches of Chin Chin Labs, famous for their ice cream. The original is in Camden, and they also have another in Soho. I purchased the toasted marshmallow hot chocolate and tried their new festive treat - Party Popper. It is a pinecone mousse dessert with lashings of chocolate and cone and served with two party poppers filled with powdered sugar. Popping these over the top of the dessert creates a snowy effect. Chin Chin Labs also had their Baked Alaska returned this year, and that's been my favourite so far.

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Cakes and Bakes: There are different branches of this chain, and I visited in Ruislip Manor. The hot chocolate was creamy, and I had a cupcake. The cake was good; only downside is that the food colouring used does tend to stay on lips and tongue. However, a good lip scrub will remove the stain from lips.

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Valentino Pink Hot Chocolate: All the rage on Instagram this year seemed to be the pink hot chocolate from pop-up Valentino outside of Harrods. Visitors could buy a pink hot chocolate from a pink van and drink it in front of a pink Valentino Christmas tree under pink covers.

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Marchesi: This Italian cafe always has Italian Christmas desserts in the windows.

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EL & N and Caffe Concertto: These cafes has a few branches and both (completely separate companies) serves up some festive treats.

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Badiani Gelato: Located in Mercato in Mayfair, this ice cream shop makes ice cream festive treats.

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L'eto: This dessert shop is filled with wonderful-looking festive treats.

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Last year, I covered the treats in with the Christmas decorations, and you can read the posts here:

Festive Afternoon Tea at The Dorchester

Festive afternoon tea has become a tradition for me and a group of friends, and we have been visiting every year that we have been able to do so for the past few years. Each year, we try a different hotel. This year, we went to The Dorchester for their festive afternoon tea. When I had previously visited The Dorchester for afternoon tea, the highlight for me was the attentive service. They were also attentive on this visit, and on weekends during the festive afternoon tea, live carol singers sing to the diners.

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The hotel lobby had an impressive Christmas tree, and there was a hot chocolate bar and a mulled apple juice station for guests. Both were of excellent quality.

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The afternoon tea is held inside the lobby in a huge area at the back. A beautiful floral arrangement and chocolate present boxes were on display. Unfortunately, the warm colour of the lights does not do the colour of my photographs any justice. 

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A nice little touch awaited us with a hand-written note to thank us for dining at The Promenade in The Dorchester.

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Each festive afternoon tea came with a glass of champagne to start.

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Next up were as many sandwiches as we could eat.

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After the sandwiches, we were given a little ice cream macaroon.

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Then, we tucked into the scones. There were two fruit and two plain scones, and these were served with clotted cream and a choice of cherry or strawberry preserve. The cherry was delicious.

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We listened to live piano music in between the carol-singers.

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We were all a little disappointed that the pastries did not look too festive. I also did not like two of them as I do not like mince pies nor yoghurt.

The pastries included: Mont Blanc - chestnut cream and meringue; pistachio choux; spiced fruit tart; grapefruit and champagne yoghurt mousse. My favourite was the Mont Blanc, and this was followed by pistachio. I could not eat the other two as the flavours were not for me.

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There was also a vegan option available, and this included The Dorchester Chocolate - salted caramel and chocolate mousse; grapefruit posset; chestnut mousse; spiced fruit tart.

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The savouries were quite good, but the pastries let it down for me this time because I dislike the traditional English Christmas or festive flavours.

A Christmas Visit to No.1 Royal Crescent in Bath

I visited Bath, England at the end of November and visited the No.1 Royal Crescent museum. Despite living in the city for nearly three years and living in a building where my room window overlooked the Royal Crescent, I never visited No.1 Royal Crescent museum. The museum rooms are fitted out for the late 1700s in the Georgian period, and they were decorated for Christmas with a special Christmas theme and festive commentary throughout.

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I've often seen filming taking place here with people dressed up in Georgian and Victorian clothing. Bath has appeared in numerous television shows, and I remember one year when I was living here that they filmed all around the city and had a lot of props to take the time back further than the present day.

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The first room to see was the dining room, which was laid out for a Christmas meal.

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From here, it was back across the hallway to a smaller room with a single Christmas tree.

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And another room with a festive drink.

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Upstairs was a music room and living area.

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Opposite was one of the bedrooms, which was a lady's bedroom.

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The views out the window overlooked the rest of the Royal Crescent, and I could see the house I lived in.

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Up another flight of stairs was the gentleman's room.

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From here, I descended back into the staircase and down to the lower ground floor where the servants lived and worked. Here, I learned about some of the festive traditions and songs.

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There was also the kitchen and then the scullery at the back.

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Food was prepared in the kitchen and scullery areas, and rooms at the back were used as storage for food and an area for storing coal.

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The kitchen had some items laid out with some recipes of the era.

London Christmas Lights and Decorations 2023

Welcome to the 2023 edition of London's Christmas lights and decorations. I ventured out into London at the start of December and then a couple of other times in order to see the decorations. I must say that I have never seen London so packed full of people as I saw this December. Every time that I went into London, it was busy with people. I have not seen London this busy ever. I think the rise of social media and the Internet has definitely made it possible for anyone to know where the best decorations and lights are. I made the most of it, regardless, and here's this year's edition.

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We can start with Covent Garden, which I covered separately in Covent Gardens New Decorations post.

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Also, as they change every year, I always include a separate post for Carnaby Street, and the theme is Carnaby Universe.

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I discovered two massive elephants in Soho, but I am not sure if they are Christmas decorations.

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St. Christopher's Place is a little side-road north of Oxford Street and on the side of Selfridges that has a few restaurants and decorations.

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Of course, there's Oxford Street. These decorations have not changed for a few years.

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The windows of Selfridges featured moving curtains.

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On Mount Street, we had a glowing gown.

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Annabel's on Berkeley Square has a theme of the hot air balloon this year, and a hot air balloon was also used by Cartier in their decorations.

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Cartier's decorations in Mayfair are below.

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Mayfair's Christmas lights had a slight change, but the imagery was very similar to previous years with crystals.

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In fact, more shops were getting decorated this year with the majority of the street containing decorations of some sort.

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Of course, Regent Street still has the angels.

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Soho's Christmas lights were new from last year or the one before and were inspired by children's drawings. They are all different.

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More from Covent Garden, which always decorates well.

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St. Martin's Lane's lights I managed to photograph this year, and they feature the theatre district imagery.

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This French restaurant at Covent Garden always decorates.

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And more of Covent Garden and the covered market and tree.

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Seven Dials also changed their lights this year. 

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The King's Cross station Christmas tree is from a publisher.

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Fortnum and Mason's advent calendar is back.

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The memory garden is also back for a fourth year in Grosvenor Square.

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The Ivy did not decorate much for Christmas this year; there are three Christmas jumper polar bears.

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Peggy Porschen always decorates for the seasons.

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Duke of York Square on King's Road had a separate display for each of the "twelve days of Christmas", and this one features the milking.

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Lastly, Harrods did not have too much. There was a pink Valentino Christmas tree and visitors could buy pink hot chocolate with pink whipped cream from a pink truck.

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Previous London Christmas lights are below:

Previous London Window displays are below (I've phased these out as they have not been as interesting the past few years and more interest seems to be on the facade of the building as opposed to displays inside the windows):

Covent Garden's New Christmas Decorations for 2023

Covent Garden have changed their Christmas lights in the main market hall this year. Every few years, they change their decorations and displays. For the past few years, they had a mistletoe theme. Before that, they had giant red baubles. This year, they have introduced bells tied with red ribbons and red baubles. These decorations hang from the ceiling of the main market hall.

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Previous London Christmas lights are below:

Previous London Window displays are below (I've phased these out as they have not been as interesting the past few years and more interest seems to be on the facade of the building as opposed to displays inside the windows):

Carnaby Street Christmas Lights 2023: Carnaby Universe

This year's Carnaby Street Christmas lights theme is "Carnaby Universe". The street is covered with purple, blue, and green streamers and banners with neon lights and orbs featuring moons and planets. The Christmas lights at Carnaby Street are always amongst the ones that I look forward to seeing most, and this year does not disappoint with the universe theme.

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To see previous Carnaby Street Christmas lights in my blog, see the below posts:

Rachel Whitbread Designs the Connaught Christmas Tree 2023

Each year, Connaugh's Christmas tree is designed by an artist. This year's Christmas Tree at Connaught in London is designed by Rachel Whitbread and contains 102 neon white circles, and these circles symbolise positive energy and togetherness found during the festive season. 

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Previous Connaught Christmas trees that I covered on my blog are below:

Leonardslee Illuminated 2023

At the end of November, I headed over to Leonardslee Gardens to see Leonardslee Illuminated. I've never been to Leonardleee Gardens, and this was the first time at Leonardslee Illuminated. Leonardslee Illuminated kicked off at the end of November and will be on display until early January. I got the earlier slot and spent some time looking around the Christmas market that they had. I was really impressed with the light trail at Leonardslee, and below are my photographs that I captured on the day.

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Along with the Christmas market near the entrance, they also had some food trucks, but I'd just eaten. However, I did get a stick of jumbo marshmallows and cooked them over a fire pit.

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After the marshmallows, I started off on the illuminated trail. There were some illuminauted trees in different colours, disco balls shooting out lights, and some people dressed up in costume.

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There was a miniature greenhouse with snowflake and ice projections on it too. 

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Next up was a field of coloured orbs and an illuminiated art sculpture.

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The trail winded down a hillside, and at one point, I crossed through a walkway with streaming horizontal lights and illuminated trees on the other side, which led further down a hillside.

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These lit-up birds looked magical.

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Next was a patch of illuminated snowdrops.

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On the other side, going down the hill, I glimpsed what was to come - illuminated trees that switched colour and hanging lit-up stars of different colours.

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This led on down to a pond or lake with lanterns hanging in the trees.

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Over the pond was the moon illuminated whilst the projections of light on the moon and trees behind glew different colours.

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On the other side of the lake opposite the moon were more illuminations, including dragon flies. These also turned different colours.

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There were a couple of illuminiated frogs too.

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A light projection with some fog was next up with glimpses of another orb. This time, it was Earth but during darkness or night-time.

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The trail climbed another hill, and there was another pond on top. At the very top pond was the Earth during daylight. The trees behind had a glow that changed colour, and a smoke machine created a mist.

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After walking through this and down another hill to another part of the lake or pond, I was treated to a magical fountain display set to music.

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On the other side of the lake now, I caught more glimpses of the Earth at dark.

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Then, the trail ascended up back through the woods. There were illuminiated mushrooms and illuminated cocoon objects that looked alien all hanging from trees.

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We also had more snowdrops and illuminated flowers and acorns.

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That concludes Leonadslee Illuminated, and I had fun seeing this different trail.

At the end of last month, I visited Nymans to see their Christmas display. Nymans is a home and gardens managed by National Trust, and it is located in West Sussex. This Christmas, Nymans are celebrating Nutcracker Christmas. There are several Nutcracker sculptures placed around the garden, and the house has been decorated with an inspiration of the "Nutcracker" performance. There's also a display of costumes from Matthew Bourne's "Nutcracker!" in the upper floor of the house.

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The Nutcracker statues around the gardens each had a name and had a children's activity. These were fun to locate, and the first one was in the garden shop area.

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In addition to the statues, some of the grounds were also decorated for the holidays with the "Nutcracker" theme of sweets and dreams.

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There was also the evil mouse character lurking.

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After a quick look around the grounds, I went into the house to see it decorated for the "Nutcracker!". 

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The dining room was filled with a buffet of sweets.

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Beautiful Christmas trees were located in the rooms.

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And there were more sweets and cakes in the other rooms too, such as the sweet trolley in the library room.

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The Christmas displays led up the stairs.

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The main couple of rooms here contained the costumes for the "Nutcracker" performance and a documentary being shown on a televsion about the characters and the costumes. I am not familiar with the story, but I have been wanting to visit the performance in London for the past several years but have just never gotten around to it.

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After the house, I went back through the gardens, and I saw the remaining Nutcracker statues on the trail back through th grounds.

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Also, the autumn colour was still beautiful; it was so cold.

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After the visit to Nymans, I headed down the road to "The Victory Inn" pub in Stapleford, and I had some food before my next stop, which was a Christmas light show down the road at another garden. I had a delicious curry here and finished with sticky toffee pudding. I was sat right in front of the fire, which was wonderful. It is a lovely pub.

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My previous posts on Nymans can be seen by looking at the below links:

Nymans Summer Gardens and House 
Nyman's Gardens in Autumn
A Visit to Nymans (National Trust, West Sussex): Lockdown Edition

Uppark is a property managed by the National Trust in Wst Sussex. The history of the property dates back as a deer park used in the 14th century and was leased as a pair called "Up Park and Down Park". The house was built at the end of the 1600s and then renovated, and the house today is shown as the country house would have been lived in in the 18th century with French furniture, Italian paintings, and Dutch porcelain. The house tells two stories: those of the upper class and those who were servants and lived below the stairs. Uppark is open during December with some of its rooms dressed up for Christmas for the family upstairs and preparations for the big day underway downstairs in the servant's area for "Upstairs, Downstairs" Christmas.

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The walk down to the house was feeling festive with some reindeer and lights glowing down the pathway to the house.

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Before going to check out the house, I headed to the cafe to have a drink and a pastry for breakfast and then a quick browse in the book shop, but I did not buy any books this time as I have a lot to read.

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Festive decorations greeted me in the hall when I entered Uppark house. 

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The main attraction was the saloon, and the fireplace has the Roman Romulus and Remus depicted. The room contains a beautiful Christmas tree on one side, and the other side of the room has a table laid out with playing cards and a pink Christmas cake on a table.

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The Little Parlour is the next room, and this is the room where the ladies would gather. The room has been decorated for Christmas as well with tea cups, a cake, and gardlands of greenery on the mantle.

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Before the dining room is another small room which contained a Christmas tree.

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The next room was the Dining Room, which was laid out for a Christmas meal. I had a longer look at the detail in the paintings with the voluneer in the room.

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The Servery is the room on the other side of the dining room, and the servants would arrive to the dining room in a series of tunnels and then wait here for the food to be served up. The room contains a beauiful stained glass window, which is a focal point. It was lit from behind and designed to look impressive. The design of the stained glass is inspired by the Elgin Marbles from the Greek Parthenon.

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From the servery, stairs led down to the servant's quarters. These are presented as they would have been in the middle of the 1800s. The kitchen showcased a Christmas meal being prepared with different ingredients, baking gingrbread men, and dried fruit being combined to make mince for pies or cake. The Butler's room and the other areas included Christmas trees with home-made decorations and glasses out being cleaned for the day.

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After exploring how the servants celebrated and prepared for Christmas, I had a quick wander around the grounds and spotted a robin.

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I enjoyed visiting Uppark for Christmas to see how both the wealthy owners of the estate and their servants celebrated. For more posts about Uppark, see below:

Late Spring Visit to Uppark Park and House

Return Visit to Bath's Christmas Markets

At the end of November, I headed to Bath in Somerset in England to attend the annual Christmas market. My favourite Christmas market, I have been wanting to return for a few years now but did not get the chance to go until this year. I used to live in Bath for three years, and I enjoyed the city. In addition to the wonderful cabins selling a vast array of goods not found in most markets, Bath has a lot of independent and interesting shops. I have not been there since the pandemic, and I was gutted, however, to see that a few of the shops that I enjoyed visiting over the years have closed down and the Christmas market itself was not as large as in previous years. In front of the cathedral square were less cabins, but there were additional cabins heading down one of the other streets opposite the pump rooms. 

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Although the day was mainly overcast and cloudy, it was dry and the sun did manage to shine sometimes. For lunch, I headed to have afternoon tea at The Mad Hatters Tea Party, and I enjoyed it.

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I had some time to look around some of the shops and the Christmas market, starting from the famous Bath Abbey. I did purchase some items.

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Before the shopping, I decided to have a hot chocolate with marshmallow topping as the journey to Bath was a long one. I also had a cookie. The hot chocolate and cookie came from Mrs. Potts Chocolate House, which seems to be a new establishment, or if it is not, I had not noticed it before. There were sweet shops located here previously, but I don't remember this one. Opposite is a long-term chocolate and fudge shop.

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The little chocolate button that came with the hot chocolate tasted nice, and the milk chocolate cookie sandwich was ok. It's not the best that I've ever had, though. 

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After the chocolate to give me the energy I needed for the walking and shopping, I went on my way.

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In between the browsing of the little Christmas market cabins, I checked out some views of the city that I have missed, such as Pultney Bridge.

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Then I walked up to the main shopping streets to see what changed. The Christmas market cabins extend out further than they used to. 

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Toward the end of the visit, I had a mulled non-alcoholic apple juice.

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I had a wonderful day re-visiting Bath and the Christmas market. Although the city has changed, a lot of it has still remained the same. 

Country Living Christmas Fair 2023 Luxury VIP

Earlier this month, I visited the Country Living Christmas Fair; it is organised by Country Living magazine and features workshops relating to making crafts and recipes. I first visited this event in 2021 (Country Living Christmas Fair) when I went as a VIP. This year, I decided to return but went Luxury VIP. Luxury VIP is early access, bottomless Prosecco throughout the day, a VIP cloakroom and loune area, and visitors receive a luxury hamper. There is a hamper for standard VIP access, but the luxury hamper offers more items. Like my visit in 2023, I enjoyed exploring the different retailers and vendors and made some purchases in between visits to the cloakroom and having Prosecco and other snacks.

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The Luxury VIP hamper came in a basket and featured items from some of the vendors.

My previous post mentioned that I had returned to Waddesdon Manor for the Christmas event this year having had visited its Christmas event in 2019. The property, which is owned by National Trust, is located in Buckinghamshire, and the house was decorated for Christmas. Visitors could also walk through the winter light trail and the woodland light trail. There were several food kiosks this year for visitors to grab a bite to eat, and there was a Christmas Fair, but this was sadly closed when I visited.

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One of the main attractions is the manor illuinations, which is on repeat loop every ten minutes, transforming the building into the centrepiece of a light show set to music.

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The winter light trail began in the parkland next to the manor.

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We first saw a field of orbs that were synchronised to music and transformed colours.

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waddesdon-winterlight

Next up was the tunnel of stars.

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waddesdon-winterlight

This was followed by a spectacular light projection onto the trees and set to patriotic music.

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waddesdon-winterlight

Next up was a wooded area of young trees that had two panels to interact with, changing the trees into two colours when pressed.

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waddesdon-winterlight

A walkway here also changed colour when pressed on.

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There were also butterflies in the trees that glowed.

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A disco orb with light projected onto it illuminated the surroundings with "glitter".

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waddesdon-winterlight

waddesdon-winterlight

waddesdon-winterlight

This continued the wooded walk with the projections with icicle lights and orbs.

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waddesdon-winterlight

And a fire garden at the end.

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waddesdon-winterlight

waddesdon-winterlight

The woodland walk contained additional projections and lit-up-lanterns but not very many and not on a large scale, and there were light projections to see in the stables too. 

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In front of the stables was an illuminated Christmas tree.

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Inside the stables were different projections using water and lights and one using lights and mirrors.

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Another part of the trail contained smoke machines and light projections, which made great shadows and silhouettes.

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A large part of the trail contained lanterns made by local school children from different schools.

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waddesdon-winterlight

waddesdon-winterlight

For more posts about Waddesdon on this blog, see the below:

Waddesdon Manor at Christmas 2022
Halloween Afternoon Tea at Waddesdon

Morning at Waddesdon (National Trust, Buckinghamshire): Lockdown Edition
Christmas and Winter Light at Waddesdon Manor (Bucks, England)

I returned to Waddesdon Manor this Christmas to visit the house decorated for the holidays. This is the first time that the house has been decorated for Christmas since my visit in 2019. This year, there is a new route with the East Wing being open for festive displays with Christmas trees in the rooms. Visitors can see the house decorated for Christmas until (and including) 2 January, and tickets must be purchased in advance to limit numbers. Visitors to the house can also stay in the grounds for the light trails. Waddesdon is a property managed by National Trust in Buckinghamshire, England.

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In the past, Waddesdon's Christmas rooms have followed a theme, but there doesn't seem to be an overall theme this year. Some of the trees contain birds. Another contains DIY tools. Another contained butterflies, and another contained elephants. There was not an overall theme like there was in 2019, but each room had a theme.

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Instead of turning left in the entrance porch, we went straight ahead to some new rooms that I had no visited before. Overall, there were less rooms decorated than there were in 2019, and I enjoyed 2019 far more than this year's display. However, I guess it's a start since this is the first time that they have decorated since 2019. The Red Drawing Room was the first room, and the tree contains ornaments designed as fashion accessories (fans, hats, mirrors, etc), mimicking the Thomas Gainsborough paintings in the room.

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The Dining Room has a bird theme. A peacock has been crafted from paper, and there are birds and eggs around the room and on the Christmas tree. Peacock was a main dish in the 19th century.

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waddesdon-xmas2022

waddesdon-xmas2022

The conservatory room has been turned into a rainforest, and it did contain exotic tropical plants in the later 1800s. The room is inspired by the Rothschilds (who owned the house), and it contains butterflies and bug collections, inspired by their collections. The beetles and butterflies in the room were created by schoolchildren.

waddesdon-xmas2022

waddesdon-xmas2022

The Breakfast Room was next, and it contained a cornucopia on the table and mirrored trees on either side of the fireplace.

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The East Gallery's Christmas tree contains elephants, which are inspired by the elephant clockwork item on display. These were amongst the Rothchilds prized possessions.

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Up the stairs was a small tree in the hallway before leading into the two smaller rooms. 

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The White Drawing Room is inspired by Alice de Rothchild's maintenance of the mansion. DIY and cleaning tools are ornaments on the Christmas tree in the room.

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waddesdon-xmas2022

waddesdon-xmas2022

Next door to the room is a red room with its own Christmas tree.

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The Blue Dining Room was the final room to visit.

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The stairs down from the servant's area had various information boards to read about the servants and their Christmas experiences at Waddesdon.

waddesdon-xmas2022

waddesdon-xmas2022

waddesdon-xmas2022

Afterwards, we visited the food market to have a bite of lunch. I had a grilled cheese sandwich.

waddesdon-xmas2022

I also visited the Christmas light trail on my visit, so come back to see photographs of it.

For more posts about Waddesdon on this blog, see the below:

Halloween Afternoon Tea at Waddesdon
Morning at Waddesdon (National Trust, Buckinghamshire): Lockdown Edition
Christmas and Winter Light at Waddesdon Manor (Bucks, England)

2022 Christmas Cocktails @ Miracle at Henrietta

Happy holidays to all of my readers on this Christmas Day. I returned this year (in mid-November) to visit Miracle at Henrietta Hotel in London's Covent Garden to enjoy Christmas-themed cocktails. This is the fifth year that the pop-up bar has been in London, and Miracle are known for their Christmas-themed cocktails served in festive glassware and vintage 1980s Christmas decor. I visited with friends, and we tried all of the cocktails on the menu except the espresso-based one as none of us like espresso.

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For previous visits to Miracle at Henrietta in Covent Garden, see the links below:

2021 Christmas Cocktails @ Miracle at Henrietta
Miracle Pop-up Christmas Cocktails Returns to London Henrietta Hotel
Christmas Cocktails @ Miracle at Henrietta

Festive Afternoon Tea at The Savoy

Over the past several years, a group of friends and I have formed the tradition of taking afternoon tea over the festive season. This year, we finally got to go to The Savoy Thames Foyer to have afternoon tea; I'd booked it a couple of years ago, but it got cancelled for obvious reasons. We decided to enjoy the festive afternoon tea on Christmas Eve.

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I ordered a glass of champagne with mine, and this was followed by a mixture of sandwiches: Somerset smoked cheddar, brown egg, turkey, and ham. We also received a brie tart and a beetroot tart.

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festive-tea-savoy

festive-tea-savoy

I had the Darjeeling Moonlight tea, which is exclusive to The Savoy.

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Next up were the scones. We had a plain and a fruit scone each. We received clotted cream and a winter fruit spiced jam as well as a lemon curd. I enjoyed the lemon curd.

festive-tea-savoy

After the scones, we indulged in the sweets.

Gift Box Biscoff Mousse: this was a pear-based dessert made with gelatine

Shortbread Santa's Hat Chestnut Cream: This contained a biscuit base with yuzu and a citrus flavour with a slight ginger spice

The Savoy Bauble: This is a signature dessert made with 64% dark chocolate mousse and cocoa

Triple Crown Blackberries: This is a tart with fresh blackberries on top

festive-tea-savoy

My faovurite was "The Savoy Bauble", and I did not like the blackberry tart; the tart had a cheesecake texture. 

festive-tea-savoy

festive-tea-savoy

festive-tea-savoy

festive-tea-savoy

I enjoyed seeing the Christmas decorations.

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festive-tea-savoy

festive-tea-savoy

festive-tea-savoy

festive-tea-savoy

festive-tea-savoy

The afternoon tea was enjoyable, and we had a wander around Covent Garden.

London's Christmas Lights, Treats and Decorations 2022

Christmas has returned to London once again, and it has come earlier this year than it has ever done before with some light displays switching on from the beginning of November. This year has come around quickly for me, and I've struggled to get into London much due to work commitments. However, I have been able to get in to see most of the decorations that London has to offer this year. Below are the areas in London where you can visit the Christmas lights and decorations.

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Covent Garden: Covent Garden never disappoints at Christmas, and there's also at least one pop-up of some sort to visit. There are decorations located throughout the market with an assortment of pretty Christmas trees. This year, the centrepiece inside the market is a red sleigh with seats to encourage visitors to take photographs. There's also some additional decorations hanging in the market this year, in addition to the large silver balls and mistletoe lights. There are several giant silver baubles hanging. The large Christmas tree here has also returned as well as the snowmachine that pipes out snow every hour.

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The streets near Covent Garden also have their own decorations.

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xmaslondon2022

xmaslondon2022

Connaught Village: Connaught Village near Marble Arch has a beautiful tree and lights, similar to last year.

Seven Dials: Seven Dials returns with gold orb lights and pink streaming lights along with new "Seven Dials Christmas" words.

xmaslondon2022

xmaslondon2022

xmaslondon2022

Carnaby: This year's decorations on Carnaby Street have been reused from previous years. For more photographs, check out Canary Christmas Lights 'Carnaby Celebrates' 2022.

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xmaslondon2022

xmaslondon2022

Soho: The HO HO HO lights have returned.

xmaslondon2022

xmaslondon2022

Connaught Hotel Christmas Tree: Each year for the past several years, the Connaught Hotel has had a Christmas tree decorated by an artist. This year, it's Suzy Murphy, and you can read more about it and see photographs here: Suzy Murphy Decorates the Connaught Christmas Tree.

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xmaslondon2022

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Leicester Square: The market has returned and is popular.

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Fortnum and Masons: For the past few years now, Fortnum and Mason is a giant advent calendar.

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Regents Street: The lovely gold angels have returned; these were inspired by a traditional display and always seem to be a favourite.

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xmaslondon2022

xmaslondon2022

xmaslondon2022

xmaslondon2022

St. Christopher's Place: This little alley (blink and you'll walk past it) near Selfridges off Oxford Street contains shops and restaurants, and they have new Christmas decorations hanging down the street.

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South Molton Street: South Molton Street has its blue arches and a new blue Christmas tree.

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King's Cross / St. Pancras Christmas Tree: This year, the Christmas tree is benefiting Prince's Trust.

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King's Cross and Coal Drops Yard: Four Christmas trees are located here, and Coal Drops Yard has hosted some Christmas markets and other events this year. 

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xmaslondon2022

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Duke of York Square and King's Road: Some of the shops decorate, and a Christmas tree and floral arch attract much attention.

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xmaslondon2022

The Ivy: The Ivy is always a favourite, but they have a muted display this year.

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Mayfair: Several shops in this area now decorate for Christmas with additional ones added this year. The street has also introduced new Christmas lights this year - an update from the previous peacock lights.

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Annabel's: Located off Berkley Square in Mayfair, this exclusive nightclub has become a firm favourite go-to for seasonal displays. This year, the building has been transformed into a giant carousel.

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Hedonism Wines: Located not far from the top of Berkeley Square, this large wine shop always has a festive display outside, and this year's features a group of white reindeer.

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xmaslondon2022

Mount Street: Mount Street is the road that The Connaught Hotel and a lot of other restaurants and shops is situated on. There are a few places that decorate.

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xmaslondon2022

xmaslondon2022

Grosvenor Square: The white roses have appeared for the third year in a row.

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Miracle at 34 Mayfair: This restaurant, located in Mayfair close to Grosvenor Square, is decorated nicely out front with Christmas trees and gift boxes.

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Mercato Mayfair: This indoor market is decorated with a large Christmas tree at the altar and themed drinks and food. (You can see my post about the venue not long after it opened here.)

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xmaslondon2022

Oxford Street: The star decorations have returned again this year.

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Selfridges: The Christmas window displays are interesting this year.

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xmaslondon2022

xmaslondon2022

ChinChin Labs Ice Cream in Soho: This venue in Soho and Camden have festive ice cream.

Milk Train in Covent Garden: Milk Train are always on game with seasonal treats and have a couple of different ones this year.

Peggy Porschen: Known for their beautiful cafe and treats, Peggy Porschen is a must to visit. This year, they had a range of Christmas treats to try.

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xmaslondon2022

xmaslondon2022

xmaslondon2022

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xmaslondon2022

Kingsway at High Holborn: These lights - blue, white, and gold bauble shapes - are new this year on Kingsway from Holborn to the Strand.

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Not Christmas, but I had a couple of cocktails from Simmons bar while enjoying the walk around.

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xmaslondon2022

xmaslondon2022

Previous London Christmas lights are below:

Previous London Window displays are below (I've phased these out as they have not been as interesting the past few years and more interest seems to be on the facade of the building as opposed to displays inside the windows):

Carnaby Street Christmas Lights 2022: Carnaby Celebrates

This year's Carnaby Street Christmas lights include a collection from the past previous several years of different Christmas displays that Carnaby Street has placed. Robins, giant snowmen, planets, palm trees, colourful birds, stars, jellyfish, paper chains, and neon signs are all included. The compliation of decorations forms this year's theme: "Carnaby Celebrates". Carnaby Street appears to follow the conscience trend to conserve and reuse, which is good for the environment and also helps to save money in difficult times. The Christmas lights at Carnaby Street are always amongst the ones that I look forward to seeing most.

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To see previous Carnaby Street Christmas lights in my blog, see the below posts:

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  

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