Selfridges’ Christmas this year comes with a New York-style café, a Broadway-inspired Snow Show and a Parisian cabaret after dark, as part of Christmas and the City, the department store’s festive campaign across London, Manchester, Birmingham and online.
The theme draws on the traditions of real and imagined cities around the world, from Downtown to the West End, with fireworks and Christmas lights, carnival and cabaret, and big yellow taxis alongside Selfridges’ own big yellow shopping bags.
“Christmas and the City has been imagined by our teams to create special memories to share and to make everyone feel welcome. Selfridges has always moved with the energy of our cities, and this Christmas, at the heart of London, Manchester and Birmingham, we’re celebrating cities real and imagined from around the world. There’s no place like Selfridges at Christmas; it’s a truly unmissable experience.”
André Maeder, CEO, Selfridges
Eating in the Downtown Café
The Downtown Café is now open in the London store, with illuminated skyscrapers as a backdrop, festive scenes in every window and a subway carriage where guests can sit and eat. Afternoon tea, New York diner classics and signature cocktails make up the menu, with a Lox Bagel, Classic Hot Dog, Pastrami Club Sandwich, Warm Cookies & Ice Cream, NYC Cheesecake and Coke Float among the dishes.
Booking brunch at the café in London also secures the best seats for the Snow Show, a Broadway-style performance with music that ends in snowfall. The show is headlined by the Showgirl, dressed in fuchsia pink, and is open to all at the London, Birmingham and Manchester Exchange Square stores.
Cabaret, panettone and coffee
Later in the evening, the Cloakroom Bar becomes a late-night Parisian cabaret for the season, with midnight blue interiors, low lighting, theatrical festive cocktails and an appearance from the Showgirl. Tickets for performances can be booked for selected Thursdays in November and December.
At Manchester’s Exchange Square store, San Carlo Bottega is hosting The Big Panettone Party, a three-course family meal with live music and panettone to finish, and a cocktail party dress code.
On Duke Street, a Ralph’s Coffee pop-up opens on 26 October, serving hot drinks, sweet treats and souvenirs to people stopping to look at the windows, including the New York City scene.
At 40 Duke, VSP and VVSP members can book a festive menu, dining and entertainment experiences such as The Christmas Table and Live at 40 Duke, as well as services including a hampers concierge and bespoke cake orders.
Twelve cities in the Oxford Street windows
The 12 Selfridges windows on Oxford Street show Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Lagos, New York City, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Milan, Paris, London and Vice City, following Santa’s journey by way of a Milanese aperitivo bar, the rooftops of Paris and a Bangkok tuk-tuk. Oxford Street’s pedestrianisation, which begins on 26 October, is expected to give visitors more reason to linger at the windows.
Santa’s new companions are the Bellhops and Showgirls, who act as guides to the entertainment in each store. Their bespoke costumes, and Santa’s, are by Max Allen, the artist and theatrical designer and a long-term Selfridges collaborator. The Bellhops, dressed in Selfridges yellow, will appear on every floor, and Santa and his elves are in store from 1 December.
Brand collaborations reimagining Christmas favourites, from films to fry-ups, run through the season. Among them, Disney returns to Selfridges with a festive experience inspired by Home Alone, with exclusive product collections, food based on scenes from the film and immersive activations from Disney+. In June, Disney announced that it would open Disney Store spaces at Selfridges Birmingham and Manchester Trafford.
Art, trees and yellow taxis
At the Art Block, Selfridges’ public art space at the Duke Street entrance, Gary Card’s 2026 Christmas commission, ‘The Parakeets Have Landed’, gives London’s wild parakeet population a new home. The Orchard Street windows are by London-based set designer and art director Saskia Martindale, who has used materials of the city, handmade props and colourful set builds to create three takes on the Christmas tree.
Yellow taxis inspired by New York cabs, carrying the line ‘All roads lead to Selfridges’, will run across London and Birmingham, while a yellow tram takeover in Manchester will stop at both the Trafford and Exchange Square stores.
For shoppers, Selfridges describes this year’s edit of gifts and partywear as its most extensive yet, with exclusive products and collaborations only available at Selfridges, alongside the city-inspired Christmas Shop that opened in September. Gift wrapping and a gifting concierge are offered in store, and Keyholders in Selfridges Unlocked, the retailer’s membership programme, have first access to products, experiences and services throughout the campaign.
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