We will be in London 12/26-1/2 and are beginning to think about clothing needs. Living in a warmer climate(Texas), we are not prepared for the damp cold. I need some help in the clothing department.

Should we plan for snow or just cold rain? Do we need boots or are street shoes sufficient? Our four children will be with us 15,12,10,8---any specific suggestions for them?

I am also a Texan who visited London at that time last year. There was not snow, just rain. I don't believe it ever got below freezing, at least not during the day, but be prepared for cool weather and some rain. I wore boots, but any water-resistant shoe probably would have been OK. I don't have kids and can't help you with that part of your question.

HI
I've always lived in the N.E. USA and I own warm coats and boots, and I've found London weather in Dec and Jan. to <b>feel&lt;B/&gt; colder than it does at home.
It's the dampness I guess.

Layering is key, and that for me means lightweight silk 'ski' underwear under my clothes. I buy them from wintersilks.com I wear that layer, plus a turtleneck, plus a sweater of blazer, then an outer jacket. If I can do without a layer, of course I do. Or, just wear cotton tee shirts under your sweaters and such, but that's bulkier.
Waterproof shoes (see LL Bean or Land's End) or boots are important, wet feet are miserable.</b>

sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away with the bold print

Snow is very rare in London, and even when it falls, rarely stays on the ground as snow. But weather forecasting in Britain is very difficult, and if it's going to snow this winter, it's more likely then than almost any other time.

It's almost guaranteed to be at least cool and wet, and you should be spending quite a bit of time outside. Boots aren't usually necessary: but good, robust shoes that will stay dry all day and be comfortable to walk in all day are THE absolutely indispensable clothing items. You might also ensure they've got non-slip soles: although snow's very unlikely, road surfaces can often get icy.

All of which said, snow can't be totally ruled out, so check again right before leaving for Britain. Even then, British weather can always surprise hte forecasters.

I was in London last year right before Christmas with my three children, all a few years older than yours. They wore &quot;sturdy&quot; leather shoes and had a couple of pairs so that if one got wet, they had another to wear. You will not see anyone in London wearing waterproof shoes from LL Bean. (Would you wear them in New York?)I had a long waterproof coat and my kids had waterproof jackets and we had umbrellas. None of us wore thermal or silk undies, but we layered with cotton shirts and sweaters. It rained several times while we were there, and was quite cold, and then a bit more in Edinburgh. We were just fine. You could be lucky and have no rain at all.

My dear, I live in London and have no need for ski-style underwear. Ordinary shoes are perfectly alright. However, if you aren't bring a few pairs of leather soled daytime shoes you're best off with rubber soled versions. Leather soled shoes take at least three days to dry out from the rain.

As for coats, wool full length worn with a jacket, and shirt/sweater and thermal underwear for the upper half will be more than sufficient to protect you from the cold when coupled with a scarf and a pair of fine leather gloves.

As for snow, you can always buy rubber galoshes when you're over here if the need arises.

MK2:

Where in London do you buy galoshes? Whenever mine rot away, I have to wait for a trip to New York or Toronto to get a new pair.

I think Elaine is right. While it gets very cold in Colorado (in the minus degrees farenheit) I find the London cold more bone chilling. Probably the wet. Be sure to wear gloves, scarves and hats. Street shoes should be fine.

Only as a child did I possess such items, I've never ever had the need to these days. I use a pair of old leather boots that have seen happier days - snow stains leather irreversibly so don't wear fine shoes in those conditions.

As a New Yorker who walks a lot, I will respond to the above question that yes, when I am casually dressed, I do wear waterproof shoes or short boots of some kind, LL Bean or Land's End were just two suggestions for sturdy and not-expensive ones. I own several styles of waterproof boots and shoes, short, tall, etc. I don't want to ruin my good shoes in heavy rain and I don't want wet feet. Even when I'm dressed for the office I wear waterproof boots in bad weather, or I wear the ugly ones and change when I get to the office, and if I'm dressed for the evening I wear rain boots (or just an old pair of shoes I don't care about) and carry my good ones to put on at my destination. My good ones are too valuable to me to ruin. But that's for evening, not for serious daytime walking.