Now that December is here, there are just a few weeks to go until December 25 and Christmas shopping has started in earnest.

The Westgate Centre and city centre streets including Cornmarket, Queen Street, High Street and Broad Street - and the Covered Market -  can all expect to be busy in the run-up to December 25.

Boswells and Debenhams have gone but Oxford still has a department store - John Lewis at Westgate.

READ MORE: Christmas shoppers advised to use park and ride 

There is a 'Winter Wonderland' market at the Westgate Centre, and a Christmas market in Broad Street.

Oxford Mail: And drivers have been advised that it's best to use park and ride or other bus services if they don't want to end up getting stuck in traffic queues.

Christmas shopping jams could be particularly bad this year as the Botley Road is closed at the rail bridge, forcing more traffic onto other routes including the Abingdon Road.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.