Christmas is a favourite time for families to get together and celebrate Christmas together.  Everybody looks forward to Christmas and from September onwards the shops begin to fill up with Christmas decorations and artificial Christmas trees. Nearer to Christmas many people will buy pine trees which they trim up with tinsel and chocolates as well as decorative indoor lights.  Many big cities will have a huge Christmas tree placed in the shopping centre decorated with outdoor lights as well as other decorations and outdoor lights on display around the shops. Shops become full of Christmas shoppers and the hustle and bustle is all part of the festive season.

In London a huge Christmas tree is placed every year in Trafalgar Square which is well lit up with colourful outdoor lights.  London has many visitors over the Christmas period not only to visit the shops and do their Christmas shopping, but to visit the many attractions.  People come from all over the world to visit London because there is so much to see and Christmas time is a lovely time for them to visit.  During the festive season London is a glow with outdoor lights all shining different colours and festive decorations are everywhere. Children can visit Father Christmas in his Grotto which will be surrounded by brightly lit decorations. Visitors are amazed at the spectacular outdoor lights on show and many come back year after year just to see them. Shop windows are decorated in such a way that it is almost impossible to walk past them without going inside to see more.  The whole atmosphere that these decorations create and the carol singers which seem to be round every corner, make London one of the most popular tourist destinations at Christmas.

There are so many things to see and do in London and some of the main attractions are Buckingham Palace, The Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge and London Eye, to name just a few.  Because of the vast number of tourists it is important that they feel safe and for this reason garden lights are used throughout the City. Anywhere which might be a little bit dark or uneven and not easy to get around will be well lit up by the garden lights to prevent people accidently falling or tripping. London is one of the main tourist attractions in the world and for many people a visit to England is incomplete without a visit to London.  London is always busy no matter what time of the year it is but at Christmas the numbers swell even more. 

Since London first started using outdoor lights to make the Christmas decorations so outstanding, other big cities have done the same and each year the Christmas decorations just get better and better.  Not only are big cities like London using outdoor lights to create a Christmassy feeling, but family homes are also being decorated with outdoor lights and garden lights.  Not only do people want an indoor Christmas tree many will also have a Christmas tree outside decorated with outdoor lights and an illuminated Father Christmas, reindeers and snowman.  The garden will be lit up with garden lights and many homes will have messages outside asking Father Christmas to call. Before outdoor lights became so popular nobody ever used to put decorations outside in their gardens.  A Christmas tree inside and a few streamers and balloons was the norm but there is so much choice in outdoor lights and garden lights decorations have now spilled out into the garden which all adds up to making Christmas feel very special.

Once Christmas Day is over it is custom to take the tree and Christmas trimmings down by the twelfth day after Christmas when everything is carefully packed away until the following year. Christmas Cards are thrown away and everything returns to normal.  Anyone who has bought a real pine Christmas tree with roots on will be able to plant it in the garden to use again.