At the end of November, The Bloke and I spent a weekend in London that doubled as a birthday trip. It was quite a last-minute decision, prompted by spotting that the weather on one particular day was forecast to be bright and sunny, amidst what had been weeks of grey and rain. 

We initially arrived with very little in the way of a fixed plan, beyond a general intention to seek out the Christmas decorations and enjoy being in the city at this time of year. We went to see the mini Diagon Alley shop at King’s Cross, saw the incredible frontage of Annabel’s, wandered around all of the main department stores, checking out the window displays (the Disney-themed windows at Selfridges were fabulous), treated ourselves to a Christmas decoration and some macarons from Fortnum & Mason, wandered through some of the Christmas markets (indulging in a Christmas Yorkshire pudding wrap along the way), and said hello to the new Bridget Jones statue that has just been unveiled in Leicester Square. 

There is something quite special about London at Christmas. The lights, the shop windows and the general atmosphere make even familiar streets feel different, and it’s hard not to get swept up in it. Even with the cold, it felt like the city was properly switching into festive mode, which made wandering around with no real agenda part of the fun.

In the evening, we explored the decorations and lights at Covent Garden, and then went to see Hercules at the theatre – something on my 45 Before 45 list. Hercules is one of my favourite Disney movies and I was super excited after seeing lots of promotional videos of the incredible performers. 

Overall, the show was… meh. There were moments of genuine joy, particularly from the performers playing the Muses, whose vocal talent and stage presence were outstanding and often lifted the production. At the same time, the show leaned heavily into a pantomime-style tone, and it felt like something was missing… I don’t regret seeing it, but would I go and watch it again? Probably not. It was entertaining enough for one evening, but not quite strong enough to live up to the expectations set by the source material and the surrounding hype.

It was a really nice way to kick off the festive season. London felt Christmassy without being completely overwhelming, and we actually got to enjoy being there rather than just battling through crowds. Seeing how busy the city became over December just confirmed we had made the right call – late November had all the decorations and atmosphere, but not as much of the chaos.