[title]
…according to Nadia Hussan, 31.
Some people start planning for Christmas in spring
‘Our very first Christmas meeting at John Lewis happens at the beginning of March, and we open the Christmas Shop in September. It seems early, but we see customers searching for Christmas stuff from around April. Obviously some people just like planning early.’
There’s been a resurgence of tinsel
‘It’s definitely made a bit of a comeback. I think people are remembering how they had their Christmas trees when they were children, so we’ve stocked up and got more options this year. Some of it is very colourful and some is more traditional.’
Kids are going crazy for coding toys
‘It’s on a lot of school syllabuses now, so there’s been a massive trend towards helping kids code. We’ve got loads of Cozmo, a really cute robot from Anki that helps kids learn in a fun way, so they don’t even realise they’re learning. And we’ve got Boost from Lego, which is a robot you build and code yourself.’
Food personalisation is on the up
‘Customers are loving personalising stuff with a selfie at the moment. This year we have the Magic Candy Factory, where you can send a selfie to the machine and it will make a 3D confectionery version of your face in about six minutes.’
Santa’s grotto is old hat
‘I don’t know when we last had a Santa’s grotto in the Oxford Street branch. It’s been a while. Now we get customers coming in and asking for the space themed around our Christmas advert, because they’re used to us doing that. Moz the Monster’s house has been extremely popular this year.’
Love London? Sign up here to get Time Out tips in your inbox every week.