The Big Apple may be the Christmas shopping destination of many people’s dreams, but there is no need to jet across the Atlantic when London’s Oxford Street is just a Tube or train journey away.
Stretching for one-and-a-half miles, the central London shopping destination is one of Europe’s busiest high streets and attracts many from across the globe each year.
Christmas in Oxford Street is a time like no other. With the hustle and bustle in full swing, decorative window displays try to entice you into various stores as the festive lights twinkle and glisten above.
This year John Lewis’ display is full of cheeky little penguins paying homage to the shop’s Christmas TV advert, which features Monty the Penguin. Meanwhile, Selfridges has gone for a theme of storytelling.
One of the biggest appeals of Christmas shopping in the City of Westminster street is the vast number of department stores.
One of Oxford Street's many department stores
From Debenhams and Marks and Spencer to House of Fraser, the flagship Topshop and the Disney Store, there are plenty of retailers available where you can get your Christmas shopping done for all the family under one roof.
A good starting point for all your festive gift needs is Selfridges – with 540,000sq ft of selling space, you are bound to find those special presents for your loved ones of all ages.
With cosmetics, handbags, a dedicated Christmas department, toy shop and some of the high street’s best loved fashion retailers, it is easy to spend hours browsing the huge selection and even easier to walk away with all your Christmas presents in the distinctive yellow carrier bags.
While Christmas shopping is an enjoyable experience, it can also be an exhausting one and you may need to take a little break before continuing on your present finding mission.
A festive afternoon tea at Lanes of London
A truly British afternoon tea at one of London’s top hotels will do just the trick and help fuel you up to brave the stores once more.
Lanes of London at the London Marriot Hotel in Park Lane is the perfect location, just minutes away on foot from Oxford Street.
As the Christmas season begins to creep upon us, Lanes of London has laid on a festive afternoon tea, at £23 a person. From scones fresh from the oven and finger sandwiches tailored to your tastes to festive Yule logs, eggnog and gingerbread houses, you will soon be ready to brave the shops once again.
For an extra afternoon treat, there is also the option to add a glass of champagne, an extra £6, to your experience alongside the selection of freshly made teas.
Something else that makes the Oxford Street Christmas shopping experience unique and enjoyable is the yearly-changing Christmas lights that line the street.
This year, baubles filled with hundreds of lights hang above the busy shopping street and popstar and X Factor judge Cheryl Fernadez- Versini had the privilege of pressing the button to mark the start of the Christmas shopping season on November 6.
The Christmas shopping experience in Oxford Street is one of a kind and a moment to really immerse yourself in and to extend your experience into a second day, there are a number of top hotels close by where you can gain a well-earned night of rest.
The Radisson Blu Edwardian Berkshire hotel is perfect for a shopping break in the capital.
A room at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Berkshire hotel
Just a stone’s throw from Bond Street Tube station, you can lay your head in a quiet four-star room above and away from all the commotion of Oxford Street.
Rooms come complete with flat-screen smart TVs, marble bathrooms and robes and slippers.
For hungry shoppers craving a pit stop, the hotel’s cosy restaurant, Scoff and Banter, should satisfy your needs. The restaurant’s extensive and reasonably priced menu offers everything from a duck egg topped steak (£17.85) to a good old-fashioned toad in the hole (£10.75).
You must make the most of the enormous breakfast included in your stay. Even if you are not staying overnight, visitors can kick-start a big shopping day with eggs cooked on request, along with bacon, sausages and mushrooms.
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