British fragrance brand, Jo Malone is running a free immersive experience at Battersea Power Station and sponsors the ice rink around a giant Christmas tree.
Step into a life-size gingerbread house and dance with a gingerbread man in the photo booth, turn yourself into one or take part in gingerbread house making masterclasses.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Try and shop Jo Malone’s new collection of fragrances, candles, skin care products and gift sets. The Christmas collection features scents, such as Ginger Biscuit, Glowing Embers, and Orange Bitters to put you into the festive spirit.
The gingerbread house-experience is completely free, and no booking required. Open until 8 January 2024.
‘Tis the season to celebrate the most magical time of the year. From the shimmering stars in Oxford Street to the quirky decorations of Carnaby Street, watch London gloriously decked out for Christmas.
Covent Garden has changed their Christmas decoration this year and it’s more magical than ever. Instead of giant baubles, this year gigantic bells and mirror balls decorate Covent Garden Piazza.
Don’t forget to visit the pop-ups and the glorious 60ft (18metres) Christmas tree with over 30,000 twinkling lights.
Fortnum & Mason
Photo: Urban Adventurer
It’s now a tradition that the historic building of Fortnum & Mason transforms into a gigantic Christmas calendar. Twinkling lights decorate the numbered windows and the whole building is glowing in red light.
Burlington Arcade
Photo: Urban Adventurer
One of London’s most famous shopping arcade, Burlington Arcade is dressed for the festive season. This year, all the decorations are natural. All the wreaths and Christmas trees are decorated with dried orange slices, cinnamon sticks and pinecones.
Cartier
Photo: Urban Adventurer
The capital’s most luxurious stores are all decorated with spectacular Christmas lights and window displays. For this festive season, Cartier adorned their façade with an impressive giant red hot air balloon and clouds.
New Bond Street
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Whilst you’re there, it’s well worth to take a walk in New Bond Street and admire all the beautiful decorations and see what the luxurious shopping district has to offer.
Plus, this festive season, new tiara-like illuminating decorations adorn New Bond Street as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.
Carnaby Street
Photo: Urban Adventurer
When it comes to Christmas lights, Carnaby Street never disappoints us. They come up with the quirkiest installations every year. This year, the theme is the solar system. ‘Carnaby Universe’ features a kaleidoscopic installation featuring neon-lit planets and moons from our solar system.
Regent Street
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Regent Street Christmas lights are one of the most famous in London and not without a reason. Magnificent glittering spirits float above the entire length of the street. You’ll surely be able to take that perfect Insta photo here with London’s iconic double-deckers, black cabs and telephone boxes in the background.
Annabel’s
Photo: Urban Adventurer
London’s most elegant private club is in fully Christmas mode. I giant hot air balloon stretches over the three floors of the historical building. The balloon is accompanied by beautiful glowing stars scattered on the walls.
The installation is a “symbol of hope and inspiration in a year where the world has faced many difficulties and hardships.”
Oxford Street
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Oxford Street lights are perhaps the most iconic lights in the city. Tourists and locals flock to take photos of the twinkling stars every Winter. The display is illuminating for a certain amount of time each night before switched off for the rest of the night. This is to ensure the display is as eco-friendly as possible. Also, the decoration is made out of recycled materials.
Ever After Garden
Photo: Urban Adventurer
Ever After Garden is the most poignant light installation to visit during the festive period in London. It’s an ocean of illuminating white silk roses, each of them is there to remember loved ones we have lost in cancer.
Visitors can dedicate a rose to a friend or family member they have lost and write a short message to be placed next to one of the roses.
The roses are re-used every year to maintain sustainability, therefore, visitors cannot bring them home.
Battersea Power Station opened to the public in October 2022 as a shopping and entertaining centre. Since then, shops, bars, restaurants and a cinema opened within the power station and more to come!
For this festive period the entire power station is gloriously dressed is gold shimmering lights.
Outside, there are giant Christmas bauble decorations, an ice rink, hireable cosy igloos, some food vendors and an immersive gingerbread house experience welcome visitors.
Don’t forget to book your ‘Lift 109 Chimney Lift Experience’ to make a thrilling ascent 109 metres to the top of the chimney of the power station while enjoying immersive light show.
Ready for your next adventure? Free immersive gingerbread house experience and ice rink opened next to Battersea Power Station by famous fragrance and lifestyle house, Jo Malone.
Selfridges’ Christmas Shop opened as early as September this year and has taken over the lower ground floor where later in the festive season, visitors will have the chance to meet Santa and his elves.
The shop is not just an Insta heaven, but offers over 1,300 pick ‘n mix baubles, half of which cannot be found anywhere else in the UK.
There are plenty of other decorations to choose from. From Christmas cards, to wreaths, to lights, crackers, and nutcracker soldiers in all colours and sizes.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
The six themes the shop presents:
Gen Z Favourites
These are quirky decorations and baubles, such as matcha latte, celebrities, macarons and more.
Made in the UK
These are mainly ceramic decorations crafted by Minnie-Mae Stott Studio.
Foodie Favourites
From hamburger to oat milk to candy and bubble gum tree decorations, you’ll find everything to make your Christmas tree mouth-watering.
Diversity
This includes figurines from black owned businesses, such as March Muses.
Personalisation
You can customise your baubles, crackers, stockings and more!
Conscious Christmas
You’ll find lots of recycled candles and wreaths, and the pick ‘n mix offer allows customers to choose from recycled, pre-loved and socially conscious products.
This year, over 60% of the products are ‘Project Earth’ labelled which means, there are plenty of planet-friendly options, including products from B Corp certified producers.
Photo: Urban Adventurer
In addition to all of these, you’ll – of course – find Selfridges’ own luxury decorations, such as Selfridges yellow bag Christmas decoration, classic baubles, fashion bag decoration and much more.
Ready for your next adventure? Miracle at Henrietta has returned this year. London’s one of most Christmassy pop-up is located within Henrietta Hotel and offers Christmas-themed cocktails and super-Instagrammable Christmas vibes. (blog post coming soon)
‘Tis the season for wearing Christmas jumpers and Natural History Museum’s resident T-rex thinks he can never be too extinct to get into the holiday spirit and has cosied up in his very own knitted jumper.
It’s now a yearly tradition at Natural History Museum to dress up the life-size animatronic T-rex in knitted Christmas jumper for the festive season.
It wasn’t an easy task to dress up the prehistoric giant, though. The Christmas woolly measures nearly 4ft (1.2m) around the neck, 9ft 6in (2.9m) around the shoulders and over 10ft (3m) around the body and weights about 2 kilograms. The museum shared a behind-the-scenes video on their Instagram.
The jumper is 100% eco-friendly and made by a small business owner, Jack Master in Leicester, UK making sure that the pullover perfectly fits to the T-rex’s giant body and tiny arms.
The festive garment is made of 60% recycled cotton and 40% recycled polyester. The latter is sourced from recycled plastic bottles.
The T-rex is also wearing an oversized Santa hat to complete his festive outfit.
The jumper features some the museum’s most beloved dinosaur skeletons, namely Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stegosaurus, and Titanosaur.
Visiting the T-rex is completely free, and no booking required.
Ready for your next adventure? If you’re still on the hunt for the prefect Christmas venue, look no further! One of London’s most magical restaurants, The Last Talisman, is ready for the festive period. Providing your very own personal events manager, they help you design and execute your perfect Christmas party from start to finish.
December is for tingling our taste buds with festive special seasonal menus and cocktails. Well, there are plenty of places to drink festive cocktails all around in London, but we’re pretty confident, we have found the cutest Christmas cocktail in town.
Chocolate lovers! This one is for you.
The Chocolate Cocktail Club
Photo: Urban Adventurer
The Chocolate Cocktail Club is the only bar in London (and the whole UK), specialised in chocolate cocktails. A must-go destination for chocoholics.
From creamy to nutty to spicy, there are over 20 different chocolate cocktails are on the menu, and most of them comes with a little treat to get your taste buds indulged even more.
And we haven’t even mentioned their Christmas specials!
Drink It from a Chocolate Reindeer
Photo: Urban Adventurer
They introduced their special Christmas cocktail menu on the 1st December that includes ‘Giggling Gingerbread Man’ containing vanilla ice cream, gingerbread syrup and of course a giggling gingerbread man on the side. ‘Merry Mint To Be’ is another creamy one, containing Baileys and white room. This cocktail has a lovely light green colour and comes with a sweet candy cane.
The absolute showstopper on the menu is the ‘Chocolate Reindeer’. The nice and smooth blend of Mozart Dark Chocolate Liqueur, Dark Crème de Cacao, Absolute Vanilla Vodka and Soya Chocolate Milk is literally served in a cute edible chocolate reindeer to crunch after finishing your cocktail.
Practical Info
The Chocolate Cocktail Club’s Christmas menu is available until 29th December.
Scott’s Mayfair’s dreamy moon decoration is inspired by a celestial event taken place back in 1811 when a bright comet with twin shimmering gold tails appeared in the sky.
In partnership with the famous wine and champagne producer, Perrier Jouët, this elegant decoration, called ‘Starstruck Christmas’ celebrates that unique event under which Perrier Jouët was founded.
The private member club is famous for its extravagant decorations changing throughout the year. In collaboration with Swarovski this year, Annabel’s unveiled a glittering crystalized life-sized gingerbread house façade in late November which instantly became social media famous.
TIP: Take a closer look when visiting and admire the huge crystals covering the giant green bow and the Santa figure.
EL&N Café’s Brompton Road branch’s Christmas decoration is inspired by Duncan’s Toy Chest in the iconic movie, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Ultimate nostalgia guaranteed.
Don’t forget to try their new themed drinks and sweet treats menu, including ‘Kevin the Snowman’ Nutella mousse with brownie.
Whoville has come to The Ivy Chelsea Garden. ‘Miracle on the Mount Crumpit’ brings you the ultimate Christmas cheer but beware of the Grinch lurking above your head with sour sneer.
Once you’re ready with your selfies, make sure you try their fun drinks menu which includes alcoholic and non-alcoholic festive cocktails, such as ‘Cindy-Lou Who’ and ‘Whoville Hot Chocolate’ or choose the mean one: ‘Grinch Jooose’.
This restaurant’s terrace in Mayfair is full of Christmas trees and presents. In collaboration with Courvoisier UK, the menu brings you a limited-edition dessert, called ‘As Choux Like It’ and unique spicey Christmas cocktails.
Hedonism Wines is famous not just for their top-shelf wines and spirits. It’s a destination to many Londoners during the festive period to see their magical Christmas installation in front of the shop.
This year they showcase a beautiful Winter scene with show-covered slopes, a snowman, and a red post box to send your secret Christmas wishes to Santa.
The iconic store of luxury fashion and homeware traditionally surprises us with unique and decadent in-store decoration every year in December.
This year they have erected a spectacular purple hot air balloon in their main hall, garnished with Christmas postcards and presents.
Ready for your next adventure? Is one of your loved ones a Queen fan? Why not pop in to the iconic band’s pop up shopin Carnaby Street to find a really special gift for this Christmas?
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