Christmastime in London

The Christmas spirit definitely came a bit earlier for me while in London! Because the English don't celebrate Thanksgiving, they start their Christmas festivities in early November. Everywhere I went, there were Christmas trees, lights, and other decorations. In Westfield shopping center (mall), there was a giant Santa's snow kingdom that had been created just for the season. There were the Oxford Street Christmas lights, which are different every year and a small band playing Christmas songs outside of Harrods. It was wonderful having the holiday spirit spread throughout the city!!


In the beginning of December, Matt and I went to see Agatha Christie's play "Mousetrap", which is one of the longest running plays in London! I saw why too- it was really good! It was a murder mystery that was so well done, we were totally surprised at who the murderer was in the end. It was really different than seeing a West End musical, but I enjoyed it just as much. Afterwards, we walked by the Leicester Square "Fun Fair". The fair took up the entire square, and had fake snow being blown around, quite a few rides, and game huts. It was pretty late, so we didn't stop to play any of the games that night. On our walk back to Victoria, we passed a gigantic tree in Trafalgar Square and another under Parliament and Big Ben.




I heard about Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland in November, and had really wanted to go sometime before my flight back home for the break. The weekend before I flew home, Matt, Holly and I went to the Carnival and had an awesome evening!! Winter Wonderland was full of authentic German Markets, an over-priced ice skating rink, rides, a ferris wheel, and lots of food! The entire area was lit up and the Christmas spirit was definitely in the air. I tried mulled wine, ate a chocolate covered banana and a lemon crêpe, and went on a few rides- one through the Fun House. After leaving Hyde Park, we walked to Leicester Square's Fun Fair and Matt tried to win me a stuffed animal by 'fishing'. I played too, but I couldn't even get one of the fish. Matt figured the game out, and won me a unicorn that I named Jewel. :)

Spending a few weeks of the holidays in London was wonderful and with all the festivities around the city, I couldn't wait to get home to see all the decorations up in my house!