Season’s Greetings

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! Hope you and your loved ones near and far had a peaceful festive season. May the new year bring you joy, peace, and good health. 

This holiday season looks very different from years past. In our pre-kiddo days, Kenz and I would take off a few days before Christmas for our annual winter trip. We have been to far-flung winter sun destinations such as India, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Malaysia Borneo, Bali, Mexico, The Levant, to name a few. These trips were always filled with adventures from jungle trekking to ancient ruins to scuba diving. Ahhh to be young and (relatively) carefree again. 

Christmases in London

Since being pregnant with Lady Yeya, we have spent all our Christmases in London. No doubt, there’s something special about spending the holiday season in London. The atmosphere is undeniably festive and classy with bright lights and Christmas markets around town. Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland is always a family favourite if you don’t mind the crowds. With Santa’s Grotto, ice rink, amusement park style helter skelter, and German markets, there’s plenty to keep the whole family entertained. Last year, Lady Yeya enjoyed the Snowman Trail and Christmas trees around the Southbank and London Bridge. Every time Lady Yeya saw The Shard in the skyline, she would point out as “Dadda’s work.” There is plenty to do and see during the festive season in London that there’s really never a dull moment.

Christmas 2020

Never a dull moment? Well this Christmas in London was rather dull thanks to Tier 3 restrictions, followed by Tier 4 restrictions only a few days later. Knowing the possibility of tighter restrictions ahead, we managed to do a few Christmassy things around London before the lockdown. From impromptu softplays to pub lunches, the highlight was going into central London to see the bright festive lights and Christmas trees.

With Lady Yeya all snugged in her Bugaboo Bee, we started our Christmas walk at Trafalgar Square. Every year since 1947, the people of Oslo gifted the United Kingdom a massive tree as a special thanks for Britain’s support to Norway during World War II. Typically there is usually a lively Christmas market flanking Trafalgar Square, but this year the atmosphere is non-existence. 

Making our way up Haymarket through to the flashing bright commercial screens of Piccadilly Square, we landed upon the very elegant and pedestrianised Regent Street all decked out with gorgeous lights. Now with a toddler in tow, a trip down Regent Street is not complete without a stop at the world-famous Hamleys toy store. 

Field Day at Hamleys

This was Lady Yeya’s first trip to Hamleys and she was beyond delighted. Seven floors of toys, toys, and more toys covering some 5,000 m2. Hamleys is truly a kid’s paradise. She squealed with happiness marvelling at all the stuffed animals from dinosaurs to lions, Peppa Pigs, and the vast amount of Steiff bears. Each floor was a different category with a single floor dedicated to all things Disney and Pixar and Lego. She did well not to tantrum upon leaving the store empty-handed, though Mum and Dad got lots of inspirations for Christmas presents. 

Then it was on to Carnaby Street then to Leicester Square for more Christmas lights, and finally to one of my favourite areas in central London: Covent Garden. 

Covent Garden Christmas Tree

My all-time favourite Christmas tree in London is the gorgeous tree in Covent Garden. Tall, fluffy with an understated elegance. Everything in Covent Garden is classy: the beautiful market, the Lego exhibition, St. Paul’s Church, Laduree, everything is so stunningly displayed. We ended the day at Sticks’n’Sushi for a late lunch before heading back to Charing Cross station, enjoying the Christmas lights along the way. 

A Quiet Festive Season at Home

The rest of the Festive Season was a quiet one with daily family walks around one of the neighborhood parks, many Pixar movies on Disney+ with Soul being the highlight although the movie is more for mature kids than toddlers (we do need a break from the much loved Toy Story franchise!), and lots of home-cooked meals, including a beef roast for Christmas and seafood feast for New Years Eve. Although it was a quiet one, it was good quality family time that I will forever cherish, especially in a challenging year that was 2020. 

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy year ahead.