LONDON Christmas News, Dec 23, 2011

Frenzy of last-minute shopping The Press Association Millions of Christmas shoppers hit the stores in London on Friday in a frenzy of last-minute buying. In what was expected to be the busiest shopping day of the year, millions of pounds of sales were anticipated to keep tills ringing until late. ... See all stories on this topic »

Christmas shopping: Millions take to the high street to snap up bargains Daily Mail Retail frenzy: Shoppers fill the pavements in Regent Street in centralLondon yesterday in the final run-up to Christmas. Today is set to be the busiest shopping day of the year The rise is partly attributed to shoppers being able to enjoy some of the ... See all stories on this topic » Daily Mail

The Male Sale-When Men Finally Begin their Christmas Shopping MarketWatch (press release) LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, Dec 23, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Finding out when men start Christmas shopping is simply common scents - sales of Chanel No. 5 perfume go through the roof, say Debenhams. It's the most popular fragrance bought by men ... See all stories on this topic »

Millions hit shops and roads for last-minute gifts and the greatChristmas getaway Mirror.co.uk Rush hour won't start until 10am as people either go off to spend Christmas away from home or do Christmas shopping, so there will be a mixture of people travelling long and short distances." Getaway traffic is likely to be heavy on major routes, ... See all stories on this topic » Mirror.co.uk

Boxing Day sales to start on Christmas Eve – online The Guardian Some of the high street's biggest retailers will launch their seasonal sales online on Christmas Eve rather than Boxing Day to take advantage of the millions of people expected to shop online onChristmas Day. The internet means stores no longer close ... See all stories on this topic » The Guardian

Christmas wipeout for Blacks shareholders Reuters UK However, stellar trading figures from John Lewis on Thursday for the first four days of this week boosted UK store groups' hopes of a late rush of Christmas shoppers. "Trade is indeed booming at John Lewis this week, but it remains to be seen how... See all stories on this topic »

Winter chill FOXSports.com It's “Frantic Friday” in London, the final day of Christmas shoppingbefore people leave the city and head home. Shops have been packed, pubs are overflowing and no one seems to be working – well, save for the poor folks manning the tills. ... See all stories on this topic » FOXSports.com

Foreigners hit London for property buying spree Financial Times LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault, France's richest man, is rumoured to have bought three trophy stores on London's most expensive shopping street for £300m. The Bond Street properties, including Louis Vuitton's flagship UK store, have been owned by ... See all stories on this topic »

Capital Christmas The Guardian (blog) My neighbourhood corner shop will be open as usual on the 25th should I run short of brussels sprouts, its gigglier staff wearing Santa hats, its in-store music system broadcasting carols from Classic FM. Christmas time in London is what Londoners ... See all stories on this topic » The Guardian (blog)

The Selfridges Winter Sale - Discounts up to 75% Online and In-Store DigitalJournal.com (press release) Selfridges' stores in London, Manchester and Birmingham will offer discounts on thousands of items, while online shoppers will be able to take advantage of the season's hottest sale items at Selfridges.com. Extending across the store from men's and ... See all stories on this topic »

Forget the white Christmas! Temperatures to hit 14C as Britain basks in balmy ... Daily Mail More like autumn: A woman jogs in Brockwell Park, London. This December will be one of the warmest on record Shoppers braving the wet rainy weather for last minute Christmas shopping , in Liverpool city centre. See all stories on this topic » Daily Mail

Celebrity butcher Jack O'Shea escorted from Selfridges in foie gras row Telegraph.co.uk Part of the eighth generation of O'Sheas in the business, he made his name with a shop in Brussels before setting up in Knightsbridge, west London. Friends say he prides himself on his animal welfare standards, and recently decided against opening a ... See all stories on this topic » Telegraph.co.uk

Woman heartbroken after £400 savings were stolen in Morrisons Halstead Gazette A WOMAN in her 80s was left heartbroken after more than £400 she was using for her Christmas shopping was stolen from her purse. The woman from Hadleigh was waiting at the checkout of Morrisons supermarket, in London Road, in the town, ... See all stories on this topic »

U.K. Stores Face Most Insolvencies Since 2008 Amid Slump: Retail San Francisco Chronicle Barratts Priceless Group, a 191-store shoe chain, went into administration -- analogous to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US -- on Dec. 8 and Sky News reported fashion chain Peacock may close 200 stores as part of its restructuring. ... See all stories on this topic »

Last-Minute Online Shopping Money Saving (blog) With two days until Christmas, I still don't have my shopping or wrapping done, and I know I'm not the only one in this situation. Whilst plenty of stores offer“collect at store” on their website, it still takes several days to receive your purchase, ... See all stories on this topic »

Online Christmas orders from retailers go titsup Register The high-end retailer is now no longer taking orders from its website and is directing people to its shop in Piccadilly, London, which will be open until 5.30pm onChristmas Eve. The company, whose hampers are priced up to £5000 and which opened for ... See all stories on this topic »

Shop burglary stinks This Is Wiltshire She has kept the shop open following the burglary to explain the situation to customers, many of whom called in to offer their condolences over the theft. The shopkeeper said she was convinced the thieves, who cut the wires to all the shop'slights, ... See all stories on this topic »

Michael Buble set for Christmas No1 Nokia Conversations It's also great fun comparing how these stars looked when they were my age, 27 years ago, to how they look now. There's hope for some of us! To buy this song or listen to a clip, go to the Nokia Music Store. A Caribbean sound, via a German record ... See all stories on this topic »

Christmas messages from abroad Timaru Herald China is great fun and there are lots of Christmas trees anddecorations on the streets and in the shops including a 10- to 15-metre high pink tree at the local shopping mall! Trees along my street are decorated with stars (and moons). ... See all stories on this topic » Timaru Herald

London open: Vultures circle round Blacks Leisure ShareCast LONDON (SHARECAST) - The top-share index briefly broke through the 5500 barrier this morning but could not sustain it, as traders' thoughts turn to mince pies, mulled wine and a dash to the shops for a bit of last minute Christmas shopping - and, ... See all stories on this topic »

The picture that shows the caring side of John Terry as he poses in Hamleys ... Daily Mail The Chelsea player was at Hamleys toy store, in central London, on Friday with his wife Toni, no doubt buying last-minute Christmaspresents for the couple's twin children. He was approached by a family who then asked him to pose for a picture with ... See all stories on this topic » Daily Mail

A taste of Ireland at Christmas Irish Post Holly, who is fresh off the stage of the Miss World pageant 2011 in London, will be sending Golden Moments to her fellow contestants around the globe using the Barry's Tea Online Tea Shop this Christmas. “I made so many friends from across the globe ... See all stories on this topic »

London or New York, Retail Discounts Are Steep This Holiday Season CNBC.com La Senza has "half off" a majority of store or "two-for-one" deals. At Kurt Geiger and Hobbs and Whistles, it's 50 percent off. John Lewis, the bellwether for UK retail, is also running 30 percent off coats, but the real deals start on Dec 27. ... See all stories on this topic »

Exclusive Christmas story by Rose Tremain: BlackBerry Winter Telegraph.co.uk Made Christmas decorations out of sacking.” “Sacking,” Fran had responded, “is an honest and lovely fabric, but you're not being honest, Mother. I'ma working partner in a successful gift shop, which happens to specialise in homecrafts. ... See all stories on this topic » Telegraph.co.uk

Extra, Extra: More Holiday Shopping, More Winter Cycling, More Open Data Torontoist Would letting stores stay open for Christmas help ease overcrowding on days immediately before and afterward and avoid scenes like this 2010 Boxing Day madness at the Eaton Centre? The City of Toronto wants to know if you'd like to spend your holidays ... See all stories on this topic »

Victoria Beckham splashes out £35000 on Christmas decorations Musicrooms.net By Hiriyti Bairu on 23/12/2011 Victoria Beckham has gone all out for daughter, Harper Beckham's first Christmas - as the 37-year-old has spent the crazy sum of £35000 on trees and decorations. The fashion designer made an order at London store Fortnum ... See all stories on this topic » Musicrooms.net

Holly daze Independent Online You can do all your Christmas shopping, from food to gifts, at the French market. And then there's the telly. Comedians are everywhere and Christmas specials abound – this year the Ab Fab girls, Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, were among those ... See all stories on this topic » Independent Online

List 'Em Carefully: 10 Alternative Christmas Songs Consequence of Sound The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl – “Fairytale Of New York” “Fairytale Of New York” dates from 1987, when it became Christmas No. 1 in Ireland, and was only kept off top spot in the UK bizarrely by a non-seasonal song, the Pet Shop Boys' cover of “Always On ... See all stories on this topic »

How to avoid a Christmas culinary catastrophe Telegraph.co.uk A siege mentality takes over in the run-up to Christmas, and looking at my shopping list some years you'd think the shops were closed till the second week of January. In fact, many will be open on December 27, and 28 is a working day for most. ... See all stories on this topic » Telegraph.co.uk

UK economy watch: little festive cheer Financial Times One analysis shows stores bracing for a weak Christmas and insolvency practitioners are warning of a wave of corporate collapses in consumer-facing businesses such as shops, food manufacturing and gyms after the holiday. Black's Leisure is heading for ... See all stories on this topic » Financial Times

How TfL will keep London moving despite Boxing Day strike London Loves Business On 26 Decmeber, London's 700 bus routes will be in operation plus “extra buses operating in busy shopping areas and an enhanced service in the West End,” according to TfL. The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) will operate, despite the strike, ... See all stories on this topic »

£2billion shopping spree today The Sun Overall Christmas sales are set to be £680million higher than last year — at £69.1billion. Stores in London's West End expect an unprecedented £100million "trolley dash", with eight out of ten buyers being men. Today will also be busiest for cash ... See all stories on this topic » The Sun

France Offers To Pay For Breast-implant Removal Salon He's working at a convenience store to help pay the bills. “It was already tight out there and now it's tighter,” Pobuda said. In Sioux Falls, SD, hardware store owner Dallas Vanden Bos said it's taken all season to sell as many bags of snow and ice... See all stories on this topic »

Oh Posh! Why suddenly so coy about your cute children? Daily Mail K-mart is one of the few large discount stores in America to offer aChristmas club service — a system whereby customers can squirrel away purchases ahead of Christmas Day, but let the store hold on to their merchandise as they pay it off week by week ... See all stories on this topic » Daily Mail

M&S runs out of goose fat in shops frenzy frenzy Evening Standard About £100 million will be spent in West End stores today and tomorrow in the biggest last-minute London shopping frenzy on record. Queues started building outside Marks and Spencer in Oxford Street half an hour before it opened at 8am,... See all stories on this topic »

Londoners Gear Up for Santa as Christmas Getaway Gets Underway LondonNet "Rush hour won't start until 10am as people either go off to spend Christmas away from home or do Christmas shopping, so there will be a mixture of people travelling long and short distances." "People should allow extra time for their journeys and they ... See all stories on this topic » LondonNet

China move to keep shoppers may hit Hong Kong retail rents Economic Times Last Christmas, Fion Ng had an unusual request from a mainland Chinese customer at the high-end cosmetics store she manages in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay district, the most expensive place to rent a shop in Asia. "Is this really the most expensive cream? ... See all stories on this topic »

What I do on Christmas Day when the rest of the country is havingfun The Guardian In my head I imagined them going off singing carols and shoppingtogether while I was out on the track. There are advantages, though. I've taken a sabbatical from my job this year to concentrate onLondon 2012, so I do have more time to spend with my ... See all stories on this topic » The Guardian

Your views on the news: rail fares, second hand gifts and birdsong The Guardian (blog) Do not like idea of internet Amazon or Supermarket monopolies ( reduced selection as well) Of course shopping is changing but suchshops should be still there- pound type shops, or mobile phoneshops are or fast food shops just boring. sam999 offers a ... See all stories on this topic » The Guardian (blog)

Christmas Shopping London Style | Did You Make That? By didyoumakethat 3 Responses to Christmas Shopping London Style. Maxi says: December ... I wentshopping after work shut down at lunchtime, and I have to say that the Canberra Centre was nowhere near as interesting as your shopping jaunt looked! Reply ... Did You Make That?

My 'Richard Curtis' London: Liberty Christmas shop By lianne Then there is the other side, something that the man and me came to call our 'Richard Curtis' London. A city where wonderful eccentricities and cutting edge cool await around every corner…you just have to know where to look. No rose tinted ... My 'Richard Curtis' London

Top five alternative places to do Christmas shopping in London ... Top five alternative places to do Christmas shopping in London ... to Christmas the stores open on Wednesday nights to offer a festive shopping experience with... www.londonlovesbusiness.com/londons.../1261.article

Increase in Holiday Shopping Indicates Increased Confidence ... Nearly half of shoppers have not finished their Christmas shopping yet, and the ...The deals came early this year because Christmas Eve is actually the last ...Saturday before Christmas Day on December 17, 2011 in London, England. ... abcnews.go.com/Business/holiday-shopping-boost.../story?id...

Christmas shopping in London without tears | Bloomsbury ... Christmas shopping in London without tears. Wrapping Christmas Presents ...Fortnum's Lucifer Ginger and Chilli Biscuits, even if just for the fun of passing one... bloomsburybluestocking.wordpress.com/.../christmas-shoppin...

London: Christmas Fun for Kids and Families - vtravelled blog Christmas time, mistletoe and wine, or if you're in London, it's more like mistletoe, ... The world-famous department store offers a 30-minute visit through an Ice ... blog.vtravelled.com/things-to-do-with-kids-family-in-london-...

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