Father Christmas / Christmas Weekend In London - Suggestions Please

[scarlette]

Hi everyone,

I am taking 3 children - 10-5 yo - to London to see Father Christmas and have a festive weekend in December. As we are not from London I have no idea where the Santa / FC is or what other really cool Christmas things there are to see.

Would really appreciate your suggestions.

Thanks
Scarlette

Harrods Santas are always good.

We haven't been to Harrods Santa (yet!), but that would be where I would go. Maybe look at the toy department while you're there, and possibly also visit Hamleys.

The South Kensington museums, particularly Science and Natural History ones, are good for kids in that age range. But not super Christmassy.

Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park is fab and you don't have to spend lots of money there (although you can). Harrods Grotto is all booked out for December.

I imagine Harrods Father Christmas is already fully booked. It was this time last year!!

Agree with Winter Wonderland, it's lovely.

Flipping heck! When do you need to book for Harrods FC? Am interested for next year, thankfully.

Hyde Park is nice. Somerset House has ice skating (they normally have a special children's area with penguins they can push for balance) - there is also a cafe where you can sit bundled up with hot chocolate and watch all the other skaters. I prefer that to the actual skating! There's a rink in Hyde Park too.

Covent Garden and Oxford Street/Regent's Street should have their lights up by then, so nice to wander around when it's dark.

Trafalgar Square has a giant tree. I'm not sure when it goes up, but they normally let choirs book a slot and do carol singing at the bottom of it which is really fun to go and listen to, and really gets you in the mood!

Not really sure about Father Christmas. I know Selfridges has one, but it's probably booked out too. The South Bank Christmas Market (just over the river from the Houses of Parliament) used to have one, but I'm not sure. They used to have a Mrs Claus place where you could decorate gingerbread and stuff. Will have a look for a link

Last year's page is still online here. I haven't been, so not sure how good it is. Maybe someone will be along who has had some experience of it.

Thank you for all the suggestions - off to google it all now :)

Tried for tickets to selfridges but not gettting anywhere - possibly sold out at this stage.

Thanks again
S

I have moaned on another thread. Harrods FC is great but tickets are like Gold Dust. This year they said they would send out priority booking for Reward Card holders but I know I am not the only one not to receive one. By the time booking was live online the whole of December was fully booked!

Hyde Park WW is free to get in and has got some good fairground rides, but you have to buy tickets at the booths (there are lots of them)
Rides are £3 for children and £4 for adults (so if DH and 2 DC go, that's £10 a ride-gulp!. I hold the coats)

We went last year, on the 18th Dec, and it was really snowing, some of the rides were shut. I'd pre-booked the big wheel and we couldn't see outside with the blizzard!

There's Christmas market stalls.We didn't do the ice-skating, I didn't fancy a wett bum for the journey home

Re Harrods you now need a loyalty card and you get e-mailed in order of how much you spend in Harrods so basically the rich kids get to see Santa-nice.We got tickets,weekday at 4.30 by some miracle but I rang to complain pointing out the sort of people getting the tickets will by and large be the ones who can fly their kids to Lapland to see the man himself.

I think it stinks particularly as seeing Santa in Harrods has been a family tradition for many for years.

I complained to but the reply I got just proved Harrods only care about some of their customers- the rich ones. No surprise there but it wasn't always like that.