Christmas Lights in Harrogate, 3rd Day of UK Christmas

Last month (November 2011), we went to Harrogate to see the lighting of the Christmas tree and to have our first encounter with Father Christmas.

We wandered along the streets of the town on our way to the tree lighting. We were amazed at the variety of lights we saw.

Lucy on a street with minimal lights

Jacob on a more active street, though he wasn't impressed.

Lots of lights!

Jacob's favorite street of lights was this amazing pedestrian street:

We all were wowed!

I was delighted to see nativity lights over another street.

Finally coming to the square where the lighting would happen, we saw a mobile stage set up and heard music blaring from a local FM station. One of the DJs was there hosting the event live.

Some women from X-Factor performed, but I think they were early drop outs from the show.

The music was a bit too loud for Jacob, so we departed before the tree was lit, though we did get a shot of the pre-lit tree.

Lucy didn't mind the noise level

Also, there's a nativity scene in the same square behind the stage. And a large rotating snowflake that Jacob admired.

Don't ask why the wise men have security tags on their backsides!

Jacob was mesmerized by the spinning snowflake

On our way back, we went into a charity shop that had mostly books. All the second hand/thrift stores in the UK are attached to some charity, so customers are supporting the charity when they make purchases or donate there. We found a signed copy of Garth Nix's Lirael and bought it without a second thought.

It was a fun excursion, even if we didn't get to meet Father Christmas.

Are those Tiny Tim's crutches on the ends?