Christmas Events in London

With Christmas just two weeks away you should be in a festive mood by now. To help celebrate this time of year, loads of attractions and events pop up around London. Here we round up some of the very best Christmassy things going on this year.

Christmas Markets

There is nothing quite like a good Christmas market to get you in the spirit. There are the smells of the delicious food and drink, brass bands playing all the old favourites and loads of last-minute, unusual gifts. There are great markets all over London, but there are some that really stand out.

Covent Garden at Christmas is always nice, and the Christmas market based around the piazza is one of the highlights (plus there is a giant Lego advent calendar and reindeer petting!). Centring around the Southbank Centre, there is a huge market stretching along the Thames. The traditionally German themed market has a wide selection of gifts and toys, as well as choirs singing carols, whilst the Real Food Market has all the amazing meats, cheeses and mulled wine you could want.

If you're looking for something a little bit different, then the Camden Lock Night Market is perfect, offering vintage items, fashion, arts, crafts and home ware, all in the typical Camden style.

Carol Services

You can't go through Christmas without singing a few carols. London has some spectacular churches and they are never more amazing than at Christmas time. They all have Christmas programmes, with choirs singing, as well as more audience participation.

Coming up this week, Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church on Friday (14th December) has a free evening of carols with special guest Brazilian tenor Luciano Botelho. The king of all the churches in London- St. Paul's Cathedral is also holding a free Christmas carol service on Saturday 22nd December. For a more informal sing-along, Trafalgar Square has different choirs singing every evening up until the 22nd December, with all donations going to charity.

Winter Wonderland

Every year Hyde Park is taken over by all things Christmas. There is a big Christmas Market, fairground rides, a giant ferris wheel, two circuses and an ice rink. Plus new this year, there is a ‘Magical Ice Kingdom' with sculptures, rooms, pathways and even a forest, all carved out of 200 tonnes of ice. If you're looking to get into the festive spirit there really is nowhere on such large scale. Entry into the grounds is free, but be warned that everything inside costs money and isn't cheap. Still, can you put a price on Christmas? (yes you can).

Ice Rinks

There is a great tradition in London for ice rinks to appear in the month of December at some of the Capital's best know locations. And this year is no different. You can barely move for ice rinks at the moment and they are a brilliant way to spend a fun, festive afternoon.

Some of the best rinks can be found at iconic locations like the National History Museum, Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London, the London Eye and Somerset House. Most are open until the beginning of January and have loads of special events going on throughout December.

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