Magic Lanterns at Chiswick House & Gardens, London *

I’m not gonna sit here and go into details about me being a Grinch as I’m sure you’re all bored of hearing that by now, but I am going to talk to you about a Christmassy event which may come as a little bit of a surprise!

The Magic Lantern Festival in London is housed at the Chiswick House and Garden, not too far of a walk from Turnham Green station and Chiswick Overground station and it’s open until the 1st January 2018 so you have plenty of time to go and visit. At £20 an adult ticket, it’s quite steep for a lantern show as there are others that are cheaper, but rest assured, this is well worth the money! It’s not just a lantern walk, there’s Santa’s Grotto and a mini Christmas food market with fairground rides.

Upon arrival, you stroll down the long winding drive, taking in lots of lanterns in the form of Santa, Soldiers and candy canes that line the route, really setting you up for what is to come.

After passing the ticket barrier, you’re free to wander along the paths to take in more of the stunning lanterns. I took this chance to test out my new iPhone 8 Plus and I don’t think it did too badly! Kariss and I played around with the portrait settings and loved what the outcomes. Photographing lights can be so tough on a handheld device so this was the most perfect place to practice!

The lanterns weren’t only Christmas themed, there were the likes on Noah’s Arc and various characters you might recognise from Disney classics. We spied some of the 100 Dalmatians, Flik from A Bug’s Life and plenty of pretty princesses.

A personal favourite of mine was the peacock, so many bright colours, flashing lights and just looking all round majestic! I do have a bit of a thing for peacock colouring as you may have guessed from the colours of my hair! Kariss pointed out that I match pretty well!

There were full blown scenes of rainbow surfing, an Ancient City from the Song Dynasty and plenty of dolphins; quite an eclectic mix!

As mentioned, when you get to the end there are plenty of places to grab a Mulled Wine, a Hot Chocolate or even some food so there’s more to enjoy than just the lanterns. I’d highly recommend for families and couples alike!

Thanks to Love Pop Ups London for my tickets.