To ask for your best Christmas London locations?

[Purplefoxes]

Planning a last minute trip to London with our 6 year old this weekend. Where can we go to get the best 'christmas experience' and DH and I actually have fun too! Bonus points if it's free...! Extra bonus points if it is low on hassle factor.

Yes I'm probably being unreasonable because I know I could just look at Timeout BUT it doesn't give me a parents perspective and that is everything when you have kids! Thank you in advance. 😀

Somerset House

Seven Dials is usually quite pretty.

South bank has a Christmas market, but can get busy.

Can’t really go wrong with Harrods or Hamleys.

Christmas tree in Tralfager square.

Covent garden also.

Think it going to be chilly this weekend so you may want to consider inside venues. Hamleys, Harrods, Natural history museum, London museum, etc

I didn't know about seven dials, worth a look thanks. Ruling out Hanley's tho as we've already got his Christmas presents so there lies disaster haha. We did the NHM in summer so probably too soon to go back.

That's a classic with the ice rink isn't it. Although I can't iceskate at the moment as pregnant! I guess covent garden isn't too far away either..

The 139 bus route is good for a Christmas lights tour. I agree Covent Garden and South Bank as well.

Covent Garden is always magic and I think they are making it 'snow' there at intervals. There will be street performers too and Christmas stalls in the market. Also check out Stanfords bookshop in Covent G my 7yo loves it there and it's always beautifully decorated

It's absolutely chocca in central London
at the moment. I'd go out to Greenwich on the boat from Westminster Pier. The Maritime Museum has a great area for kids right next to the park which has an excellent playground. Lots of chain places to eat or some great street food stalls in the market.

Backyard cinema if they have the patience to watch a Xmas film. They do great Xmas settings for them!

backyardcinema.co.uk/

Battersea power station has an ice rink now (first year)
The south bank has a Xmas market near the London eye

We took 9 and 6 year olds into london at weekend.
Avoid oxford street andnrefent street. It's so busy and my daughters kept getting pushed and hit in the face/head by bags.

Convent garden is busy but much nicer and atmosphere great. The tree is also much nicer than trafalgar square.

Southbank is really pretty at night and there is a carousel at £3 per person which is great. Its very cold along the south bank tho and expected to be even colder this weeekend. We took our own hot chocolate /mulled wine flasks to keep warm and much cheaper than buying them out.

We really enjoyed Enchanted Eltham, at Eltham Palace - not central but easy enough on the train. I’m not sure how enjoyable a six-year-old would find central London at the moment, it’s so crowded with shippers that they’ll be lost in a sea of legs and pushing and shoving. An open top bus tour would be nice though, and a Thames trip on the hopper boat from Westminster down to Canary Wharf and/or Greenwich. Transport Museum also often has good Christmas activity going on.

If it’s Christmas lights and trees on foot they want to see - try an after-dark walk around the Square Mile. The big companies around here have some fab displays in their huge glass windows and lobbies. If you can get into the Sky Garden in the Tokio Marine Kiln building at dusk for a fab view that would also be ace.

Somerset house is lovely I agree. Or the South bank.

Avoid places like Oxford Street, or Harrods, Hamleys, unless you lovely being crushed by crowds.

Greenwich market is nice and might have something Christmassy on. They also used to have ice skating there too.

Christmas at Kew is amazing but might well be all sold out unless you can go on a weekday.

This is quite hard actually - we live in outer London but save for sometimes going to Kew we tend to drive outwards for Christmas experiences !

Hackney Empire does an amazing Panto every year and a quite search shows there are still tickets- however that’s no where near the other things I’ve suggested.

Glide at battersea if you can get a space

Carnaby street lights