It’s the most wonderful time of the year: the weeks right before Christmas, when you get to wander round festoon-lit markets, listen to festive music, realise you’ve spent your entire gift budget on mulled wine, panic, comfort-eat a wheel’s worth of molten raclette, reassure yourself that the true spirit of Christmas is about togetherness and not material goods, then happily grab a friend or two and head off to one of these wonderful festive pop-ups.
Or maybe that’s just us.
In either case, here are the best, winteriest, Christmassiest things to do in town…
1) Bob Along In A Floating Igloo
The team behind London’s finest cruising chimeras, the BBQ boats and hot tub boats, have launched something new this winter: igloo boats. You’ll get to float along the glittering waterways of Canary Wharf in your own little bubble, complete with hot water bottles, fondue and booze…
Details: From 21st November | Canary Wharf | £45pp+ | Nudge Members can book with 50% off – see more info
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2) Watch Festive Flicks in a Victorian Subway
Gerd und Ula/Flickr
The stately Crystal Palace subway has been closed off to the public for 70 years, but Pop Up Screens are about to deck the halls with tinsel and fairyliphts for atmospheric screenings of from Elf, Love Actually, Home Alone and more. Plus, there’ll be a full bar loaded with popcorn, sweets and booze (you can also bring your own snacks if you fancy).
Details: 6th-15th December | Crystal Palace Subway, Crystal Palace Parade, London SE19 2BA | £15 + booking fee
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3) Scoff Toasted Brioche Gelato Sandwiches
A picture tells a thousand words… but 28 additional ones would be “Gelupo has transformed from a plain ol’ ice cream shop to a winter pitstop hawking boozy hot chocolates, toasted brioche gelato sandwiches, and outrageous brandy & custard bombardini“.
Details: 7 Archer St, W1D 7AU | Nudge Members get 50% off until 27th November – find out more here
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4) Wander Through The Gingerbread City
Luke Hayes
If Dorothy had ended up here instead of the Emerald City, there’s no way she’d have been bothered about getting back home. This now-annual tradition sees around 50 architects and engineers turn their finely tuned minds to the serious business of constructing an entire village of gingerbread houses, caramel waterfalls and candy floss steam trains – just try not to eat the artwork.
Details: 30th November – 29th December | The Gaumont, 196-222 King’s Rd, London SW3 5XP | £13
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5) Watch Christmas Classics – From A Hot Tub
The team behind London’s hot tub boats are bringing back their Hot Tub Film Club, where you can watch a cult flick al fresco from the comfort of your own toasty jacuzzi tug boat. On the slate: Elf and Home Alone, and you don’t even have to get out of your boat to order more drinks.
Details: Sundays & Mondays throughout December | West India Quay, Off Hertsmere Road, London E14 4AL | £39+
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6) Swing By The Rivoli Ballroom Cinema
If you’ve never been to the Rivoli, it’s worth going for the interiors alone: it’s a totally untouched 1950s ballroom in South East London, with a shimmering vaulted ceiling, chandeliers, and deep scarlet walls. The fact that they’re turning the whole place into a pop-up festive cinema this December is just the icing on the cake, really. Just be warned that the bookkeeping system hasn’t updated since the 50s either, and it’s a cash-only bar.
Details: 20th – 22nd December | Rivoli Ballroom, 350 Brockley Road, Crofton Park, SE4 2BY | £10
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7) Eat Fondue At Every Possible Juncture
Fondue, raclette, tartiflette, Dairylea triangles… tis the season for cheese. And London’s restaurants, bars and pop-up terraces are duly obliging, with cheese-themed supper clubs, special menus and more. See all the best places to eat cheese in London
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8) Sip Hot Cocktails On A Candlelit Rooftop
Mariah was just being polite. All she really wanted for Christmas is a secluded rooftop pop-up high above the crowds of Central London, with a menu of warming gin cocktails and Alpine treats enveloped by twinkling candles and lanterns. Unfortunately, she didn’t know about the Winter Gin Garden…
Details: Until 31st December | Ham Yard Hotel, 1 Ham Yard, Soho, W1D 7DT | £24 (inc. welcome cocktail)
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9) Bop To Christmas Bangers at Between The Bridges
Between The Bridges has put on its winter coat, and as well as kitting the place out with tinsel and heaters, the programme’s had a festive makeover too – most nights of the week you’ll be able to get down to some Christmas choons, from euphoric massaoke singalongs to big band gigs with the inimitable Old Dirty Brasstards.
Details: Throughout December | The Queen’s Walk, Southbank, SE1 | Individually ticketed
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10) Spread Dickensian Cheer at The Great Christmas Feast
What the Dickens is the best immersive Christmas feast taking place in London this festive season? Funny you should ask. Because it’s unquestionably The Great Christmas Feast: a ravishing live retelling of Dickens’ Christmas Carol, with a three-course banquet woven into the story itself, inside a lantern-lit recreation of the author’s own home, along with old fashioned cocktails, live music, and more…
Details: Until 12th January | The Lost Estate, 9 Beaumont Ave, W14 9LP | £135+
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11) Test The Limits of Your Stomach at Fire & Fromage
This riverside pop-up is offering up an all-you-can-eat fromage fest. You’ll get to devour as much raclette as you can humanly handle – alongside all the prerequisite bread, potatoes and cornichons – then top it off with a boozy hot chocolate. Oh, and there are open fire pits for marshmallow toasting, should you get peckish again.
Details: Until 31st December | By The Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, Southbank, SE1 8XX | £35
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12) Hit London’s Christmas Markets
Online shopping threatens to suck you into a bottomless vortex of gift options. Oxford Street requires nerves of steel to navigate. If you want to complete your Christmas shopping with at least a shred of dignity remaining, you’ll head to one of London’s gloriously Christmassy pop-up markets, where you’ll pick up one-of-a-kind gifts to secure the unending affection of your loved ones, support local independents and get smashed on mulled wine while you’re at it. Sounds like a win-win-win. SEE LONDON’S BEST CHRISTMAS MARKETS
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13) Go Ice Skating
It’s the quintessential Christmassy London activity, where you’ll get to unleash your inner Dancing On Ice diva before holing up at the après skate with a hot chocolate, mulled wine or a mince pie. And as usual, London’s biggest monuments are getting in on the action – you can skate in 18th century courtyards, Tudor palaces, and iconic art deco power stations. SEE THE BEST ICE RINKS IN LONDON
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14) Brush Off The Competition at Club Curling
The pop-up curling lanes at King’s Cross have been given a neon-drenched makeover courtesy of God’s Own Junkyard this year. So after demonstrating your superior sporting prowess by hurling some big discs on castor wheels towards a target, you can celebrate with a mulled wine or two inside a dazzling fluorescent cabin bar…
Details: Until 2nd March 2025 | Coal Drops Yard, London N1C 4DQ | £9
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15) Join The Christmas Pajama Party at The Prince Charles Cinema
You’re probably going to do this at home anyway, so why not put on your finest night-togs and settle in for a festive movie marathon at one of the finest independent cinemas in London. The Prince Charles Cinema is showing The Muppets Christmas Carol, Elf, Gremlins, Home Alone and Die Hard across one epic sleepover, with a bar open till 2am.
Details: 21st December, 11pm-9am | Prince Charles Cinema, 7 Leicester Pl, London WC2H 7BY | £20
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16) Go Carolling
Emile Holba
Whether you’re a herald angel or more of a cattle lowing in the singing stakes, there are plenty of atmospheric spots for a little carolling in the city, from candlelit churches to pub singalongs. SEE THIS YEAR’S CAROLS & CHRISTMAS CONCERTS
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17) …Or Go To Organoke
Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like: a night of mass karaoke, backed up by one enormous Victorian organ. It all goes down in a stunning church in Camberwell, which naturally is the perfect setting for a load of Londoners to get boozed up and belt out The Pogues at top volume.
Details: 12th, 14th & 15th December | St. Giles’ Church Camberwell, Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8RB | £29
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18) Brave The Crowds at Winter Wonderland
Look, it’s a rite of passage to join literally thousands of other Londoners in what’s undoubtedly the city’s biggest festive attraction. And with real ice slides, fairground rides, warming drinks, skating and a magical ice kingdom to explore, you might even have a little fun.
Details: Until 5th January | Hyde Park, London W2 | Free entry off-peak, £5-7.50 otherwise
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19) Snuggle Up On A Winter Rooftop
Thanks to the miracles of modern science, rooftops are for Christmas, not just for summer. Cosy up on these terraces decked out with fur throws, snuggly blankets, candles and fairy-lights… and in some cases, about six storeys underneath you. SEE LONDON’S BEST WINTER ROOFTOPS & TERRACES
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20) Book A Feast in a Private Dining Room
Christmas is all about close friends and family, tucking into delicious food, in a cosy, festively decorated room… and if that room isn’t in your house, you don’t have to do the washing up. SEE LONDON’S BEST PRIVATE DINING ROOMS
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21) Cosy Up in a Pub With An Open Fire
Christmas shopping can wait. Park yourself up by a roaring fireside in one of these decadently cosy boozers, crack out the board games, sip a mulled wine or two and finish up with a stellar Sunday roast. Just remember to BYO chestnuts. DISCOVER THE BEST LONDON PUBS WITH OPEN FIRES
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22) Try To Score A Seat At Miracle
Reservations for this festive hand-grenade of a cocktail bar are usually snapped up by mid-October, but if you can manage to score one of their later-release bookings – or failing that, a walk-in slot – there aren’t many better places to enjoy an eggnog served out of Santa’s pants.
Details: Until 23rd December | Henrietta Hotel, 14 – 15 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 8QH
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23) Go On A Christmas Lights Crawl
Sure, they’ve basically been up since Hallowe’en. But what better excuse for a crisp wintry walk through town, soaking up the festive atmosphere, than following a route of sparkling Christmas lights? We’ve put together a list of what’s up this year, plus suggestions for where to eat, drink and snack along the way.
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24) Follow A Winter Light Trail
Jeff Eden
Of course, some of London’s open spaces go a step further, with stunning after-dark light displays, featuring illuminated artworks, installations and more. TAKE A LOOK AT LONDON’S BEST LIGHT TRAILS
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25) Gorge Yourself On A Festive Afternoon Tea
Time to start training your belly for a fortnight of festive overeating. London’s finest restaurants, hotels and theatres are putting on extravagant festive menus all across town. Because if a tower of yule logs, mince pies, Christmassy cupcakes and turkey sandwiches sounds good to you, then this might just be your cup of tea… SEE THE BEST FESTIVE AFTERNOON TEAS
Looking for more inspiration? Check out these fun things to do in London this month