O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
How lovely are thy branches
– lyrics by composer Ernst Anschütz
London, at Christmas, becomes a wintery place of delight as public areas become bejewelled with sparkly Christmas lights and squares full of Christmas trees!
It certainly gets you in the Christmas Spirit and this year I decided to go Christmas Tree hunting (is that even a thing? It is now!) and I took fellow travel blogger Annabel at The Woman in Transit to get her in the festive spirit.
London always has beautiful Christmas trees and I thought I would share some of the innovative, some of the traditional, some of the obscure and some of the most picturesque trees I have seen this festive period. Also check out the trees I mention from previous years on my Instagram.
Trafalgar Square
Unlike the fourth plinth of the square that is ever changing with the latest artist’s design, the Christmas Tree of Trafalgar Square is always decorated in the same Nordic way each year with a vertical lights. Not the prettiest of trees decorated but I like the tradition behind it. Every year the city of Oslo gifts London with a Norwegian spruce picked from the forests surrounding Oslo as a token of gratitude from Norway regarding the assistance from the people of London during the war.
St. Pancras International Station, Kings Cross
The Christmas Tree in Kings Cross always gets me excited. Ever since I saw the amazing Disney tree Christmas tree in 2015 that sung ‘Tale as Old as Time’ from Beauty and the Beast whilst sprinkling ‘snow’ from the top of it to its commuters I am always waiting with excitement what tree shall be standing in this architecturally impressive station. This year the tree to fill the massive commuter hub was made entirely of over 15,000 flowers in this ‘ombré’ spectacle as the flowers changed colours from the top to the bottom. Designed by the luxury florist Moyses Stevens, this was such a delight to see as carol singers sang at the base of the tree.
Granary Square, Kings Cross
Last year the frozen tree in Granary Square made me go ‘WOW’, so I knew this square would offer an artistic alternative since it sits next to the world reknowned art school Central Saint Martins. However I was not expecting how ‘out there’ the Christmas tree would be! Designed by Joanne Tatham & Tom O’Sullivan this artsy tree is called ‘Does the Iterative Fit?’ This tree was a bit too abstract for my liking and resembled a bird if I have to be honest but I’m still glad I came hunting for it.
Covent Garden
This tree adorned by a bright beautiful red bow always makes me smile. Covent Garden is a place I love to walk through at any season but more so at Christmas time and you can see why.
Savoy, The Strand
I decided to go hunting for this tree because the Savoy is such an iconic hotel in London and I knew they would go all out. The Savoy went for a Victorian themed Christmas and had a beautiful tree designed by the British fragrance house Penhaligon’s. Behind the tree is a pop up storybook and in front two marbled dogs with red bows. The hotel as a whole swept me back to days gone by.
St. James’
I liked this tree because it matched my winter orange coat with all its gorgeous shiny orange baubles. Residing at Waterloo Place near the junction with Pall Mall and kinda of welcoming you to enter down into St. James’ Park it is provided by the Crown Estates for the public to enjoy.
Claridges, Mayfair
This contemporary tree is a BEAUTY and I love its quirkiness! Karl Lagerfeld designed this and flipped the tree upside down. It is definitely one of my fave this year and I spotted Sharon and ‘Ozzy’ Osborne taking family pics in front of it – so cute!
Hays’ Galleria
I walked into here and just stopped talking… sometimes it is the architecture of a place that adds to the beauty of a tree. Luckily there were not many people around so Annabel and I enjoyed this tree’s beauty in silence. This again was a favourite with me and certainly stamped me with the Christmas magic. I hope you can see why….it has all the romanticism of Christmas.
More London, London Bridge City
Now this was an arty Christmas tree that I loved! Made entirely of steel and aluminium with Christmas LED lights twisted into the frame it just lit up this area and looked beautiful with the Tower Bridge as a backdrop. It was our last stop as Christmas Tree Hunters!
I loved Christmas Tree Hunting this year and I can’t wait for what Christmas 2018 will offer. I think I will certainly make this into a yearly adventure and I would encourage you to do it in the city you live in. What trees did you think I missed out on seeing this year in London? Share your favourite Christmas Trees below in the comments section.
Merry Christmas to you all!
Love & Snowflakes,
The 5 to 9 Traveller
xx
(who is currently stuck in a snow globe)
