Christmas tills are ringing

With just five weeks until the big day, Benham & Reeves Estate Agents has mapped the best department stores in central London to shop for the perfect Christmas season gifts.

Yes, we know that Christmas can come at the click of a mouse, and that you would have to be insane to tackle Oxford Street the last weekend before the Big Day, but, really, gift and food buying and giving can be hugely more imaginative and exciting when you shop in the right places. We’re talking individuality, personalised and decidedly English – as much as we love you for the rest of the year, global brand stores – which is just how Christmas should be.

Take an afternoon off, or do some late night, after-dark shopping when the rest of the Capital is sloping off home and less-frazzled customer service levels suddenly ping back with a smile, a mince pie and occasionally a glass of mulled wine to sweeten the deal.

First stop on the Benham & Reeves Estate Agents shopping tour (and we urge you to travel by bus, not Tube to take in the city’s pretty Christmas light displays) is an oldie but a goodie. Utterly ridiculous as it sounds, the store’s Christmas World has been up and running since July and, being Harrods, the full price range is on offer, from a 6ft Santa Claus for £3,999 to this year’s Harrods bear, Sebastian, who sports a smart red quilted jacket and the store’s signature gold logo on his foot. The bear offers the ideal stocking stuffer at £24.95 (perfect for nieces and nephews everywhere). If you’re charmed by Knightsbridge’s lovely architecture and luxury vibe, be sure to call our Knightsbridge lettings office and we’ll find the perfect rental property to enjoy the area all year round.

If this is your neck of the woods, may we humbly suggest that you head to Duke of York Square to see what are, in our opinion, some of the prettiest Christmas lights in town. Santa Claus is in residence over the next few weeks and the queue should be mercifully shorter than most department stores for you to enjoy a snap with the red-suited guy as he decides if you’re on the naughty or nice list.

A short hop towards Piccadilly is Fortnum & Mason which goes to town on Christmas opulence with a myriad of deliciously prepared and packaged edible treats. No self-respecting holiday host or hostess should be without a side of smoked salmon and, if your tastes and pocket run to it, Beluga caviar. There are hampers to ponder over – our favourite, the St James Hamper is packed with a little of each, plus vintage champagne, York ham, florentines and truffles. At £1,000 it promises luxury overload. If you’re looking for a place to enjoy the finer things in life, give our Hyde Park office a call and we’ll be delighted to help.

Proceed directly to Fenwick of Bond Street, or Fenwicks as its regulars fondly describe it, has been trading in tradition and quality since 1891 when founder, John James Fenwick pinched the French concept of bringing different types of retail all under one roof – bingo, the department store! This is precisely the place to find the ‘perfect’ life essentials, that the rest of the world seems to have forgotten about. We’re talking high quality leatherware, silk scarves, perfumes and slippers for all those hard-to-please relatives. There’s also a healthy dose of desirable fashion brands and with service this good, you might just be tempted into the changing room to bag your party outfit here too.

As Fenwick oozes efficiency and pragmatism, just a few streets away, Liberty offers the Arts & Crafts shopper an emporium of goodies. Beautiful is the word we most often hear whenever we wander its halls, as shoppers linger over exquisite jewellery, glorious less-than-mainstream fashion and quaint curiosities. Head for the Christmas shop where hand-finished glass baubles, festive wreaths and stuffed toys sit alongside possibly the world’s prettiest Christmas crackers – with Liberty print covers, they’re almost too perfect to pull and you might find yourself choosing carefully who gets to pull them with you.

Once you’re done, head up to Oxford Circus and walk or ride the bus along Oxford Street to Selfridges. Once Harrods’ less-showy cousin, Selfridges has risen like a retail phoenix over the past 15 years. A bit like Madonna (who was allegedly a regular customer during her English lady, Guy Ritchie days), it has become the master of reinvention with the chicest and hippest micro stores dotted around its Edwardian enclave. Selfridges’ Christmas windows are legendary so be sure to spend some time touring the façade before you head for its Destination Christmas shop. If you have little ones in tow, and frankly even if you haven’t, don’t miss Selfridges’ Paddington Curiosity Shop. Marking Paddington’s journey from Christmas Eve 1956, when BBC cameraman Michael Bond dashed into Selfridges to buy a stuffed animal on Christmas Eve for his wife, through to the latest celluloid reinvention of the bear from darkest Peru who loves a marmalade sandwich or two.

With Christmas shopping sorted, it’s time to relax and enjoy the season!