Christmas in London

Christmas in London is magical. The stores, streets, and buildings within the city take on a festive tone around town. Sometimes its a subtle swag of ivy along a fence or it's a elaborate light decorations along a street--London goes full out to celebrate the season. All the stores have clever displays and inside the stores have wonderful traditional and new items for people to purchase for presents. I loved strolling around Covent Garden, which had large silver balls suspended over the old marketplace with giant sprigs of mistletoe and disco balls. One of the most magical moments in London came when I departing it--when I was able to take a quick photo of Platform 9 3/4, which is a nod to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. Christmas is done very well in London and it was wonderful to share with Angela over our quick but exciting trip.

Selfridges

Selfridges & Co. is a wonderful department store in London. Founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge, who got his start at the famous Marshall Fields store in Chicago, he established himself in London and created an impressive store and legacy. While I was in London over this past Thanksgiving weekend, my visit was filled with some really fun surprises I hadn't expected. The Conran Shop, a London-based design store, has opened a branch shop in the basement of Selfridges. I used to work for The Conran Shop when it had a New York an outpost several years ago. On the top floor of Selfridges was a whole hallway devoted to Christmas decorations, stocking stuffers, and presents. One of the most impressive parts of the Christmas section was its personalized wrapping paper counter. Selfridges' window displays were also incredibly clever and chic featuring a sequined Santa getting ready to enjoy the colder weather.