Thanksgiving in London (Part 1)

As I sit to write this in early February, it seems strange to talk about Thanksgiving. It’s so far away! But if you are planning to travel to London, Thanksgiving is a pretty good time to go. We have been there twice for the holiday, and hope to do so again. London at that time of year is magical. The Christmas street decorations are starting to appear, the stores are open, excitement is building for the holidays. There are many special events and opportunities that are not available any other time of the year, so many that this article has to be two parts!

As empty-nesters, our married daughters have other families who want them to participate in Thanksgiving, so we have coordinated with our children that every other Thanksgiving day they are free to go to their in-laws, which frees up the day for us to travel. And our favorite travel destination is, of course, London, so off we go!

If you plan to visit London for Thanksgiving, let me suggest at least a full week for the trip, preferably longer. We tend to make it a two-week or more trip because of the many places we like to visit, and usually travel Monday or Tuesday of Thanksgiving week, returning in early December. Avoid, if you can, the airports on Wednesday before Thanksgiving as it gets chaotic with domestic travelers. On our last visit we left a week before Thanksgiving and our total time in London was 11 days.

Most of our time is spent in Mayfair, SoHo, Covent Garden, Knightsbridge, Belgravia, and Marylebone areas of west London. Two big streets for shopping are Oxford Street, home to Selfridges and a very large Marks and Spencer store; Regent Street, where the high-end stores are located; and Knightsbridge, where the famous Harrod’s store is located. All are wonderfully decorated for the holiday season. What is unique is that each street has an association of merchants who put up the decorations, and there seems to be some competition between the various associations, which leads to a huge array of different displays for the visitor.

Plan on taking at least two nights just to walk around and admire the lighting. In the Mayfair area, for example, from Piccadilly Circus, walk north on Regent Street to Oxford, then left on Oxford and walk to Marble Arch. From there go left on Park Lane to Curzon Street. Follow Curzon Street to Chesterfield Street and cut through Chesterfield Street to Charles Street, turn right and walk on to Berkeley Square. From there go south on Berkeley Street back to Piccadilly and turn right back to Piccadilly Circus. That would be a walk of just over two miles, total, and during the trip you would have been dazzled by some of the best decorations in the area.

As you go down Park Lane, look at the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. It is impossible to miss with the gigantic Ferris wheel and bright lights. Plan to spend at least one night visiting the festival. Tickets are required, and they can be obtained from their website.

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, 2022. Copyright 2022 England for All Reasons

As you walk along Park Lane, note that you will pass two hotels, Grosvenor House and The Dorchester. Both offer Christmas teas that are exceptional. This most recent time we visited the Dorchester and had a lovely time at tea, entertained by a boys’ choir singing a broad variety of traditional Christmas music.

Boys’ Choir around piano in The Dorchester Hotel. Copyright 2022 England For All Reasons

We will get back to Grosvenor House later.

Curzon Street is a lovely, curving road that makes its way toward Berkeley Square, but when you get to Chesterfield street, turn left and go the one block to Charles Street, then right toward Berkeley Square. Look for The Chesterfield Hotel, with red awnings, and The Footman, a pub that was first opened by, yes, a retired footman!  Lovely place for a meal, and the menu will tell you all about the job of footman. I will not spoil it for you, it is a good read.

On Berkeley Square, the most obvious decoration will be on Annabel’s, one of those dining clubs in London that are by invitation only and where if you have to ask how high the dues are you cannot afford it.  Their decorations are amazing, and there is usually a crowd of gawkers across the street in the park jostling to get a good picture.

Annabel’s, 2022 Copyright 2022 England For All Reasons

Leave Berkeley Square going south on Berkeley Street back to Piccadilly and turn left toward Piccadilly Circus. As you walk along, look for The Ritz hotel across the street. The entrance is on the side street, so look there for the hotel’s front decorations. Don’t miss Burlington Arcade, either. You can stop for a tea break at Caffé Concerto, then resume the walk, looking for Fortnum and Mason on the right side of the street as you go. The last time we were there, the entire building was decorated as an Advent Calendar.

Fortnum And Mason, Piccadilly, 2022. Copyright 2022 England For All Reasons

If you want a traditional Thanksgiving Day American dinner, several restaurants offer a menu for that. What we do is to search on the Internet using “Thanksgiving Dinner London ####” where the “####” is the year we want to visit. Like all things, restaurants in London can change quickly, so a fresh search is best.

One restaurant where we have enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner twice because we liked their menu best, is the J.W. Steakhouse in The Grosvenor House hotel. The Grosvenor House is in the Marriott chain, so they have connections to the US and have a better understanding of what a traditional American Thanksgiving feast is about. Turkey, dressing, potatoes, beans, sweet potatoes, all the “fixin’s” are there. They do add a Yorkshire pudding, which to us seems very appropriate!  Reservations are required, and you do have to specify that you want Thanksgiving dinner, so book in advance. We found that there was enough food that the two of us could not eat it all, but they do offer to box up the leftovers for you, and since we were in a flat with a kitchen we got another full meal out of it! Ah, you have to love leftover Thanksgiving Dinner!

Thanksgiving Dinner, J.W. Steakhouse. Copyright 2022, England For All Reasons.

As for things to do in London, there are some special events that you can consider. In addition to the Winter Festival in Hyde Park, there is a special church service at St. Paul’s cathedral on Thanksgiving Day, which is a special American Service. As a thank you for America’s support of them during WW II, the Cathedral opens the doors for Americans on that day to have a service of thanksgiving, organized by the American Embassy and for the benefit of ex-pat Americans in the area. When the service is over, be sure to stay and tour the cathedral. It is a lovely place. Do not miss the American Chapel at the head of the church, behind the grand altar. There is a book of commemoration there that has a list of all US servicepeople who gave their lives in WW II for the defense of the UK, and a stained-glass window of commemoration as well.

Other events in London include the start of Advent season with services in most of the churches. In addition to St Paul’s, another church to visit is All Souls’ Church at Langham Place, just north of Oxford Street on Regent Street. They have an extensive series of Advent events.

Concerts venues are also worth investigating. Royal Albert Hall usually has at least one concert, as does St. Martin-In-The-Field, at Trafalgar Square.

Along with some stunning storefront decorations, most retailers in London also offer Black Friday deals (yes, even though the UK does not have Thanksgiving, they do have Black Friday). Check them out, especially Selfridges, Fortnum and Mason, Harrod’s (in Knightsbridge), and shops along both Oxford Street and Regent Street, including the side streets.

Petty Porchen’s Cakes, Belgravia, London. Copyright England for All Reasons, 2022

If you have the time and are looking for a unique place for to enjoy a more casual Afternoon Tea, try Peggy Porschen Cakes, in Belgravia. Then walk around a bit in Belgravia to see their decorations as well. We did walk about in the day, but would love to go back in the evening when the lights are on.

So, that is how to spend Thanksgiving in London. Lights, festivals, shopping, tea, music. What is not to like?