'TWAS THE SEASON TO BE VERY JOLLY...

Having been home last Christmas and previously experienced the wonders of the Festive Season in Madrid, Munich and Salzburg, the time was right for us to go for the big one, the Full Monty, Christmas in Swingin' London. And what a memorable experience it has been. As you would imagine, it is the very antithesis of Christmas Down Under, and all the symbolism of Christmas really does make sense when celebrated in the middle of winter.

Our genuine imitation tree went up at the start of December and looked fabulous. Real trees are sold everywhere but to our surprise, they're all rather tiny, so the plastic fantastic got another run.

Dulcinea and Aimee attended a Christmas cupcake decorating course and as can be seen, the results were truly outstanding. (Fact File: these magnificent cakes were all made by the girls, although they were eaten by the boys!).

Whilst they did this, the lads went to the Tower Of London where Buzzy donned a set of blades and proceeded to turn on a display that melted the ice and made Christopher Torvill and Jane Dean look like amateurs. Has there ever been a more spectacular place to ice skate than on the frozen moat of the TOL!!!

We were very keen to see the lights of central London - 'The Singing Budgie, Our Kylie' actually threw the switch to turn on the Oxford Street extravaganza - and they were truly marvellous. Whilst Oxford and Regent Streets were great, it was the side streets and the effort made by hotels and retail businesses that really sparkled with displays that genuinely put a smile on your face.

Bond Street

Entrance to The Ritz

Fortnum & Mason's windows were extraordinary

Covent Garden Christmas Tree

And some of the window displays  were bizarre.....

People actually pay megabucks and wear these things!

The Aimster puts on a pair of unicron runners - don't even ask how much they were!

Christmas At Kew is held in the famous gardens, where a mile long path winds through trees and buildings that have been spectacularly illuminated. There are cups of delicious mulled wine (it really is the Spirit of Christmas on a 1C night) for the big kids and hot chocolate for the little kids, stalls selling giant squares of marshmallows to roast on hot coals, dusted mince pies and other delicacies.

There's a certain appropriateness to adorning the Kew Gardens trees, for it was Queen Charlotte (the wife of the insane King George III who was kept in a straightjacket within Kew Palace) in 1790 who 'created' the first Christmas tree when she decorated the trees in front of the palace (now THAT's a trivia point I betcha didn't know!).

Expectantly waiting under the mistletoe

We have made some lovely friends here in London, and it was a real treat to be invited to attend the annual Yuletide knees up of the Finnegans, Ruthie and Pablo, and judging by their surname, you will have deduced they have strong Irish connections. About a dozen merry revellers descended upon the Village Inn on Pittshanger Lane (Tourist Note: officially voted the Best High Street in London 2015) 

for a magnificent evening of feasting....and the occasional festive drink!!...and singing of Carols. To state that the craic was mighty is understating a brilliant evening.

A partridge in a pear tree and a French hen - wonder what they were singing!

Hyde Park is the location of Winter Wonderland, a giant Christmas fair which one is duty bound to attend. It's full of market stalls, Christmas treats and fairground rides which the kids love and adults simply say "you'll never get me up in one of those".

Afterwards, we strolled through the streets of Mayfair 

Famous Mayfair residence.....

U.S. Embassy - Ronnie's statue out front (go figure!)

across to spectacular Covent Garden where we had dinner whilst being serenaded by a soprano from the neighbouring Royal Opera (Travel Tip: although we experienced this during Xmas, this is a regular daily occurrence and well worth the experience - it's not every day one can dine and have members of the Royal Opera sing and play for you!).

Is this a cool Festive Season or what!!!!

On the 23rd in the final run up towards the big day, it's time to lay the ace on the table. We head to South Kensington for dinner and nip into Sticky Fingers, the American styled restaurant owned by ex-Rolling Stone Bill Wyman.

After a finger lickin' good burger it's only a 5 minute ride on the bus before alighting in front of the Albert Memorial and strolling across to the magnificent Royal Albert Hall (the kids have no idea what we're doing).

We have a private box (centrally located) and our refreshments (mulled wine, natch) are waiting for us. We settle in for the annual Carols By Candlelight, featuring the Mozart Festival Choir, the Mozart Festival Orchestra dressed in full 18th Century period costume and conducted by Steven Devine, stunning soprano Keri Fuge, and readings from Dickens and the Scriptures by Christopher Timothy. There's seasonal classics by Handel, Corelli, Mozart, Vivaldi and Cullen and the packed auditorium (including us!) sang along to The First Nowell, O Little Town Of Bethlehem, Once In Royal David's City, O Come All Ye Faithful, Good King Wenceslas, While Shepherds Watched, God Rest You Merry Gentlemen, Hark The Herald Angels Sing, and of course We Wish You A Merry Christmas. It's a breathtaking experience in this most beautiful of theatres adorned with candles and decorations, and it will remain one of the highlights of our stay in the UK.

And then it's the BIG DAY. At 5:30am (!!!) we have to put a temporary lid on the kids and tell them to wait 2 more hours - have you forgotten how exciting it must feel? When we enter the lounge room it's immediately obvious that Aimee and Liam must have been pretty darned good because Santa has left a truckload of goodies under the tree, and together with gifts from our thoughtful families and friends there is enough to fill the shelves of Hamley's.

Given that Father Christmas knows Dulcinea nd Don Legsy disapprove of certain toys, we were a little surprised the kids found a Wii U game under the tree! Buzzy also came up smiling with a giant Nerf Modulus Gun (also on the parental 'banned toy' list!) and the Lego Batmobile, whilst Aimee was ecstatic with her polaroid camera kit ( in this digital age I don't get it, how come teenagers want to go back to instant cameras?) and what seemed like a complete new fashion wardrobe. Dulcinea received tickets to see Derren Brown and Jose Carreras (in different shows!) and Don Legsy was very happy with his new books and Beatles memorabilia. Three hours of unwrapping out of the way and it was time to put our glad rags on...

Hasta la vista.....

....baby!

 We arrive at The Royal Horseguards Hotel in Whitehall for our Christmas Dinner (which is actually lunch). (Travel Warning: In London (and presumably all of the UK), there is no public transport whatsoever on Christmas Day. I think it's a nice touch, train and bus drivers are deserving of the day off to celebrate as much as anybody else). It was completed in 1887 and was the first building in London to feature naked electrical lights.

Our feast is conducted in the Gladstone Library, used by William Gladstone during his time as Prime Minister and once housed over 30,000 books.

It's a wonderful setting and the banquet is fantastic, full of traditional British Christmas fare and there's not an asparagus spear to be seen anywhere (although I don't think I've ever seen so many Brussels Sprouts in my life!

Some of the delicious 'Starters'

Afterwards, we take a bracing stroll alongside the Thames and up past the Horse Guards to walk of the excesses of the day.

Although nothing can replace the joy of being with family during Christmas, if you have to be away at this time of the year then London is as good a place as any to be, make that better than any other place to be. The spirit of Christmas is truly embraced and, particularly for those with an Anglo-Saxon upbringing, to experience all the traditions of Yuletide is beyond good.

But wait, there's more!! A belated Xmas present is arriving on Boxing Day...............