Christmas came early as St. Nicholas dressed in a swimming costume and abandoned his vacation to help kick off Christmas world at Harrods department store in London.

With only 141 shopping days left until Christmas, Harrods helped kick off the hectic season by inviting St. Nicholas to launch Christmas world on Tuesday (August 5).

Eight tonnes of sand were wheeled into Knightsbridge for a five foot high sculpture that took four days to complete.

Among some of the highlights of the Christmas department included eight kilometres of tinsel, 1500 snow globes, and 1000 tree toppers. The most expensive item was an eight foot tall Woodland Santa, valued at 1,700 GBP (3,400 USD).