10 Most Magical Places to Go at Christmas UK Edition [2021] (2023)

FAQs

What is the most Christmassy place in the UK? ›

Edinburgh at Christmas

Not only does the city look magical in winter light, but there are also festive decorations up all over town. This might just be the most Christmassy place in the UK.

In the UK (or Great Britain and Northern Ireland), families often celebrate Christmas together, so they can watch each other open their presents! Most families have a Christmas Tree (or maybe even two!) in their house for Christmas. The decorating of the tree is usually a family occasion, with everyone helping.

Rovaniemi, Finland

Lapland, the northernmost region of Finland, has become synonymous with Christmas and Santa Claus. The town of Rovaniemi is known as "the official hometown of Santa Claus" and visitors to the charming Santa Claus Village can meet St.

Oxford Street

The street that most locals usually avoid like the plague becomes an attractive place to head for one time of the year, when Christmas lights give Europe's busiest shopping street a heart-warming glow.

On Christmas Eve, children around the UK hang stockings (a type of large sock) on their fireplaces so that Saint Nicholas (otherwise known as Santa Claus or Father Christmas) can fill their stockings with presents, fruit, candies or coins.

Regent Street has long been renowned for its spectacular light display during the festive season, as the first ever central London location to boast Christmas lights, which decorated the street in 1954.

Overall the traditional Christmas dinner classic, the turkey, is far and away the winner for most popular festive food. The turkey category usually sees an increase in demand of 284.7% in December, compared to September to November sales.

Duration Americans do Christmas in one day – December 25. In the UK and Ireland, it often lasts for 10 days and can sometimes go on for nearly a month. Americans have Thanksgiving in late November but also have far shorter breaks from work. The UK now combines Christmas and New Year into one big, unofficial, holiday.

English: Santa Claus / Father Christmas

In the UK, US and Canada, “Santa Claus” or “Father Christmas” is believed to travel around the world sporting a red suit on his sleigh, pulled by reindeer.

How do people in England say Merry Christmas? ›

Brits say "Happy Christmas" instead of "Merry Christmas."

You might remember a scene from the first "Harry Potter" movie in which Ron says, "Happy Christmas, Harry!" While this may sound strange to an American, saying "Happy Christmas" is commonplace in the UK, as opposed to "Merry Christmas."

North Pole, Alaska

This town stays decked out for Christmas year-round—so if you're craving a little holiday spirit in July, you'll still find candy-cane posts, boughs of holly, and a Santa Claus house (with live reindeer!). But we think it looks its best at Christmas when snow turns it into a total winter wonderland.

Leavenworth, Washington is the most Christmassy town in America, and it's not surprising why. The town is designed to resemble a Bavarian village and goes big for Christmas, with 21 miles of Christmas lights decorating the town.

Berlin, Germany

It's official – Berlin takes first prize as the most festive city to celebrate the holidays in Europe. This city is no stranger to Christmas markets, with the city's first Christmas market dating back to 1530.

It is the best time to visit England to enjoy all the major attractions in the city. One just need to use warm clothes. England experiences winter from December to February. Christmas is the time when the city becomes most lively with Christmas decorations and lights all over.

Dubbed London's “most festive street”, residents of Pinewood Close have been decorating their houses for Christmas since the 1960s, with the whole street getting involved in this annual tradition. To make things even more extravagant, No.

Every year, one road in Hampshire takes Christmas cheer to another level with every house on the block transformed into a winter wonderland. In total, seven houses in Byron Road, New Milton, band together to light up the street with dazzling fairy lights to raise money for the NHS.

What food is a British Christmas tradition? ›

Christmas dinner in the United Kingdom usually consists of roasted turkey, stuffing, gravy, pigs in blankets, bread sauce, redcurrant jelly, roast potatoes; vegetables (particularly Brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots and parsnips) with dessert of Christmas pudding, mince pies (both served with brandy butter, custard ...

Christmas in Edinburgh is known for the Christmas lights along the Royal Mile, and for its large funfair. As well as family rides, you'll find a Christmas Tree Maze and ice-skating rink. End your evening at the Dome to see the views over the top Christmas decorations, while sipping a tasty Christmas cocktail.

TRAFALGAR SQUARE CHRISTMAS MARKET

And the most magical of all the yearly events is the Trafalgar Square Christmas Market.

It's just supposed to be a middle-of-the-day meal, so the Queen's speech, at 3pm, adapted to it rather than the other way round. In other parts of Europe, people prefer their Christmas meal on Christmas Eve and eat leftovers the next day.

Although most places in the UK do tend to see some snow in the winter, it generally falls in January and February. However white Christmases do occur, on average every 6 years.

Christmas in Britain, and most particularly in England, is the biggest party season of the year. Christmas Day itself, the start of the great holiday period, is the one day in the year on which the head of state - the Queen - speaks to the nation.

Christmas is a magical time of year to be visiting London. There are spectacular decorations everywhere, and people are generally in a festive mood. Here are some of our favourite seasonal experiences, which are all great reasons to visit London during the Christmas holidays.

According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (19th edn, 2012), Father Christmas is considered to be "[a] British rather than a US name for Santa Claus, associating him specifically with Christmas.

What does 🎅 mean? ›

🎅 Santa Claus emoji

It is commonly used to refer to Santa Claus specifically, or Christmas and the Christmas holiday season.

A 2011 children's book about the origin story of Mrs. Claus dubbed her Annalina, while in Jeff Guinn's 2006 book, The Autobiography of Santa Claus, Santa refers to his wife as Layla.

Does anyone say "Happy Christmas"? Yes! For starters, it's important to note that "Happy Christmas" hasn't faded completely—it's still widely used in England. This is believed to be because "happy" took on a higher class connotation than "merry," which was associated with the rowdiness of the lower classes.

Since the word shag found in most of the characters and terms associated with Arkadia (e.g. Shagshag, Shagmir, the Shagma, etc.) has a meaning in British slang of sexual intercourse, new names were invented for these.

When King George V gave the first royal Christmas message in 1932, he wished his subjects a “Happy Christmas,” and Queen Elizabeth II continues to do so every year. Perhaps as a result of the royal preference, happy overtook merry in Britain during the 1930s, although merry is making a comeback there today.

Noel, Missouri, in the Ozarks region, calls itself “Christmas City” and encourages people to send their holiday cards from there to get a special Noel postmark. In Christmas, Florida, where a large, fully decorated tree is up year-round, volunteer elves help answer letters from children to Santa.

McAdenville, also known as Christmas Town USA. You can purchase a copy at. MONA'S BOUTIQUE & GIFTS. 121 MAIN STREET, MCADENVILLE, N.C. 28101.

Mammoth Lakes, California

Thanks to its high elevation of nearly 8,000 feet, the town of Mammoth Lakes sees long, snowy winters. Snowfall is particularly heavy from December to March, with over 45 inches falling on average in December alone.

North Pole, USA

Drive 15 minutes east from Alaska's state capital Fairbanks and you'll come across North Pole: a town with candy canes painted on the streets and festive parades throughout the summer months. It's also home to the Santa Claus House gift shop and the world's largest fibreglass Santa statue.

A Very Charming Christmas Town takes place in Solvang and it was filmed entirely in the small town. In real life, Solvang has a population of a little more than 6,000, making it a genuine small town.

What is the Christmas capital of the world? ›

About The Christmas Capital Of The World

Strasbourg is a city in eastern France and the capital of Alsace – a region that shares culture, history, and borders with Germany.

Rovaniemi is one of the best Christmas destinations Europe has, because it's home to so many popular Christmas traditions. The Santa Claus Village a few miles from the city is a great place to start. It's next to the main Santa Claus Post Office, which is where your letters requesting presents end up.

London, England. If you are looking for one of the best European cities to celebrate Christmas, then visit London. The Christmas lights and Christmas decorations are incredible. Also, the Christmas markets in Covent Garden or at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland are amazing.

Which city is most likely to see snow on Christmas Day in 2022? Not quite a shock that Glasgow is at the top of the list with odds 11-4 and Edinburgh coming in third with a score of 4-1. The real surprise is that Leeds has come in second place with a score of 7-2.

Dubbed London's “most festive street”, residents of Pinewood Close have been decorating their houses for Christmas since the 1960s, with the whole street getting involved in this annual tradition. To make things even more extravagant, No.

Christmas is one of the biggest annual celebrations in the UK, and the festivities are not limited to one day.

Historically, north and east Scotland are the coldest regions on 25 December, with average minimum temperatures just below freezing in the period from 1960 to 2010. This is reflected in the frequency of snow cover there, which is also the highest in the UK – about six days in December over the same period.

In the United States, there is often—but not always—snow on the ground at Christmas in the northern states, except in the Pacific Northwest, with Alaska the most likely to see snow on the ground at Christmas.

However, with the increase in betting on where will see a white Christmas, the number of locations have increased and can now include sites such as Buckingham Palace, Belfast (Aldergrove Airport), Aberdeen (Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen FC), Edinburgh (Castle), Coronation Street in Manchester and the Millennium Stadium ...

Oxford Street

Perhaps the most famous place to view Christmas lights in London is Oxford Street.

What time do Oxford Street lights turn on? ›

When Are the Lights Turned On? This year, the lights turned on on the 2nd of November and will shine until the 8th of January 2023. New for 2022, the lights will not stay on all day but will turn on at 15:00 and off at 23:00.

The switch gets flicked on most Christmas Lights in London by mid-November. They continue to light up the streets until around 6 January.

Calling itself the Best Christmas Town in America, Colonial Williamsburg particularly shines at Christmastime. Traditions abound, such as caroling by torchlight, a gun-salute display, and every home in the historic area lighting a candle in their windows—dating back to the days of the Founding Fathers.

They decorate their homes with holly, ivy, and other evergreens and hang a mistletoe "kissing bough." Throughout the holidays, carolers go from house to house at twilight ringing handbells and singing Christmas songs. "The Holly and the Ivy" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" are English favorites.