London Is Good at Christmas

No, seriously. London is really good at Christmas.

Whether you prefer to spend your December shopping like a crazy, with big splashy attractions, or looking at slightly quirky holiday displays, London is the place for you. PLUS, on December 23 it was 55 degrees and sunny. How do you beat that?

I celebrated with two theatre productions: the perennial holiday favorites "Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the Musical" and "Noises Off." Again, I don't know what could be better.

Earlier in December, a couple of my girlfriends and I spent a delightful afternoon at the London Chocolate Festival at the Southbank Centre. When buying hot chocolate at a festival like this, know that the chocolate is better than anything you've ever had. My first wish was to swim in a giant vat of it (or at least submerge my whole face). But unless you're planning never to look at anything sweet again in your life, I assure you a small cup is enough - or share with your friends. Oof.

When we left the chocolate festival, we stumbled upon a charming German-style Christmas market on the banks of the Thames. Again, if you've ever thought that you really needed to buy anything gingerbread/Christmas/chocolate/sauerkraut-related, I cannot recommend this more highly. The whole atmosphere, including the lights on the trees as it got dark (which it does around 4:00pm), was truly delightful.

If your preference is for more traditional carol singing, there are choirs performing in Trafalgar Square in front of the giant tree every night in December from 5-9 pm.

If you like the idea of a large tree, but you don't really feel like fighting the crowds to stand outside, may I suggest the St. Pancras train station? There's a tree here every year made of...something...and this year it's legos! I love that London embraces its quirky side. While I love my stuffy British period dramas more than (almost) anything, the quirk of the real London is way better.

If, like most people, you really want to celebrate the season with a giant carnival, then Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park is for you. Wait. A giant carnival, did you say? Why, yes I did. There's even a scary drunk-looking Santa-clown in front of the fun house. (See video below!) If you prefer the Christmas market to the scary Santa-clown, Winter Wonderland is still the place for you. Warning: a trip on a Saturday or a Sunday will require all reserves of crowd-patience you have.

But if you're a reasonably poor student, you can still have a delightful time making your own decorations out of paper. A whole room of Christmas fun for £2! And I only super glued myself to a tiny cardinal once!

Happy Holidays to all! Peace, Joy, Love, etc.