What can we do on Christmas Day?

[PoptartPoptart]

Just looking to do something different on Christmas Day this year. There will be me, DH and my parents who are early 70’s.

DC are at their dads on Christmas Day so we will be having a traditional Christmas dinner, presents etc on Boxing Day.

Any ideas what we can do? Don’t want to go out to eat as it will cost a fortune plus we’ll be having a roast with all the trimmings the following day.

Are cinemas open in Christmas Day? Any other suggestions?
We’re in London btw.

Quite frankly, bar sightseeing on foot, there’s not a whole lot to go and see. If it’s a Bank Holiday, parking by London Bridge is stupidly cheap, park up, wander round the outside of the Tower, walk along the bridge and the South Bank.
www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/whats-on/christmas/things-to-do-in-london-on-christmas-day

parkrun, there are tonnes in London and several have an extra event on Christmas Day. You can walk or volunteer (or just watch) if you’re not into running.

Drink gin from sun up until sun down......

Thanks for the link, I’ll have a look.

DM has dodgy knees so walking for long periods is not possible.

I quite like the idea of going for a short walk and stopping for afternoon tea or something, just to get out for awhile, but obviously everywhere only seems to cater for Christmas lunch.

If it were just me and DH we’d happily just stay in PJ’s all day and drink gin
But my parents will be here too so looking for some sort of outing, even if it’s just a couple of hours.

Go to an Indian or Chinese restaurant. I know China town in Manchester is open Xmas day so London should be too.

Play board games, how long is it since you did that?

Go for a walk, take a flask and something nice to munch.

Oooh I like the idea of an Indian or Chinese restaurant, thanks!

Tbf we do play board games quite a lot with the DC (early teens) and will probably do this on Boxing Day.

A fair amount of pubs are open for Christmas lunch. It's worth looking around locally.

Is the Goal mile a thing in the UK? You run/walk/crawl a mile and donate to the charity. It's very popular here in Ireland and it's a nice way to get out for a short while on Xmas day. Short distance too so I imagine it'd be manageable.

Which part of London are you?
North london? A walk on Hampstead Heath and a pint in a pretty old pub?
Or west London and swap the Heath for Richmond Park.
A Chinese, Indian or Japanese.

Best thing we ever did was make packed lunches and go for a long walk.

You could do an afternoon tea at home, smoked salmon sandwiches etc, mini sausage rolls, buttered crumpets, mince pies......

Are you close to any National Trust places? They may have an event planned, or have a walk around their gardens?

We’re in west London so Richmond Park is an option, if it’s open on Christmas Day?
I didn’t think national trust places would be open, I’ll have a google.

you've got to watch Miracle on 34th street afternoon/evening, or at least we do,box of chocs to dip into .Christmas tradition, that
Walk about in the morning, cos the lights are good - where I am, the Sally Ann are playing carols, dive into the pub for some christmas cheer, then home to watch aforementioned film.

How about a church service? Would be very festive and many include a cuppa and mince pie?

Not into games?

melin- we will be going to midnight mass on Christmas Eve as usual but have never gone on Christmas Day. I’ll have a look at the service times.

keepserving- yes we’re very into board games but we’ll likely be playing them a lot on Boxing Day when the DC get back from their dads.

I just fancied getting out and doing something different on Christmas Day this year rather than just 4 adults sitting round a dining room table.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Where can you walk, even if locally? It will be unique as all the shops will be shut. You will meet all the dog owners incidentally.

Volunteer somewhere?

Personally if I had a child free Xmas day I would volunteer at Shelter or something similar. Not much going on in London really on Xmas day if you're not eating out.

Can you drive to the coast easily? I love doing a seaside trip in the winter 🙂

DH and I have already said that we would love to volunteer somewhere like Shelter on Christmas Day one day in the future.
Not possible this year as we have my parents with us. They are in their 70’s and my mum in particular is not in the best of health.
But definitely something I’d love to do in a few years time.

We could drive to a he coast I guess. Brighton is the closest.

Some great suggestions, thanks all

I'm watching with interest ,South London and in the same boat .

The best I can think of is cosy up indoors for Christmas Eve and go to a church service on the day .St Pauls/St Martins in the Fields/ Westminster Abbey .

Which is your nearest hospital? You could take small gifts in for staff who are working. Biscuits, crisps etc - I took a carrier bag of treats to A and E the week after I'd been admitted to say thank you/ I don't think anyone had ever taken anything to them before. Everyone seems to send things to the wards.

Some hospitals have their canteen open but not all do so some staff have to get their Xmas meal out of a vending machine.

Isn't there a n Xmas day outdoor swim somewhere? Maybe not for your parents.

There are bus tours! www.premiumtours.co.uk/category/christmas-tours-london