10 of London’s Christmas events & exciting activities around the Mews
Christmas in central London is magical and living in a Mews makes for the perfect location to explore local events within easy reach of home. It’s a busy time and every year across the city, the variety and abundance of festive fun activities gets bigger and better. Here we present to you our selection of London’s Christmas events and activities for you to enjoy.
LB’s favourite London Christmas events & activities this year:
Going green this Christmas
Energy Garden Winter Fair 2024 takes place on the 30th November at Ebury Bridge Road, SW1. The event celebrates a year of growth – nurturing amazing gardens harnessing solar energy, and running educational programmes with helpers and volunteers. Join in wreath making, or chat all things green over mulled wine and hot chocolate.
Learn the rules of Christmas Wreath making
Making a Christmas wreath to dress the front door of your Mews house or display on the mantelpiece might seem daunting, but not if you book into a local workshop. Daylesford Organic Notting Hill runs workshops during November and December, where local florist Katie Musgrave of Unruly Flowers will demonstrate and advise on structure, pairing textures, using natural materials with foliage and blooms to make seasonal wreaths to decorate your home.
Have breakfast with Father Christmas
By special invitation, Father Christmas at Daylesford Notting Hill is happening on the 6th December. Santa will be stopping by for a welcome drink and breakfast whilst listening to everyone’s wish-list, sharing a festive story and lots more surprises.
Travel back in time with The Muppet’s Christmas Carol in South Kensington
Over the festive period, South Kensington offers a plethora of things to do for adults and their offspring. As part of the ‘Christmas Lates’ events in December, The Muppet Christmas Carol at Science Museum will be screened at IMAX cinema; but this is no ordinary screening. It’s followed by a talk by Professor Alan Heavens, Chair in Astrostatistics at Imperial College, focusing on the science of time travel, and whether what happens to Scrooge in the film is actually possible in real life.
Enjoy Christmas Carols
Music and singing really come alive in the capital at this time of year. Mews residents in South Kensington are fortunate to have The Royal Albert Hall on their doorstep and their special Christmas concerts of 15 sing-along performances across six days are a wonderful way to celebrate the season. Each show features a soloist and this year’s presenters are Jess Gillam and Greg Beardsell.
There’s a superb calendar of Christmas concerts, musical performances and comedy at the Cadogan Hall in Chelsea SW1, starting from the 1st December 2024.There are too many highlights to mention, but the Carols at Cadogan with the Bach Choir on the 11th December is certainly one to add to your diary.
Local churches are dotted around the historic Mews of London and Carol Services are a lovely way to come together at Christmas. In Paddington, St James Church is renowned for its marvellous acoustics, having welcomed leading choirs and musicians from around the world over the last century. Among its former organists, was Dr Harold Darke, Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music from 1919-1969, and a noted composer of the familiar carol, ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’. This December, the church will be showcasing a number Christmas concerts to enjoy, with performances from the Metropolitan Police Choir, the Covent Garden Chorus and many others. Buy tickets here.
‘Cheers’ together at Christmas time
After all that singing, some refreshments may well be called for. Nothing screams Christmassy cheer more than an artfully crafted cocktail at The Lanesborough’s trusty Library Bar. This magnificent five-star hotel will be decorated with fragrant pines and a traditional tree this year, with two special Christmas cocktails served at the bar from November 13th to January 8th. Inspired by Bridgerton, the fruity ‘Friends to Lovers’ margarita is prepared with coconut tequila and garnished with a feather, festive jingle bell and floating white rose petal. For abstainers, the non-alcoholic Blooming Wallflower mocktail is similarly adorned with all the bells and whistles, just without the hangover.
For something a little quirky, newly opened experiential restaurant and bar The Alchemist in Victoria hasn’t missed a trick when it comes to festive feasting and drinking. The restaurant’s set Christmas menus pay equal attention to the drinks list, serving up Bellini’s made with red wine and a spiced berry reduction, glitter-topped prosecco and cocktails like ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’. Cheers to that!
Belgravia’s bubbles and baubles
Eccleston Yards is a popular hub centred around a leafy courtyard for independent businesses, entrepreneurs and creative talent, located on the boundaries of Victoria and Belgravia. Designed as a place for friends to come together for a glass (or two) of wine, Amie Studio is a natural choice for an informal festive tipple. The drink of choice is, of course, the brand’s own wine range including sparkling and non-alcoholic options. Here you can Christmas shop whilst sipping, as the studio doubles up as an art exhibition space, with all artworks on the walls available for sale.
Head on to Elizabeth Street, where the unmistakeable scent and smell of Christmas will lure you into Jo Loves. Treat your loved ones to one of the gorgeous fragranced products on offer, from body lotions and hand creams to candles, diffusers and even hand sanitisers.
Gifting with global inspiration in Marylebone & Mayfair
Global Gift Market: The twinkling lights of Marylebone can be seen from many a neighbouring Mews window. For unusual gifts inspired from around the globe, head to SoShiro Gallery that hosts Handcrafted by the World, a high-end pop-up market featuring work by over 20 makers from countries including Jordan, Kuwait, Colombia, USA, Germany, Greece, Brazil, Denmark, Mexico, Estonia and the UK. Ceramics, textiles, metal and glass work curated by gallery founder Shiro Muchiri will be available from the 21 November-20 December, all with a price tag of under £500 (hint: you will need deeper pockets to shop here than at your average Christmas market).
Mayfair Christmas Market: Italian-Asian restaurant Novikov closes Mayfair Place to traffic for its three-day Christmas market, from 28-30 November. There are gift stalls, but as you might expect from a restaurant, there’s a heavy focus on food- think speciality stalls offering parmesan wheel, oysters and caviar, as well as a champagne bar, entertainment with DJs, roaming carol singers and an appearance from Santa on Saturday afternoon.
Fulham Palace Fair: Between the 29-30 November, get festive and shop in the grounds and rooms of Fulham Palace SW6. If you’re fortunate enough to live in Mustow Place, Peterborough Mews, or Epirus Mews, then you’re only a 12-25 minute walk away from this delightful indoor and outdoor market. There’s a special adults-only preview evening on the Friday night, before the fair opens to everyone on the Saturday. Browse small business stalls selling gifts and food items, tuck into refreshments including mince pies and mulled wine, enjoy performances by local choirs in the courtyard, and keep the kids occupied with crafts and a Christmas trail.
Notting Hill: Home of the Christmas Rom-Com
If you’ve decided to stop by Portobello Road Market for some last-minute present buying, make sure you do so via St Luke’s Mews W11 and admire the pretty quiet cobbled mews. The street is most famous for appearing in Love Actually, the rom-com where Mark (played by Andrew Lincoln) declares his love for Juliet (Keira Knightley) and stands in the middle of the Mews holding large cards as Silent Night plays in the background. In fact, the pretty pink Mews house is still snapped by tourists today.
Another popular mews in the vicinity is Holland Park Mews; is a perfect example of a well-preserved traditional Mews with its iron balustrades and original staircases, fully functioning water pumps and its welcoming arch dating back to 1862 at the west entrance. Take a wander south through Holland Park and visit The Design Museum with a wonderful selection of exhibitions, from the evolution of the Barbie doll to exploring the creative world of Tim Burton. Afterwards, peruse the Museum Shop and find specially-curated unique Christmas gifts from Barbie inspired baubles to Tim Burton’s quirky designed homeware.
‘Tis the Season to get your skates on
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is back for Christmas 2024 (21 November to 5 January 2025), including the ice rink set around the Victorian bandstand, the UK’s largest open-air ice rink. If you like your Christmas shopping with funfair rides, theatre shows, Christmas markets, music and mulled wine, then Hyde Park W2 is where it’s at – think traditional wooden chalets selling gifts, decorations, spectacular performances and more food and drink than you can shake a chimney cake at. Don’t forget to book your tickets in advance!
Whatever your festive fancy, if you’re out and about in London’s Mews you’re never far from the magic of Christmas. Have a good one!
