Yesterday some friends and I got up at 7am to rush off to the Harrods Christmas Parade. We got out of the tube station, up to street level, and were immediately greeted by gusts of snow! There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the weather was cool but not cold. We smiled like five-year-olds, yelling, "Our first London snow!"
It took about five minutes for us to realize that it was fake, just a part of Harrods' Christmas atmosphere. The store itself was lit up in hundreds of green lights. The parade's theme was Wizard of Oz meets Christmas and Dorothy and the crew danced down the street. Children went nuts when a horse-drawn sleigh pulling Santa came down the street, followed by a herd of live reindeer! The window displays were amazing, mixing the playfulness of the movie with the materialism of the store. Grand story books were open in each window telling a Harrods version of the Wizard of Oz tale (like how Dorothy slipped on her designer dress). Inside the store was a Christmas wonderland. An entire section was devoted entirely to Christmas decorations, ornaments, cards and wrapping paper. Bows and trees and wreaths and lights were everywhere throughout the store.
It might be a little earlier than I'm used to, but standing around in "snow" sipping hot tea from a Christmas Starbucks cup and seeing little children's eyes light up as they watched Santa was the best way to start my day. Happy Holidays!
