London Christmas Shopping

I always try and take a trip to see the Christmas window displays in London, and after our afternoon tea at The Ritz a chance to walk off some of the treats was greatly welcomed! We only had to walk a few minutes to find ourselves outside the sparkling windows of dear Fortnum and Mason which had chosen a winter wonderland party theme. There was piles of tasty food and sweets with little robins perched amongst the displays, glimmering silverware and of course, a selection of their famous hampers, I couldn't wait to get inside and fill a basket with tea&biscuits (actually this was the first time I made it to all floors in the store!)

There were silver Christmas trees suspended down the spiral staircases, and tasteful festive tunes were mixing with the excited chatter from the shoppers buzzing around, however the Christmas shop on the top floor and was actually the quietest room of all! I think like my past visits, some never make it past the ground floor and all its goodies! 

With bags rattling full of tea tins we headed on, through the perfectly traditional Piccadilly Arcade which was looking extremely festive with all the little shop windows bursting with very expensive leather, jewellery and watches - well, it's always nice to look! I have always loved Arcades and I wish they were more frequent on our high streets! We kept walking through Regent Street (the amazing Robin window display was in Anthropologie) and finally found ourselves at our dream destination, Liberty! 

I am always happy to wander around the beautiful halls of Liberty, I spot different Arts&Crafts features every time but my favourites are the animals that perch on the bannisters, such lovely details you can't find in any other shop! There was a stunning ship suspended from the ceiling with its variety of Liberty pattern fabric for the sails, surrounded by glistening gold Liberty coins.

Liberty is so iconic for good reason, I can't think of another British design house that brings so much joy and colour into peoples lives! Customers range from young to old, tourists to locals, the aspirational and the celebrity, it was very busy indeed! I highly recommend the programme Channel 4 have been making there, it gives you a great insight into the heart and soul of the company as they evolve. I will always have a place in my heart for the classic fabrics but this more recent sunflowers pattern is a true stunner, I adore every colour combination and must think of a project to use them in at home! The cherry blossom one is also a favourite, I bought a Liberty edition Barbour jacket which is lined in the blue, I love it!

I wasn't actually impressed with the Regent Street lights as they were sponsored by Night At The Museum 3 and were rather tacky with images of the characters, must try harder! But good old Carnaby Street came up trumps with some much more striking displays, the huge headphone guys were all the way down the street, with smaller snowflakes and lightbulbs down the smaller alleys, I had run out of funds by this point so it was time to hop in a taxi and retreat home until next time!

This trip got me feeling very festive indeed, are there any landmarks you always have to visit this time of year? 

Thanks for reading,

Katie