London based 13 day Europe Itinerary around Christmas

London isn't completely shut down during Christmas, in fact it is probably more lively than Paris. Museums and most tourist sights won't be open on Christmas day and most likely Boxing day but other than that it'll be business as usual.

Throughout Europe Christmas Day will extremely quiet as everyone (well, nearly everyone) will be at home with their families/loved ones etc.

Personally I'd stick to London and Paris. Ideally I would spend Christmas Day in London so that would mean making Paris your first stop after arrival in London.

I agree that 2 bases makes the most sense and even this will be rushed as you aren’t flying open jaw. You only have 11 days on the ground, day 1 maybe lost to jet lag and transferring between locations will take 6 hours +.

Don’t travel 24 or 25 December, as public transport is limited or non existent.

If your children are Harry Potter fans, you could go to the Harry Potter exhibit in Leavesden on the morning of Dec 24 while transportation is still running. This is going to be a great trip-our daughter in college is still talking about our trip to London Christmas week in 2014-she preferred it to our trip to NY in 2016.

I am inclined to agree that you should limit yourselves to London and Paris. There is so much in each city that you could spend a month in each! Get apartments so you have a place to retreat and rest, make simple meals, let the kids play. Look at the specific things you might want to do in each city. Is there really much your kids would enjoy in Amsterdam for one day in winter? In London, don't miss the Transport Museum. They'll love it!

We spent a Christmas in London and it was very shut down from noon Christmas Eve. We took long walks and saw a movie. Plenty of restaurants, though a reservation is advised and they are a little more expensive for holiday meals. We were in the countryside with friends on Boxing Day so I don't know what that day is like in terms of closures.

We probably would not spend Christmas in London again but are tempted to try Paris where more is open. At least I believe public transportation is running on Christmas, where it is definitely not running in London.

We spent Christmas in London about 10 years ago when our children were younger and it was one of their favorite Christmas's. Strongly recommend getting a flat - especially with with kids!
As for Christmas day, having a "rest"day was lovely. had a big breakfast., went for a walk to Hyde Park where the kids ran around and played. From there we took a leisurely stroll back to our apartment - stopped along the way at bakery for treats and hot chocolate (yes, the major attractions are shut and the Tube isn't running but restaurants are open!). When we got back, I put dinner in the oven - I'd ordered a prepped meal from Marks and Spencer that we picked up the day before.
After dinner, we watched Christmas movies (that I'd downloaded before we left).

We then went out again to look at all the Christmas lights - it truly was one of the nicest Christmas days we'd ever had!
Also agree to drop Amsterdam from the itinerary - London and Paris have more than enough to interest you all for 11 days.

Thank you all for the great feedback! We will drop Amsterdam/Brussels from the itinerary and focus on London and Paris.

However I would still like some feedback on the itinerary. When I look online, most itineraries I see fly into one city and fly out the other. There are no good guidelines on how to build a trip when you fly in and out of the same location.

One school of thought seems to suggest leaving London as soon as we arrive in the evening and head straight to Paris, possibly reaching pretty late night there. This also then suggests we should be spending Christmas back in London after spending 17-23 in Paris (23-29 in london) if we divide the trip 50/50.

But my wife really wants to spend Christmas in Paris. If we had to bake that in, how should I divide up the trip? One way ofcourse is to do London first, then Paris, only to return for a last overnight stay near Heathrow airport before flying out the next day. Other way might be to split the London stay into two smaller stays ... which might force us into hotels instead of getting an apartment.

Any suggestions?

thank you.

I would put London first in this case, spend Christmas in Paris, then one last night in a hotel in London.

BTW, Eurostar tickets cost a lot less when the sales open and prices increase as time goes by. When you have settled on your plan, buy those tickets ASAP.

Thank you so much for the suggestions! Appreciate it.