Selfridges' Christmas shop opens 143 days before the big day

There may still be 143 shopping days to go before the big day but Selfridges has just opened its Christmas shop – as Londoners bask in warm summer sunshine.

While temperatures topped 22C in parts of the capital on Tuesday, shoppers were being urged to visit the West End department store, which has transformed a 3,000 sq-ft space on its fourth floor into an eye-popping winter wonderland full of gifts and decorations.

Among products expected to be a big hit are personalised decorations, the Magical Forest – which includes wood-based decor – and various woodland creatures.

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The iconic store's festive theme this year is "Journey to the Stars", with influences including spirituality, mysticism and magic.

And, true to form, Father Christmas was on hand for Monday's launch. Asked if he should be taking it easy in August, he replied: "Relaxing? Oh, I'm afraid not. Christmas is all year round – I do take a little break in January but now is build-up time, getting ready for the big day."

Selfridges' Christmas home and decorations buyer Geraldine James said: "Despite the summer weather, we're in full festive mode here at Selfridges. We've been working on this year's Christmas shop since Christmas last year."

The second phase of the Christmas shop's opening will come in the autumn, when the floor space will be more than doubled to 60,000 sq ft. At that stage, it will boast more than 60,000 baubles, over 120 cracker options, and more than 1,250 different card and wrapping paper designs.

And if you think the Selfridges opening is premature, reflect on the claim that more than a million Britons had already finished their Christmas shopping last month.