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Fortnum & Mason's Christmas display
Photograph: courtesy of Fortnum & Masons

London's best Christmas windows

The capital's fanciest stores gear up for the festive season

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Window shopping is never more enjoyable than at Christmas, when London's biggest stores set out to delight passers by with lavish displays. Some are kitsch, some are naff, some are basically works of art. But all of them are massively fun to have a festive gander at. Here's a handy guide to some of the best displays to feast your peepers on in 2021. 

Harvey Nichols
Photograph: Harvey Nichols

Harvey Nichols

Richly coloured light will dance over the pavements outside Harvey Nichols this winter, thanks to their stained glass style Christmas windows. Stuffed with bauble and tree motifs, they're designed to bring cheer to passers by after last year's massively underwhelming festivities. 

Selfridges
Photograph Oliver Dixon

Selfridges

This year, Selfridges's typically lavish window displays are taking inspiration from '30s Hollywood to offer a camp, imaginative take on festive spirit. The theme is 'Christmas of Dreams': and whether or not you dream of dressing up in layers of white tulle and swan feathers, you're bound to be at least a little bit enchanted by this swoony visual fantasy. 

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Nine Elms Advent Calendar Trail
Photograph: The Nine Elms Advent Calendar Trail

Nine Elms Advent Calendar Trail

This trail is streets away from your typical luxury department store window displays, and all the better for it. Following the theme 'Peace on Earth', it's got 24 art installations around Nine Elms, some of which are in windows, and some of which are in more esoteric locations including a floating barge and a living forest right in the middle of New Covent Garden Market. 

Harrods
Photograph: Courtesy of Harrods

Harrods

Head to Harrods for more sparkle than a magpie's nest this Christmas. The lavish department store is reflecting the wealth of its clientele with silver and metallic decorations themed around some of its luxury brands, including Beluga vodka [pictured], Miu Miu, and Tiffany & Co. The display is styled as a banquet, with a gigantic table stretching across the store's windows: join in this visual feast by scanning a QR code and seeing the displays flicker to life.  

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Fortnum & Masons
Photograph: courtesy of Fortnum & Masons

Fortnum & Masons

Fortnum & Masons' Christmas windows this year are full of whimsy and humour: a kid-pleasing antidote to the opulence on show at other department stories. Their adorable theme is animals dreaming about Christmas. Cue a snoozing red squirrel wishing for a treetop swing, a wise owl longing for books and a bunny dreaming of broccoli, all brought to life in ingenious animatronic scenes.  

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