Every year when it comes round to mid-November and all of the Christmas lights in London have gone up, we bundle up in coats and winter woolies (if necessary) and go and look at the lights. It is early enough in the festive season that it doesn’t interfere with our other pre-Christmas plans and it officially kicks off the season for us.
Our first stop is always Fortnum & Mason, for their window displays. Fortnums always have the most magical displays and other than maybe two years ago, for the most part, the focus isn’t on Fortnums products in the front windows, leaving them free to embrace whimsy. This year’s displays featured a unicorn with a disco ball, a narwhal, a Christmas turkey and a yak. Look out for the tiny mice who tend to make frequent appearances in the windows too!
We might have popped inside for a cheeky tin of Chocolossus biscuits to sustain us on our walk… (well, it’s Christmas!).
From there we head through the Burlington Arcade, the roof of which was fitted out this year with gorgeous sparkling chandeliers, alternating with decorations depicting the Twelve Days of Christmas gifts (from the Fortnums end you’ll count down, from the North you’ll count up).
Ralph Lauren being the first thing you see when you exit the arcade is super on-trend for 2025 given that ‘Ralph Lauren Christmas’ seems to have taken over my social feeds. And, I get it, it’s classic and timeless and the sort of Christmas you see only in films like Miracle on 34th Street. My personal Christmas vibe at the moment is much more retro brights than red and greens, but I can appreciate it.
Cartier had incorporated their signature panther into their display, while others had gone classic in their displays. Tiffany was underwhelming this year.
I actually thought that on the whole the displays felt underwhelming this year. I like the topiary concept from Dior but I felt like this was better executed in the windows than it was on the facade display, which lacked definition in the animals it featured. Chanel was classic. It definitely felt like a number of shops had pulled back a bit from previous years’ displays.
One place that never disappoints with their Christmas offering? Annabel’s.
A little off the beaten track, it’s always worth a detour at Christmas. Their peacock in a snow globe last year was stunning, but both my husband and I agreed that this year probably topped it. The facade ‘opens’ up to reveal a Narnia-esque moonlit scene (sans the lion it could also easily be the Moon Kingdom from Sailor Moon). Forget the Turkish Delight – the ultimate literary disappointment – we might have had another sneaky chocolate biscuit at this point.
Liberty had some slightly creepy dolls clad in Liberty fabrics. At least it wasn’t another Wicked tie-in…
Just around the corner, Carnaby Street proved less underwhelming than last year. It features the same decorations from last year (apparently they’re here for a while in an attempt to be eco-friendly) but they’re at least more interesting that last year’s pure white bulbs. This year’s vibe feels more similar to previous years at least in colour, if not style and interest.
Always reliable, always stunning, Regent Street’s Spirit of Christmas angels are back again (photo from last year because they’re the same). As are Oxford Streets pretty but boring strings of star lights.
Covent Garden again is decked out in bells and baubles (again, photo from last year, because same same).
Next weekend our tree will be going up! We normally wait until the first weekend of December, after my husband’s birthday but this year various things mean that next weekend is the best window we have for doing it.
