Alexis Akwagyiram BBC News

Santa has begun entertaining guests as Christmas approaches

Retail analysts have suggested that people are shopping increasingly late as they wait for the best Christmas bargains.

But the heaving throng of shoppers who engulfed London's Regent Street on the last Saturday of November told a different story.

Christmas lights hang from lamp-posts in all their garish glory, while tinsel-coated shop displays boast about reduced prices and Santa is appearing on street corners.

In Hamleys toy shop, the final drive towards Christmas has begun in earnest.

Steve Hamilton, the shop's events manager, is planning the festive sales push as if it were a military operation.

"Christmas officially starts for us at the end of November and it shows on the shop floor," he said.

"Some say people are doing their Christmas shopping later and later, but we're finding that it is already busy and, from my experience, it will continue to be manic throughout December."

A trip to the world-famous toy shop, or any large department store in central London, is not for the faint-hearted.

Crowded shops

The shop floors are generally crowded, making it difficult to do more than shuffle, while escalator attendants are on hand to tell people not to stop moving.

Meanwhile, background store music is barely audible above the cacophony of children throwing tantrums or shrieking with delight.

These are not places to quietly contemplate gifts for loved ones.

Visibly stressed parents sigh and roll their eyes as they stoically attempt to negotiate the twin pressures of excitable youngsters and seemingly never-ending queues.

But not everyone is suffering in silence.

Jim Banks, 43, and his partner Sheree Kirkman decided to take their two grand-sons shopping in central London.

The Banks family enjoyed their Christmas shopping experience

Speaking from the crowded Hamleys shop floor, Mr Banks said: "We've all enjoyed ourselves. The children are having a great time, which is good to see.

"We have to accept that it is extremely exciting for them and just get on with it."

But Mr Bank's veneer of serenity crumbled at the prospect of the inevitable queues.

"We haven't been brave enough to face Santa's grotto - it looks very busy - and I'm not looking forward to queuing to pay either as I always find that is the most stressful part," he said.

In London people are usually in a rush and I'm used to people being rude, but its even worse than usual David Jones, social services worker

As people struggled to navigate central London's busy streets, tempers shortened and irritable shoppers pushed those around them in an attempt to break free from the pack.

David Jones, a social services worker from Islington, north London, was distinctly unhappy with the volume of people out shopping on Oxford Street.

He said: "You can definitely tell what time of the year it is, the vibe on the street has changed - it is much busier than usual.

"In London people are usually in a rush and I'm used to people being rude, but its even worse than usual."

Mr Jones, 23, added: "I don't see why people bother doing their festive shopping so early, I won't be buying any presents until the week before Christmas."

But near Soho, where Oxford Street's large department stores are replaced by smaller shops and boutiques, the pavements lost their haphazard edge.

Kiran Singh said central London was not as busy as he expected

The crowds thinned and the area resembled an average Saturday afternoon.

Kiran Singh and his wife, Rani, who visited London from Essex, enjoyed a peaceful day shopping in the quieter parts of Oxford Street.

Mr Singh, 27, a civil servant from Hainult, said: "We've had a lovely day. It hasn't been as busy as we expected, which has come as a pleasant surprise.

"To be honest it feels like a regular Saturday afternoon."

Despite the relative calm of the smaller shops, the frenzy of London's large department stores are an indicator of what lies ahead across the UK over the next month.