There's so much tradition to pack into December that it's no wonder Christmas seems to start before autumn does these days. London has always been crazy for Christmas, though – just check out the gallery below, which shows the city in festive trim from the past.
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| A children's Christmas party at the Hoxton Mission, London, 18th November 1933 |
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| A family look at the sparkling lights on the Christmas tree at St. Paul's Cathedral, London, 16th November 1938 |
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| Christmas at night on Regent Street, 1960 |
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| Christmas atmosphere on Electric Avenue, Brixton, London, 1908 |
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| Christmas decorations on Electric Avenue, Brixton, 1911 |
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| Christmas lights on Regent Street, 1955 |
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| Christmas shopping on Oxford Street, London, 1937 |
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| Christmas trees in Covent Garden Market, 1952 |
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| Crowds of Christmas shoppers on Oxford Street, London, December 1936 |
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| Father Christmas delivering presents to the Children's Aid and Adoption Society at Leytonstone, 20th November 1931 |
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| Father Christmas hands out presents to children at the Aid And Adoption Society home at Leytonstone, 1938 |
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| Father Christmas walks on the streets of wartime London, 23rd December 1940 |
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| Mod Christmas decorations on London's Carnaby Street, 1967 |
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| Sandbags are placed outside the shop window at Selfridges to protect it during the first Christmas of World War II, 1939 |
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| Santa Claus drives a motorcycle past a bus through Oxford Street, London using the sidecar to hold his toys, 1949 |
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| Taking the Christmas tree home, Chelsea, London, 1915 |
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| The Regent Street Christmas lights on evening, London, 1960 |