We are thinking of taking our teenage kids to London for 10 days at Christmas time. How cold might it be and will
the weather slow us down in our sight seeing?
Will major places of interest be closed at this time of year? (I understand that the 25th and 26th are closed everywhere).
Any suggestions of "must sees" available in the surrounding areas at this time of year?
Answering your weather question only, the facts are better than anecdotal opinions when it comes to the most likely weather, here you go: click here, and input London and your dates, you'll get 10 years of weather data for that time span, nicely summarized.
The weather will definitely be cold, but shouldn't slow you down. We don't often get bad snow in this country (obviously this year was an exception!) and we get few white christmases.
Everything will be closed on the 25th and 26th, although some of the shops start their sales on the 26th. I personally love walking around London on the 27th as it is relatively quiet. Most of the big attractions are going to be open the rest of the time. If you look on the websites of any you are interested in seeing they will have their opening times for the whole year on there.
Going to see the Christmas window displays in Hamleys and Harrods is a bit of a tradition. You could go and see a British pantomine which is a Christmas tradition throughout the whole of the UK, although I am not sure whether they would make sense to outsiders!
I went last December and it only rained once for about 20 minutes. It was about 45 degres most of the time in the daytime, and I think one day it dropped to maybe 30. They dont go all overboard with decorations like we do in the US, though they do a bit in the shopping districts like Oxford street and Harrods had some nice window scenes.
They generally dont get snow until later in the season. Though when I was there, Manchester in the north got 6 inches!!!
I've spent Christmas in London 5 times in the last 15 years. Weather has been different each time. Dress in layers. One year (05 I think) there were blue skies and sun for 3 days in a row. Another year there was a light dusting of snow that started on Christmas Eve and made our walk from midnight mass at St. Peter's memorable in a good way. Simply gorgeous. In 05 we took a Thames River cruise to the Tower because it was such a beautiful day. My favorite thing to do on Christmas morning is to get up early and head over to watch the 7am Peter Pan Cup race in the Serpentine in Hyde Park. Silly and fun. Lots of camaraderie. Lots of bright pink Brits. No matter what the weather is the cup is held. Then take a nice stroll through the park watching the Londoners out and about with their children and dogs. Panto is a must! If you are near Bayswater I found more than one cafe and pub open on Christmas. Many ethnic proprietors open their doors that day. Just be prepared and know that the tube and bus system is virtually non existent Christmas day. If you like contemporary art try to see who won the Turner Prize http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/turnerprize/. I find London most enjoyable during the holidays, right down to the silly hats worn during Christmas dinner. All the churches will have chorales, plays, etc. Grab a Timeout magazine at the airport when you arrive and see what's going on, when and where. Lastly, if you have an sports fan at home and need gifts, such as soccer or rugby shirts, visit Lillywhites, by Piccadilly Circus. The after Christmas sale is stellar.
Enjoy your trip.
We took our teenagers to London for Christmas a number of years ago and they still talk about it. My son really enjoyed it but my daughter was a little less enthused about Christmas away from home.
It was cold but it didn't slow us down or keep us inside. St. Martin-in-the-Fields at Trafalgar square had some wonderful concerts and we often ate lunch in the crypt which was always crowded with locals. Decorations are a bit more scarce than in the U.S but we put up a tree and hung some lights in the window of our rented flat.
We also shared some of our traditions with friends in London and our neighbors such as luminarias or firelitos, Christmas sugar cookies and Christmas cards that depicted our home city of Albuquerque. This helped my daughter to feel a little less homesick.
December 25th was a good rest day for us but we also took a guided London walk on December 26th which was really nice as the streets were far less crowded.
Have a great trip!
