Take the Kids to England before Christmas

Where better to join in the pre-Christmas festivities than in the home of mince pies, kissing under the mistletoe and Charles Dickens’ beloved classic A Christmas Carol? The whole family will enjoy joining in as “Merrie Olde England” prepares for the holidays.

London is ablaze with lights; manor houses and palaces are decorated to show holiday celebrations of their various eras; and gigantic Christmas markets are underway in Lincoln and Bath. More festive outdoor markets, light displays and special events add sparkle to cities and towns throughout England.

You could spend a whole vacation enjoying the holiday festivities in London alone. A giant Christmas tree highlights Trafalger Square, and choirs sing traditional Christmas carols around it. At one end of the square, the beautiful church of St Martin-in-the-Fields hosts Christmas concerts from carols to classics. From mid-November through early January, Hyde Park becomes a Winter Wonderland, with a Christmas market, ice skating, carnival rides, ice sculptures, food and shows. The Nut Cracker Suite ballet is an annual tradition at London’s Royal Opera House.

Even if you don’t plan to do any Christmas shopping, don’t miss the sumptuous window displays at the food emporium of Fortnum & Mason, where magic is in the air and fairy tales come to life. Inside is the place to buy traditional plum puddings or tins of buttery shortbread and miniature mince pies — all great gifts to take home.

The famous Selfridge’s department store windows are filled with lavish holiday scenes inhabited by moving figures and magical lighting effects. Step inside to see more holiday glamour; you’ll have trouble luring the kids out of their toy department. The covered market at Covent Garden is a great place for picking up small gifts, Christmas decorations and souvenirs, as well as fine crafts from their holiday vendors.

Step into a Victorian Christmas in the home of Charles Dickens

, where your family can see how the author’s family celebrated the season surrounded by Victorian decorations, foods and traditions he made famous in A Christmas Carol. Or take a candlelight tour of the 18^th-century Dennis Severs’ House in East London to see how Christmas was celebrated a century earlier.

You might think you’d hopped across to Germany when you walk into the Christmas market in Lincoln. It’s England’s oldest and biggest Christmas market, with more than 300 stalls spreading throughout the castle and cathedral grounds and lined along Lincoln’s winding stone-paved streets.

Its authentic German character is no accident; the market was inspired by one in Lincoln’s sister city in Germany, and vendors from there bring their authentic bratwursts, beers, bright-painted nutcrackers, spiced gingerbread, mulled wine and Christmas decorations that — along with the oom-pah-pah bands — lend a German air to the traditional toffee, pies and English Christmas treats. The market reaches from the Gothic cathedral through a square surrounded by medieval timber-frame buildings and into the courtyard of Lincoln’s 11th-century Norman castle.

The Bath Christmas Market also lies in the shadow of a Gothic church, one of England’s loveliest, Bath Abbey. Nearly 200 chalets line the streets, most of them local food producers, artists, designers and craftsmen. Along with Christmas decorations, there’s handcrafted jewelry, wooly sox, hand-felted hats, wooden toys, hot mulled cider, fudge, toffee, chutneys, blown-glass Christmas tree ornaments, miniature ceramic cottages and a range of other crafts. On Saturdays, a Festive Family Artisan Market brings a kids café, storytelling, Christmas arts and crafts workshops and face painting, along with glass-blowing demonstrations and food carts.