Thank you guys! This is exactly the case.

The only possible way to not have a long layover was to travel on other airlines and I'd rather have 10 hrs layover and fly on airfrance or british airways than travel on other airlines ( Which I have already tried). The other issue is that I am allowed to have a 10-15 days vacation once a year and everyday matters to me, I try to avoid wasting a day in another country. It is very complicated :)

Serina, you might want to prebook a Christmas lunch as well. Look at www.lastminute.co.uk . Or I suspect the Hilton Paddington (just to name one hotel right by Paddington) must have some dining options that day but I don't know what they would require in respect to prebooking. Everything I have read indicates that there is very little open, including eating places. I have been to London on Dec. 26 (which was fine), but never Dec. 25.

flanner: I thought so too - about no HEX on Christmas day. But before I responded, I went to the website just to make doubly sure. I tried booking the HEX on 25 Dec and it let me go all the way up to where I would have entered my cc info. So that's why I mentioned the HEX. Now - maybe they have a substitute coach service or something. Since I didn't finish the transaction, I don't know if there would be special instructions. -- but they were more than willing to sell me a HEX ticket at the regular (outrageous) fare so I don't <i>think</i> it would be the Paddington bus..

Here's the info for Christmas Day 2009:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_...s_2009/HX.html

Well done WT.

So janisj and I were both half-right. Or half-wrong, depending depending which side of the great Drinking Device Replenishment debate you're on.

For Christmas Day, I would just book a hotel room at the airport. There is just so little open on Christmas Day that it just isn't worth heading further afield. The HEX service, in particular, is not of that much use, since it only runs until 2pm.

Flying BA, I assume you will be in and out of T5, in which case the Sofitel is perhaps the best option. The Hilton at T4 also has a shuttle from T5, or you can use the train to get between terminals. Also in T4, you have the Yotel. Myself, I would book in one of these rather than trying to go off-airport and dealing with the Hoppa bus.