London Week 9

Lexie Palasciano checks in weekly from her study abroad semester in London; catch up with her every Friday on Trazee Travel.

While doorsteps in the States are flooded with pumpkins and turkey wreaths, life across the pond is already counting down the days until Christmas. With hundreds of crawls and stalls throughout the city, make sure you don’t miss these special markets, rinks and lights this Christmas season.

As many streets are still hanging lights and planning unveils, Oxford Street lit up the notable shopping district on Nov. 1, marking an all-time record for an early start to the Christmas countdown. After strolling through Oxford Circus and buying a Christmas present or two, the next stop for a Christmas light crawl was to Covent Garden’s piazza for the commencing light show and accompanying mulled wine festival on Nov. 12. Never complete without a gaze at the towering 70-foot tall Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree, the annual gift from Norway since 1947 signals to London Christmas has arrived officially on the first Thursday of December with caroling, parades, dancing and more.

With a hot cup of cocoa in hand, a Christmas bucket list through London would not be complete without skating at one of the countless ice skating rinks around the city. While the Tower of London and Eyeskate Rink offer the perfect backdrop for an Instagram post (or five), the hidden rink in London’s financial district Canary Wharf, is No. 1 to skate through this season. Surrounded by dozens of lighted trees and towering glass skyscrapers, a night at the rink transforms into a winter wonderland of snowmen, spiced rum and post-frozen fondue.

© Lexie Palasciano

With the city glowing and ice skating aplenty, London’s Bridge City Christmas Market, hosted between the London and Tower bridges, is the go-to place for secret Santa presents, intricate ornaments or just a hot wine and a view. With more than 100 pop-up market stands selling everything from seasonal fudge to handcrafted trinkets, don’t miss out on the best market with the best view Nov. 30, 2015–Jan. 3, 2016. .

Just a bit further down the Thames, the Tate Modern Market hosts an array of homemade toys, jewelry and household decorations making it a real-life Etsy.com. Hopping between artist’s homemade stands, Christmas shopping takes a break with roasted nuts, a warm cup of glühwein or a just crêpe or two.

Kicking off Nov. 25, Greenwich Market gets even better (if that’s possible) by switching on twinkling lights and transforming into Santa’s Christmas Workshop. With caroling, shopping, pies and wines, the 100 stalls that weekly stand in Greenwich’s town center transform into a winter wonderland of antiques, ornaments, jewelry and crafts.

With too many markets to visit, lights to see and ice skating to freeze through, it’s no wonder Oxford Street kicked off the Christmas countdown so early this holiday season.