UK- bonfire night and Christmas questions

[tortis]

Talk to me about bonfire night. This is our first November here and I have no idea what to expect or how to celebrate. 

Our house is just H and I and two dogs, one of whom is very firework-phobic. On the Fourth of July we give her Xanax and thunder jacket, make sure windows are closed, ambient noise is on, and she has gone out to do her business well before firework time. Do people here set off firecrackers in the streets? Or is it only big organised events? For reference we live in a subdivision type neighborhood in Basingstoke. 

Our best friends (also expats, the guys work for the same company, they came over about a month after us) have two kids, 3 and 7. We will likely celebrate with them. Should
we just try to go to a fireworks show?

Also, it is becoming apparent that Christmas is a huge deal here. H and I are very much looking forward to a long Christmas season, although we will be flying home on Dec 20. Any must do's for our first UK Christmas, particularly in London? We are thinking of the Bath and/or Winchester Christmas Markets, but other than that I am open to suggestions. I think I saw that Kew Gardens is a great place to visit during the holidays and we have never been. Thoughts? Any particularly English traditions we should know about? We have already decided that next Christmas we will be here for the actual holiday!

Thanks everyone!

edited for spelling mistake. 

[mrsukyankee]

In our neighbourhoods in London there are fireworks being set off by multiple people, so ithis will likely happen near you. It's definitely worth it to go to a showing (I like Alexandra Palace for fireworks) or at least finding a spot on a hill so you can see them somewhere.

Walking on Bond St & Oxford St once is worthwhile -it's all decorated and sometimes they even have fake snow falling from the 'sky'. I have to admit that I've never been to Kew (I know, bad me after 11 years). I would definitely suggest ice skating - look in Timeout Magazine for listings. There are some great ones in London in nice locations. There are also lovely music events all over London (again, check with Timeout), such as Christmas hymns, sing alongs, etc.

[frlcb]

I would check out a Christmas market (whether you go into London (Southbank or Hyde Park) or travel to someplace like Germany or Austria or Prague). Go to a panto. Christmas in the UK is magical for some reason.

[loira]

Battersea park does nice fireworks for bonfire night. I think you can buy tickets in advance, too.

I would definitely recommend Kew's Christmas light display. It's a bit expensive but really nice. London is fabulous at Christmas, all foggy and Dickensian. Speaking of which, the Dickens Museum usually has something going on at Christmas. Don't plan on doing much Christmas day, as almost everything is closed. Oh, one more thing, if you don't already eat it at Christmas, at least try a Christmas pudding. Buy a really nice one from Selfridges or Waitrose, and serve it with brandy cream. It's not for everyone, but maybe I love it because we eat Christmas pudding in Canada, too. I also love to buy extra brandy cream and have it in my coffee.

[tortis]

Thanks everyone! I'll give our dog her anxiety meds for thre few days before bonfire night just to be safe.

I'm getting really excited for the holidays- when I was at Sainsburys today they had Christmas stuff out already! Is it too early to decorate mid-November

And loira brandy cream sounds amazing whatever it goes on. I'll check some out and will definitely try some of the traditional food items- there are fruitcakes everywhere!

[pittpurple]

Fruitcake is something I just can't get into, I swear you have to grow up with it.
Ditto everyone else - there are fireworks and actual fires all over my neighbourhood for days before / after. Whatever the weekend that's closest to it is usually rather chaotic. Last year my child HATED fireworks so that was a good time :-)

Christmas is great here. Everyone kind of stops working and starts drinking mulled wine. All the desserts seem to be alchoholic and there are always a million parties going on. I live in Scotland so no real advice about London but if you fancy a short jaunt north, the Christmas market here is adorable (tiny, but adorable) and the city is so pretty all decorated!

[tortis]

Oct 7, 2015 7:51:24 GMT -5 pittpurple said:

Fruitcake is something I just can't get into, I swear you have to grow up with it.
Ditto everyone else - there are fireworks and actual fires all over my neighbourhood for days before / after. Whatever the weekend that's closest to it is usually rather chaotic. Last year my child HATED fireworks so that was a good time :-)

Christmas is great here. Everyone kind of stops working and starts drinking mulled wine. All the desserts seem to be alchoholic and there are always a million parties going on. I live in Scotland so no real advice about London but if you fancy a short jaunt north, the Christmas market here is adorable (tiny, but adorable) and the city is so pretty all decorated!

My H and I LOVE Scotland. We've been for two trips already and we've only lived abroad ten months! I'm always meeting English people who have never visited Scotland and I tell them they are insane. I love England too, but there's just something about he highlands!

[VillainV]

Re: bonfire night, definitely go to a public event if you can! They are fun. Bonus -- it gets dark enough that the fireworks are early (usually 7-7:30ish) so you're not waiting all evening for it to get dark enough (like in American in July). A lot of people have dogs so dogs being scared of fireworks is a big thing there, and most people are very aware of the issue. We had more neighbors shoot off fireworks around New Years than Bonfire Night.

Christmas: MINCE PIES!!!!! That is all :-). Seriously, at least amongst my work and friends, gifts of food were pretty common. People brought things to the office, gave food to neighbors (chocolates, shortbread, other sweets). It's not a bad idea to have a few food gifts handy in case you need a quick gift. Also, when exchanging gifts with friends, it was common to not open the gift in front of the person, but rather take it home and open it in Christmas.

[pittpurple]

My new neighbourhood apparently LOVES bonfire night. Fireworks started over the weekend!

[tortis]

Oct 26, 2015 11:24:58 GMT -5 pittpurple said:

My new neighbourhood apparently LOVES bonfire night. Fireworks started over the weekend!

Yup, they started on Halloween and we're going of both sat and sun. I'm annoyed because I took Ella to the vet to get her Xanax over two weeks ago and it's still not in. First, they made a big deal out of it because it's not commonly used here. Then they told Me it was orders and would be ready on x day but that keeps getting pushed. I'm so upset, she was outside on Sunday when someone set some off and was so so scared. She refused to go out for almost a day and had an accident inside. I called he vet and yelled at them.

Good news is I was able to refill my own Xanax rx early and talked to our old vet in the states who said I can use mine until hers comes in. (I would never normally do this, but my dog won't go outside!! And it's the exact same drug, even the same manufacturer, etc.. Don't flame me for that!)

No to man lie, but this has turned me into a Halloween/ Bonfire night Scrooge!! Maybe this weekend and next year will better now that I have meds.

Anyway, thanks for the advice and info everyone!! We are looking forward to our first ever Christmas market!! We are in Basingstoke and will be going to Winchester and most likely Bath as our friends haven't been and want to see the Roman baths and what better time than Xmas? Also looking forward to a few trips into London!

[mrsukyankee]

Awww...your poor dog. Mine, luckily, doesn't get spooked (he gets spooked by everything else).

You need to plan to go to the Bath spa when you are there - it's fabulous. You can even go to the outside pool in winter as it's heated. And let us know when you're heading into London as we can plan a gtg.