Harrods

The 30th President of the United States Calvin Coolidge said that "Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas". But he forgot one thing, because Christmas is a time to spend money.

If you didn't finish your Christmas shopping yet, you are in time to visit one of the London's Big Five department stores: Liberty, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and, of course, Harrods.

And if, like most of the population, you don't have budget to shop in these stores, you can also enjoy the awesome windows that all of them have prepared for this special holidays.

Last year, Harrods Christmas set was inspired by the classic British steam train. On 2014, this emblematic store "celebrates Christmas with The Land Of Make Believe, a fantasy winter tale where magical mice arrive at Harrods to help Father Christmas transform the store ready for the festive season..." Designers like Zuhair Murad, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen have worked for the store this season.

But Harrods is more than a store. Thanks to Mohamed Al-Fayed, who was chairman of Harrods since 1985, it is also a very important London landmark. Although nowadays, and since 2010, the store is Qatar Holdings' property, the investment house has preserved some of the memorials. One of them is dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Al-Fayed, Mohamed Al-Fayed's son and it is located at the base of the Egyptian Escalator. Another one it is entitled "Innocent Victims" and it is located by the escalator at door three.

But not everything in Harrods was easy. Mohamed Al-Fayed was criticised for selling animal fur and, on 2004, an unfortunate marketing campaign made use of the Indian goddesses to advertise Roberto Cavalli's feminine underwear line. In the last years, Harrods was criticised because the wife of the President of Syria Asma al-Assad, using an alias, made purchases online on this store despite the economic sanctions imposed by the UE. Seven months ago, the press knew, because of a parody in a Middle East website, that Harrods' Qatari owners had banned shoppers from different countries to prevent them to go into the store.

And one last secret. Until 1916, you could buy cocaine and heroin on Harrods. Also the store was selling a "A Welcome Present for Friends at the Front", a kit that contained cocaine, morphine, syringes and needles. I guess not all beginnings are good.