29th November 2021
Each year, London’s most iconic shopping street lights up with its awe-inspiring display of Christmas lights. This year, Oxford Street glows bright under a blanket of glittering golden stars that, against the inky black sky, is a truly magical sight. Always a highly anticipated spectacle, perhaps combine it with a spot of Christmas shopping.
We live for the unveiling of the Christmas window displays at department stores each year. With bright, shimmering festive decorations flourishing behind the glass with a particular theme, it’s always an intriguing affair to wonder what sort of spectacle will be in store for us (no pun intended!). This year at Selfridges the theme is Christmas of Dreams, which is fuelled by imagination and exhibits a surreal, enchanted dream world. With references from classic 1950s technicolour film musicals and the golden age of Hollywood, this is a Christmas display you won’t want to miss!
Collaborating with the refugee charity Choose Love, the streets of Carnaby will be lit up each evening with over 600 sparkling 2D and 3D butterflies, each hand-decorated with bold neon patterns and reflective wings. The use of these beautiful insects is to highlight their representation of life – of spiritual rebirth, transformation, change and hope, which we think is a rather lovely concept.
Renowned for its wonderfully vast Christmas Shop, Harrods’ theme for this year has been termed ‘Witness a Spectacle’, focusing on a feasting table that stretches across the store. At each window, visitors can scan QR codes and watch the table displays come to life with festive filters, artificial reality experiences and animations brands such as Miu Miu, Bvlgari, and Carolina Herrera.
As always at this time of year, the world-famous botanic gardens at Kew look absolutely stunning with its glittering light trail and dancing waterside reflections that illuminate the inky London skies. Wander around the flickering flames in the Fire Garden and pass by trees covered in colourful glowing fairy lights on your way to the breath-taking panoramic Palm House light display.
Concealed beneath a blanket of 30,000 tiny twinkling lights stands the magnificent 55-foot Christmas tree – a truly breath-taking sight in Make sure you check out the charming Christmas Village, which hosts a festive food market, a winter forest archway and Santa’s sleigh, set to be the festive photo spot of the year!
Spend the evening admiring London’s festive displays before enjoying a lavish overnight stay at The Athenaeum.
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