London @ Christmas: Blogger's Best Bits

Hello lovely people! So here I am finally sat, glass of Sparkling Rose in hand (well... by my side as I type) and onesie on... That means one thing - it's Christmas holiday! This marks my last ever Christmas as a student. Argh... I cannot tell you how nice it is to have some time off to enjoy London at this gorgeous time of year. In this post I'm going to go through some of my favourite hang outs and cute spots at this time of year in this beautiful city I get to call home. 

First things first though... Today I grabbed this little bargain from New Look which I am very excited to go and strut my stuff in round London this weekend as my sister is coming down to visit for the weekend. I'm planning to take her to all of the following places so here's your glimpse into what we'll be up to! 

This bad boy was half price in New Look's amazing sale that I just stumbled across today, you know, as you do. It cost me £24.99 Reduced down from £49.99. Happy Abbie. I've been looking for a perfectly fitted long, warm coat and have been so disappointed this season until I found this gorgeous thing. I can't wait to team some black skinnies, winter books and cozy scarf with this newbie this weekend. 

My Favourite London Hang Outs This Season

1. Harrods

I popped along to Harrods last weekend with my best friend when she came to visit after 3 months away travelling. I hardly ever go to Harrods but do you know what, at Christmas it is so perfect. As you walk up the lights are stunning and automatically make you want some mulled wine and a cheeky mince pie - Harrods own, of course ;)

Inside, my favourite section is of course the Food Hall! I could spend hours in there, I swear. The array of perfectly designed and finished cakes is mind-boggling. Definitely find myself wishing I was one of those Knightsbridge livin' peeps who buy their carrots from there but I'm satisfied just doing the tourist thing and standing there in awe of the cabbages thanks. 

The third floor also holds the biggest Christmas shop I ever did see; from baubles, wrapping, wreaths and Christmas puppy leads, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy with Christmassy goodness. 

We found ourselves strolling around the evening gown section in complete bliss and then headed down the crazy decent of excavators and found we'd walked six kilometres around the store and it was suddenly dark outside. Harrods is the perfect little selfie stop... Guilty as charged. 

2. Yorica

Ok, so this place is far from Christmassy but it's complete and utter heaven and I'd go there any day of any week in any month of any season of the year (get my point...) it's amazing. So as many of you know I'm lactose and gluten intolerant... Gulp... Yeah so this place solves every single one of my cravings under one roof. Located on Waldour Street in Soho, this little FroYo Hippie Heaven is somewhere to whack on your must-go-to list. For £4.95 I recently grabbed myself their holiday promotional deal of waffles, 2 scoops of ice cream/ 2 flavours of fro yo and a topping of your choice! The portion is massive and you can chose from awesome flavours like Chocolate Orange, Wowbutter, Passionfruit, Match... You name it!! It's so amazing to me that I can indulge in something like this and it's totally vegan and gluten free. Happy HAPPY Abbie :)

Even if you don't have an intolerance it's still a lot healthier and the perfect funky hang out. 

3. Free From Food Festival 

Along the same 'food' lines is The Free From Food Festival happening this weekend (they also have several events throughout the year) at Oval Space near Hackney. This festival celebrates all things gluten, dairy and refined sugar free foods and as you can probably guess I'm beyond excited for this. I bought my tickets in July... JULY. Wow. From cakes, bakes, pizzas, festive treats, drinks and so much more, this festival is for total food fanatics  and also for people who may have just been diagnosed with intolerances and they need some serious food-aspiration! It's been so exciting in the past few years to see how many companies are filling such a niche in the market for us peeps who have been lacking festive treats and safe snacks! 

If you want to check out details about this event and their future festivals head to Free From Festival's website here.  

4. Winter Wonderland

I was toying with the idea of not including this one to the list but it's got to be one of the most festive feeling places in this marvellous city at the moment and deserves a mention. Walking along Green Park you see the crazy amount of lights coming towards you and the smell of Bratwurst, Mulled Wine and pure Christmas just hits you! As packed as it can get, the atmosphere is second to none. Last year my boyfriend and I had one of our first dates here and danced away in one of the tents with live music for hours over mulled wine and a big old hot dog. We had the best time and he bought me a cute little christmas bell to hang on my tree at home which I still have and shall be putting up again this weekend. It's obviously a place with special memories for me but I honestly think it doesn't get more Christmassy than this hang out right now. The wonderful thing about Winter Wonderland is you literally don't need to spend a penny and you can still go and soak up such an amazing atmosphere or just spend a fiver and stroll round with a really nice Galaxy Hot Chocolate or  perfect Mulled Wine. 


5. Carnaby Street

I'm a bigger lover of shopping in London but sometimes it's far too manic around this time of year... Oxford Street is incredible but way too jammed for me. My favourite place to go for some independent and alternative shops is Carnaby Street. If the atmosphere isn't enough for you, the lights are always amazing at this time of year and it's worth a visit purely to see them! You can find the perfect little stocking fillers, designer main presents and mad secret santa gifts that no one else would have even knew existed. It's epic, check it out. 

These are just a few of my favourite places in this magical city. Even finding a quiet, independent coffee shop and getting cozy with a book is the perfect way to experience London at this time of year. I absolutely love it. 

I'm off home for a week after cracking down (probably in one of said coffee shops) and getting my school work done and on Boxing Day I fly out to Gibraltar to see my gorgeous fella and spend some time with his lovely family. A post shall soon follow that trip, eek!

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Loads of love, as always,

x Abster x