<p>Anyone who has Christmas in New York will know how, when a city turns its full focus to Christmas it can make a special time of year just magical! Leeds, while a far cry from the big apple is as effective as any other city in the UK when it comes to getting festive.</p>

<p><a href=”http://www.leedsguide.co.uk/review/news/late-night-shopping-thursdays-begin-in-leeds/19829″>Late night shopping</a> is a convenience that we all need to have in 2012 and most of the shops in Leeds town centre make special provisions to stay open late through the festive period. Thursday night is usually the night on which shops decide to stay open super late and even have some festivities going on inside to break up the monotony of the, often laborious Christmas shopping.</p>

<p>For as long as I can remember Leeds has been the home of the <a href=”http://www.christmasmarkets.com/UK/Leeds-christmas-market.html”>German Christmas market</a>, which comprises of a large tent selling huge glasses of beer and a selection of other German product. This centre piece is surrounded by a selection of smaller stalls all of which sell seasonal treats suitable for all ages.</p>

<p>Leeds has some great <a href=”https://www.leedsgrandtheatre.com/Online/”>theatres</a&gt; and concert venues and one of the showpieces that will be talked about a lot this year is <a href=”http://www.ents24.com/web/event/Oliver-The-Musical-Touring-Grand-Theatre-%26-Opera-House-Leeds-2491175.html”>Oliver!</a&gt; The Musical, that’s something for all ages and about as festive as you can get!</p>

<p>Each year Leeds Christmas lights are a real treat for the kids and the big switch on usually happens sometime in late November, as a general rule a celebrity or at least someone well known in the area will be the guest button presser who will take charge of the big switch on.</p>

<p>Public <a href=”http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/leeds/journey_planning/maps/”>transport in Leeds</a> is much improved upon from this time last year and year on year we see improvements. Gone are the days of waiting two hours for a bus and the then two turning up at once. While it will pay to check the local timetable online, even if you didn’t, you would most likely not be waiting for too long.</p>

<p>Father Christmas will be busy in Leeds this year too, while it goes without saying that his posted will be stuck up pretty much everywhere you look he will also, no doubt, be out in person as a celebrity in his own right throughout many of the larger department stores.</p>

<p>The only thing that we cannot guarantee in Leeds this (or any other) Christmas is the snow but if recent years gone by are anything to go by then that will be something else that is in your favour. While 2011 wasn’t great we did have a little but the “great freeze” of 2010 and 2009 were really impressive providing you were able to just stay inside and look at it.</p>
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