I've lived in London for 6 years now and the city at Christmas is still my favourite. Just as winter sets in and I need a reason to fall in love with London again, the lights shine bright and there's a buzz on the streets reminding me why I love it so much. 

London has an abundance of Christmas decorations and lights, with the famous ones like Regent Street and Covent Garden being known by many, but there are a few spots you'll always see pop up on Instagram (usually in some secret location that nobody wants to reveal!), so I thought I'd round them up for you...

Annabels

Every year Annaebel's, a private members club a short walk from Bond Street, decorates the outside of it's townhouse. This year the decorations are sponsored by Swarovski so be prepared to be blown away by this completely over the top gingerbread installation! 

New Bond Street 

While you're in the area, take a short walk to New Bond Street, aka home of that Cartier bow. Most of the shops on New Bond Street decorate for Christmas and it's the perfect spot for writing your Christmas list. Head to Ralph Lauren for a cup of coffee from their Ralph's cafe, their Christmas cups are adorable! 

The Ivy Chelsea Garden

If you're looking for a 'wow' display then head to King's Road. Most of the shops on King's Road decorate for Christmas and the Duke of York Square usually have a large tree and some colourful decorations. However, if you keep walking down the road from Sloane Square station, you'll find The Ivy Chelsea Garden. This year's theme is The Grinch, and even comes complete with a little dog bed, perfect for getting those instagram shots for your pup's gram!

Carlyle Square

On your way back down King's Road you'll walk past Carlyle Square, don't miss popping in for a look at this super cute nutcracker door step! Last year they had a large bauble installation too, this year's look is a bit more reserved but still adorable nonetheless. 

The Boltons

If understated has never been your thing (rightly so), then you'll want to head to The Boltons, where you'll be able to find this huuuuge red bow on one of the houses. As soon as you turn off the main road you can see it, so it shouldn't be too hard to find and The Boltons can easily be found in google maps. 

Natural History Museum

This is the only spot on this list that you need to book and pay for, but I really do think it's worth it - especially as this year is the last year they'll be running the rink. The best place for a photo is right infront of where they have their own photo booth with the museum building and Christmas tree as your backdrop. Book tickets here. 

If you have any other secret spots, drop them in the comments below! ✨

xo Becky 

3. Sift the flour, cornflour, cocoa powder into the creamed mixture, along with the water. If the mixture seems a little dry, add a touch more water until the mixture forms a dough. 

4. Knead the dough into a smooth ball. 

5. Roll the dough out to around 3-4mm and use a sausage dog shaped cookie cutter (you can get these here, here and here) or any other shape you like! 

6. Lay each cookie on a lined baking tray and pop into the oven for 10-12 minutes. 

7. Allow to cool on a cooling rack and decorate when you're ready. I love to add their little faces with these chocolate writers and pop on some sprinkles to make them little jumpers! 

We chose Garsons as it was the easies to get to using public transport, just a short train from Waterloo then a short bus or Uber to the farm itself. Before you go to the farm you do need to book a 'farm pass' online, this is essentially just pre-booking and I assume it's a covid thing. They release the weekend tickets of the previous Friday and it's £4 per person - the cost of your ticket is taken off the total price of anything you pick though which was a nice little surprise at the till! 

When we arrived there was a short walk to the pumpkin patch and then we were allowed to go wild. A lot of the pumpkins were still on the vine so it felt that little bit more authentic, and there was a good selection of different kinds of pumpkins, perfect for creating our Autumn centrepiece at home. 

The farm also had fields where you could pick flowers, corn, and apples which we've now turned into a crumble ready for Sunday dinner. 

After we'd selected our pumpkins, we headed to the farm shop and purchased some Christmas decorations (never too early!) and some little foodie bits that we can't normally get in our local stores, before a quick pub lunch before heading home. 

Being back in Lockdown means it's also back to baking, and as I was lucky enough to get a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for Christmas, I have no reason to stay way from the kitchen. When I posted these Jammie Dodger Blondies in Instagram a few weeks back I had so many messages asking for the recipe, and your wish is my command, so here it is! 🎂

Ingredients:

225g white chocolate
180g butter
3 eggs 
225g caster sugar 
1tbsp vanilla extract 
300g plain flour 
6tbsp seedless raspberry jam 
Jammie Dodgers 

Method:

1. Melt the butter and white chocolate together in a saucepan (be careful not to let it burn) and once melted together, put to one side and allow to cool. 

2. Combine the eggs, sugar and vanilla and whisk until the mixture is smooth.

3. Add the flour and the white chocolate/butter mix to your eggs and sugar, and beat until smooth. 

4. Pour into a square baking tin, and dollop 6 tablespoons of jam into the mix. 

5. Using a chopstick (or anything long and thin), swirl the jam around into the mixture to create a marbled effect. 

6. Place your Jammie dodgers on top of the marbled brownie mix. 

7. Bake in the oven at 160 degrees for 40 mins until golden on top and gooey in the middle. Leave to cool in the baking tray and enjoy! 

xo Becky