Christmas in London

[nomcachange]

We are taking the kids (aged 2 and 5) there for a Christmassey day out next month. I used to take the older one frequently pre-pandem, but not since.

We've booked the theatre, will book a kiddy restaurant too. Would like to see Christmassey stuff and I'm thinking Oxford/Regent St for the lights and Cov Gdn for the vibes. Possibly Winter Wonderland, assuming that's on, if we can face it..! Is there anything Christmassey at the NHM or Science Museum? I feel I should take them there but also don't want to squander the festive opportunity!

Any must-dos from those in the know?

Thanks!

Unfortunately I believe that ice skating at National history museum has been stopped this year. But you could do ice skating at Somerset house which is beautiful (They have those little penguins for little children to use on the ice)
Tower of London
Lights are particularly lovely round the back of Piccadilly - try New Bond Street
St James Church Piccadilly is lovely and festive and has a family Carol service depending on your dates
The winter festival (basically Christmas market) on the Southbank has nice stalls similar to winter wonderland but without the tacky rides if you don't fancy schlepping over to Hyde park
Also a similar Christmas market along the Thames by London Bridge city with log cabins etc if you go to the Tower
I think the globe has a Christmassy show for all ages

I think that's plenty already for kids so young. They will be shattered.

@TrainSet thank you for these ideas, super helpful!

@Dartmoorcheffy thank you for the parenting advice. I'm not planning to do it all 😂Just would like all the options so that we can cherry-pick one or two to do around the theatre. But thanks again!

PS sorry bit harsh there 👀

Me and DH went this weekend.

We did Kew and it was magic.

Convent Garden was lovely too.

Wasn't all that fussed about Regent Street.

Oh and Leicester Square had a little christmas market which was lovely

Fortnums is beautiful at Christmas, you could treat them to a cake or macaroon?

What time is your theatre show, and what time will you arrive/leave and where? London is a massive place, so ideas of what to do will depend on this!

I'm not giving you parenting advice. I lived in London for 20 years and it will be really busy this time of year and I was just trying to suggest not planning or paying ahead to do too much as you will all be exhausted.

I forgot to say Christmas at Kew is absolutely amazing for younger ones but it sells out in June! I highly recommend booking for next year though - our young DC love it!

We did skating at Somerset house last year which was fab, then walked to Covent Garden and up to Fortnums and then had supper in china town. That took all day and it was hugely busy.

Go and see the harrods window display

I walked through Covent Garden and Leicester Square yesterday and whilst they’ve always been a bit lame and touristy they now just look really shoddy tbh. Might be worth going to CG if you tied it in with the Transport Museum which often does really good Christmas activities but wouldn’t make a special trip.

Christmas lights and attractions (and shopping) in Canary Wharf are much nicer than Oxford Street, there’s also a seasonal ice rink and ice sculpture park.

I think bus 139 is considered the best for seeing Christmas lights

If you're going to Covent garner anyway I'd go to the transport museum instead of the science museum. They have lots of Xmas activities and you can see Santa there too included in the price

I agree with London transport museum. Really good and a great location. The Postal Museum is good too

Let us know if you manage to book a nice restaurant. Even the basics like Bills are hard to get into :(

Winter Wonderland is almost empty if you choose the 12-2 weekday slot (you do need to pre-book). We were there today. The circus was almost a private audience and literally no queue for the ice slide or anything, really. I believe it gets more rowdy and busy later on but we love wandering among the stalls. It does not cost hundreds if you pick a couple of nice rides in advance and is extremely well connected if you want to go on to somewhere else straight afterwards.

The Selfridges window display is nicer than the Harrods one IMO (and close to WW) as is the Hard Rock café which has a good kids menu.

Thanks everyone for your ideas.

I love the sound of the bus trip to see the lights, i’d never have thought of that! Will check it out, thanks @Davros.

I lived in London for years as an adult and still do the commute once a week but it’s been a while since I went with a tourist/Mum/festive lens. The ice skating at SH would be a lot of fun for the eldest but possibly carnage for the little one who is extremely clumsy. Will see what h thinks! Window displays also sound lovely if they’re en route. This has sparked memories of visiting Hamleys for what must have been a number of Christmases as a child and watching all the amazing toy demo’s! Might look that up too.

I’ve booked Stick Man at the Leicester Square theatre, as my youngest is totally obsessed with it. And lunch directly before that at what was the Rainforest Cafe last time I went, but now rebranded as Jungle Cave. The jury is out on that though - if I can find something better then I’ll cancel, as it sounds like it might’ve gone downhill since a couple of years ago.

PS I’ll definitely make a note of Kew for next time. Haven’t been for years! Do they have a light trail?

Ah the Transport Museum too. They’d absolutely love that. So much to do!!

New light trail started last year at Kenwood on hampstead Heath. Keep a note for the future!

Yes the Christmas at Kew is the original light trail. It's really beautiful and magical!

Get yourself on the newsletter for Kew. The booking for this year opened in January and weekends in December incl. parking were really hard to get when we booked one day after the slots opened.

Going by public transport would be a nightmare for us, so the parking slot was essential.