London at Christmas time?

[mevs904]

This question is not related to a cruise, but I’m interested in getting the opinions of the well-traveled folks on these boards.  I am looking to take my family (DS, DDiL, 2 grandsons 12 & 14) to London.  Their schedule for next summer is very busy and they are suggesting a trip at Christmas time.  I can’t say that I’m enthusiastic about going at that time of year, cold crowds, etc.). Can anyone offer some thoughts about what a trip to London would be like at that time of year?

[Globaliser]

10 hours ago, mevs904 said:

Can anyone offer some thoughts about what a trip to London would be like at that time of year?

 

Christmas is a big thing in the UK, and much bigger than in the US (because we haven't been exhausted by Thanksgiving, which basically doesn't exist here). So London will be very festive and there will be a great deal of seasonal entertainment.

 

I think that there are two main things to bear in mind. First, on Christmas Day itself there will be very little happening. You will be able to eat, pray and love. But otherwise everything will be closed all day. Second, the days will be short then: you're probably used to a day length of about 9 hours (sunrise to sunset) at Christmas, but in London it'll be more like 7¾ hours.

 

If you're from upstate NY, I doubt that you should worry at all about "cold". 😄

[Island2Dweller]

To emphasise the point above about Christmas day itself.  Folk from other countries are often astonished at how much the UK totally closes down on that day.  Many folk arrive into Heathrow and are shocked to find no public transport whatsoever - only a few taxis with a surcharge. 

You'll have a great time visiting around then so long as you don't book any travel for Dec 25 and you book eating arrangements for that Christmas Day long in advance (like now).

[Harters]

3 hours ago, Globaliser said:

So London will be very festive and there will be a great deal of seasonal entertainment.

Indeed. We've often done a day trip (or  stayed overnight) in the run up to Christmas. Nice to do some specialist shopping (generally food treats) and we always build in a nice high end lunch or dinner.

 

As mentioned, Christmas Day will be very quiet. Most retail outlets are required to close by law. Assuming London is similar to my area, then many restaurants will close and many of those that are open will only be offering a traditional Xmas lunch at prices that would be considered to be highway robbery at other times of the year. More reasonably priced options are likely to be found in restaurants where the owners are from a non-Christian ethnic background - Asian or Chinese, for example. Even with those, I would strongly recommend researching and reserving early.  Use a reservation website, like Open Table, to find places that will be open. You'll find that, after Xmas Day, many restaurants take the opportunity for a short closure, perhaps reopening for New Years Eve. 

 

Don't worry about the cold. I have family members who lived in upstate NY (near Corning) for some years. They'd never experienced cold like there before. 

[mevs904]

My continued thanks to the last three posters.  I appreciate the information that you have added to my inquiry.  There are two additional aspects that I am processing.  First of all, the boys’ passports have expired and given the  current backlog in obtaining new and renewed passports we will have to move on that immediately.  Also, the impending government shutdown should be considered.  An extended shutdown might not be the best time to put a large amount of money into a big trip.

[TouchstoneFeste]

22 hours ago, mevs904 said:

My continued thanks to the last three posters.  I appreciate the information that you have added to my inquiry.  There are two additional aspects that I am processing.  First of all, the boys’ passports have expired and given the  current backlog in obtaining new and renewed passports we will have to move on that immediately.  Also, the impending government shutdown should be considered.  An extended shutdown might not be the best time to put a large amount of money into a big trip.

I'm sure you're aware, but just in case ... There are (at least?) two options to speed up normal passport processing: "expedited" processing, and super-fast delivery. They cost $ of course.

 

I'm not sure if this would work any longer, but many many years ago I decided to travel overseas on relatively short notice but didn't have a passport. I visited the local office of our US Senator and the secretary arranged for it to be delivered in days. (Yes, he got my vote ever after. I sent the secretary a nice gift.)

[mevs904]

Yes, thank you, TouchstoneFeste, I was aware of expedited processing, but not super-fast delivery.  The passport situation just adds to the considerations in planning a less than ideal trip for my family.  We will probably have the opportunity to do this trip only once so I’d like to make it as pleasant as possible.  

[TouchstoneFeste]

18 hours ago, mevs904 said:

Yes, thank you, TouchstoneFeste, I was aware of expedited processing, but not super-fast delivery.  The passport situation just adds to the considerations in planning a less than ideal trip for my family.  We will probably have the opportunity to do this trip only once so I’d like to make it as pleasant as possible.  

Was trying to remember where I saw this when I realized I have this handy search thingy on my computer:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html

Good luck, hope it all works out.

[mevs904]

Thanks for the link, TouchstoneFeste.  I just checked it out.  Very helpful!

[TravelinTess]

I spent Christmas/New Years in London and Paris in 19/20 season with my family when my kids were 12 and 13. Hyde Park has a wonderful festival and the Christmas market near the London Eye was a lot of fun. Royal Albert Hall may have a production of the Nutcracker while you are in the city. The weather was fine- similar to NYC at Christmas.

 

We have spent 2 weeks In the UK the past two summers (my son attends a soccer training camp). Crowds are FAR more manageable in the winter, so don't let that be a huge concern. 

 

I would 100% pay for expedited passport processing. I brought my kids to renew their in early August and it is still "processing." We do not cruise until March, so it is fine, but with you traveling in December, standard processing is definitely not the way to go. Enjoy your trip!

Edited October 17, 2023 by TravelinTess

[Cotswold Eagle]

47 minutes ago, TravelinTess said:

 Royal Albert Hall may have a production of the Nutcracker while you are in the city.

Not this year. The Royal Ballet are doing at the Royal Opera House throughout December and in to January, though.

[edinburgher]

On 9/27/2023 at 10:40 PM, mevs904 said:

Can anyone offer some thoughts about what a trip to London would be like at that time of year?

It will be an expensive trip, as air travel in December and into early January usually means premium pricing, something like you would expect to pay pre and post Thanksgiving should you want to travel over that holiday.  Supply and demand.

[mevs904]

Thanks, edinburgher.  I appreciate the thought and was thinking that flight fares might be difficult to get at this date and definitely more expensive.  After much reflection we’ve decided to change our focus to another time of year.  We may look at the spring and in the meanwhile will try to get a sense of of how unsettled world affairs will be in the future.

[edinburgher]

4 hours ago, mevs904 said:

Thanks, edinburgher.  I appreciate the thought and was thinking that flight fares might be difficult to get at this date and definitely more expensive.

Folks wanting to plan trips back to family over Christmas will often book their transport  many months or even a year ahead when ticketing and timetables come available, as pricing usually increases as availability decreases. I think you are wise to look at a different time of year as flight prices have already increased quite substantially post-Covid without the added complication of special" in-demand  holiday periods".

[Cotswold Eagle]

5 hours ago, edinburgher said:

book their transport  many months or even a year ahead when ticketing and timetables come available, as pricing usually increases as availability decreases.

Airline pricing is generally a lot more nuanced than that, using various revenue management strategies. Advice is quite often not to buy when tickets first go on sale as prices may be set high to 'catch' people who have plans and want to secure the flights. Similarly, it is not unusual for prices to rise towards the flight date, as airlines know there will be a percentage of last minute travellers who are not particularly price sensitive.

 

Google Flights have various tools that can help with this and I certainly wouldn't dismiss a Christmas trip on the basis it might be expensive, when now might be a great time to book 🎅😀

[edinburgher]

19 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Airline pricing is generally a lot more nuanced than that

Pretty much all pricing is more "nuanced" nowadays with more and more sectors using "dynamic pricing" programmes, meaning that fare prices can fluctuate even several times a day depending on ticket demand.

 

I wasn't really suggesting that early booking ALWAYS  meant the lowest price, but generally it sort of does, as higher demand and fewer seat availability closer to the travel date will usually mean higher pricing for the few remaining.

 

The OP can of course choose not to book early, but wait until later in the hope that demand will be low and fares become cheaper to boost sales, but during peak travel periods will that be a good strategy? Or will they find that, cost aside, that there is little or no availability for the dates they would prefer on the route they would prefer as opposed to a more circuitous route?

 

OP should probably check pricing over a period of weeks or months until they find a fare they are comfortable paying and buy at that point, and watch for occasional airline "sales".

[Meander Ingwa]

I would say that for this family group, an Air B&B type housing would probably go a long way.  That would give them space to enjoy Christmas Day with a home cooked meal etc.  Also day to day it will help to be able to have breakfast at home.  Most venues and events do not open until 10PM. It would very likely be far more economical than a hotel situation.  It might counter any perceived flight cost issue.  I use Google Flights extensively and have already set up my fare alerts for next Summer.  They bounce around multiple times a week, sometimes as much at $50 - 75 for a domestic flight

 

 

Edited October 19, 2023 by Meander Ingwa

[gorda]

Hope someone can answer this. Will be arriving in London Nov 19-22, 2024 before heading to Barcelona for transatlantic on Adventure of the seas. Just wondering if there will be Christmas decorations and any markets at this time frame. Here in US almost everything is decorated the week after Halloween LOL

[gumshoe958]

13 minutes ago, gorda said:

Hope someone can answer this. Will be arriving in London Nov 19-22, 2024 before heading to Barcelona for transatlantic on Adventure of the seas. Just wondering if there will be Christmas decorations and any markets at this time frame. Here in US almost everything is decorated the week after Halloween LOL

London isn’t great for Christmas markets tbh, but what few there are (Trafalgar Square, South Bank, Leicester Square, Covent Garden) should be open by then.

 

Christmas lights will be on by then in the major West End shopping streets (Oxford St, Regent St, Bond St).

There’s also the incredibly popular Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park which you have to pre-book (not free).

 

Finally I highly recommend the Kew Gardens Christmas light trail which is always beautiful and, while very popular, feels a world away from the hustle and bustle of central London. Again, you need to pre-book.

[gorda]

Just the info I needed, thank you Gumshoe😊

[Globaliser]

4 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

London isn’t great for Christmas markets tbh, but what few there are (Trafalgar Square, South Bank, Leicester Square, Covent Garden) should be open by then.

 

Christmas lights will be on by then in the major West End shopping streets (Oxford St, Regent St, Bond St).

There’s also the incredibly popular Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park which you have to pre-book (not free).

 

A quick dig found these dates for 2023, which are typical. (These are not comprehensive lists.)

 

Christmas lights switch-on
2 November 2023 Oxford Street
7 November 2023 Covent Garden
8 November 2023 Carnaby Street
9 November 2023 Regent Street and St James's
9 November 2023 Marylebone Village
14 November 2023 St Christopher's Place
15 November 2023 Belgravia
16 November 2023 Bond Street
18 November 2023 Chelsea

Southbank Centre winter market: 28 October 2023 - 7 January 2024

Christmas in Leicester Square: 8 November 2023 - 7 January 2024

Winter Wonderland: 17 November 2023 - 1 January 2024

 

But many individual places start putting up Christmas decorations earlier than that, often because they want to have them in place before schools' half-term holidays at the end of October.

 

Some of the big department stores may actually have their Christmas departments (selling decorations, gift wrap, cards, and Christmassy gifts) open from as early as mid-August. Before you fall off your chair laughing, there are actually good reasons for this, which were confirmed when they first experimented with the idea.

[gorda]

Wow thanks that helps with making this bucket list trip special.

[gorda]

Now if I get one day without rain    Perfect!!!😄    Umbrella and boots were worn last 3 days I spent in London and it was October. I will be 81 on this trip so my days of travelling solo are numbered LOL according to my family