Christmas at Blenheim Palace

Christmas at Blenheim is beautiful.  The halls are decked with Christmas trees, holly berries, and lights.  Even the statues have festival wreaths on their heads. Home to the 12th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, the palace is always worth a visit.  At Christmas, though, it feels more like a home than a grand palace. 

For more information: 

http://www.blenheimpalace.com/attractions-and-events/events/2015/winter/christmas-at-blenheim-palace/

What Christmas looks like in Oxford

There is something simple, old-fashion and beautiful about Christmas in Oxford. Here are a few of my favorite images of the season:

The Great Hall of Christchurch

Christmas decorations on the trees in the Botanical Garden

Christmas lights on the High Street...

...and down Cornmarket Street

A store window on St. Michaels Street

The tree in a quad at Christchurch College

We haven't had any snow in Oxford yet but we have had rain

Lights by the covered market

The tree at the Bodliean Library quad

Runners from the Santa Run walking down Turl Street

Hand painted ornaments hanging in a stall at the Christmas Market on Broad Street

The Christmas Market 

The windows of Boswells

 The Snow Queen welcoming her guests at the Yule Ball in Oxford's Town Hall

The Christmas Carol Service at Christchurch Cathedral

Santas on the run in Oxford

Early this morning over 1700 Santas ran a 2 mile family fun run, storming the streets of Oxford. It was a sight to behold!  

 This was the 4th annual Helen & Douglas House charity run in Oxford.   

There are dozens of Santa runs during December in towns throughout the U.K.  Oxford's run was for a children's hospice care organization.

I was so impressed to see so many children, teenagers,  and families with children taking part. 

It was a bit surreal to see the stunning street of Oxford filled with Santas everywhere you looked.

It was also wonderful that there was a break in the weather.  It rained last night and it rained this afternoon, but the sun was out this morning for the Santa run.

Ho Ho Ho all the way down Broad Street to the traditional Christmas market and the hot chocolate and mulled cider that awaited the runners...

...and a ride on the carousel in front of Balliol College. 

Oxford Christmas Light Night

Every year Oxford celebrates the coming of the Christmas season with a night of lights, processions, Christmas Markets, and fun.

On this night, the Christmas lights that decorate the center of Oxford are illuminated.  This year the Light Night centered around St. Giles where a stage, a small fair and a Christmas Market has been set up for a few days.

Every year about 300 school children make luminaries and lanterns and then parade through the streets of Oxford.

This year's theme was "Frozen Planet" with polar bears, penguins, snowflakes, and brass bands. 

Fortunately the weather cooperated and we had a rather mild and dry evening.  

Oxford is far enough north that it is dark by 4pm this time of year.   It cheers the soul to see all the lights chasing away the darkness and brightening up the long nights.

Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat...