The Christmas lights are on in the most fashionable spots in London where homeowners go all out for the best dressed house in town, according to leading estate agents Winkworth.
The Christmas lights are on in the most fashionable spots in London where homeowners go all out for the best dressed house in town, according to leading estate agents Winkworth.
The festive lights may be twinkling In Regent Street, Covent Garden and Marylebone High street but on the streets of Kensington and Notting Hill, some truly spectacular exterior Christmas decorations are festooning the white stucco terraces of SW7, SW10 and W11.
Charles Erwin, of Winkworth’s Notting Hill office, revealed in a Christmas special episode of Winkworth’s Property Exchange podcast: “We have neighbourhoods and streets that get completely transformed. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are the three major events. The Christmas decorations are up and it's a competition between each house and the next, particularly on the communal gardens and for the larger houses in Elgin Crescent, Lansdowne and Blenheim Crescents. And you can really tell where people have hired in professional companies to do their decorations for them. And it's getting bigger and bigger each year. There are wreaths, lots of greenery, flowers decorating the pillars, toy soldiers and some people light up their house with moving lights. Our American residents love to go all out and the British residents are getting more and more into it as the years pass.”
According to Bella Roupell, of Winkworth’s South Kensington office, the best roads are for Christmas decoration are The Boltons and Tregunter Road in Chelsea.
She told the podcast: “The Boltons never fails to amaze with the lights and decorations - adorned with vast red bows, music, and lavish lighting. This year we are sponsoring reindeer to visit Bousfield Primary School in The Boltons for the Christmas Fair so we are playing our part.”
Carla Passino, Country Life’s arts editor, who also writes for the London Life section of the magazine, revealed a passion for Charles Dickens in her festive tips for presents and places to go for a real Christmas treat.
She told the podcast: “I absolutely love Shapero Rare Books in Bond Street. They've got a brilliant, highly decorated edition of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol which is beautiful.
“ A Christmas Carol on stage is a must as well and I love the Old Vic production. I would also recommend a visit to the Charles Dickens Museum in Bloomsbury. Dickens pretty much invented Christmas as we know it and the house is specially decorated. I also like to pop into St Paul’s, the actors’ church in Covent Garden and listen to carols by candlelight. On the festive food list, Panettone is a must and my favourite is Fiasconaro from Sicily. A lot of really good Italian delis have it. It’s mind blowing!”
Other festive tips from the guests include Charles Erwin’s favourite: ham cooked in cola using the Nigella recipe, and devils on horseback (prunes wrapped in bacon) from Winkworth’s Chief Executive Dominic Agace. Bella Roupell recommends a visit to the Natural History Museum to see T Rex in his Christmas jumper.
Carla Passino had the final word on mulled wine. “It needs to be red - really, really intensely flavoured, with lots of spices, lots of orangey flavours in them, and no white wine.”
And when the mince pies and ham are eaten, Dominic Agace predicts that it will be a busy Boxing Day as first time buyers look to snap up a home to beat the chill of a stamp duty increase in April. He said: “It's become more of a trend to list your property online over the Christmas break, and for those recovering from Christmas Day to scroll through and find their next home, flats in particular, for first time buyers this year.”
