London in December 2025 is a dazzling blend of festive tradition and high-calibre cultural events. The city sparkles with Christmas lights, markets, and carol services, creating a magical holiday atmosphere, but the month offers much more than just seasonal cheer.
This guide highlights the key happenings:
- Cultural Premieres & Must-Sees: December marks the UK debut of the acclaimed play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo and the first full month of the Wes Anderson Exhibition at the Design Museum.
- Final Curtain Calls: Catch the wildly popular jukebox musical Titanique before its run ends in January 2026.
- Essential Winter Activities: The best ice-skating rinks (including Somerset House and Battersea Power Station) and vibrant Christmas markets are in full swing.
- Beyond Christmas: The month culminates in the spectacular New Year’s Eve celebrations, including river cruises and the start of the London New Year’s Day Parade.
It’s the perfect time to enjoy cosy pub hangouts, winter walks, and world-class entertainment before the year closes out.
1. Get your skate on at Somerset House
⭐ Things to do ❄️ Ice skating 📌 Aldwych ⏰ Until 11 Jan 2026
Somerset House’s annual ice rink pop-up has long been one of the city’s favourite festive traditions, with thousands of Londoners and tourists alike making it part of their celebrations each year, and for good reason. Gliding (or nervously shuffling) around the rink, gazing upon the surrounding Georgian architecture and the courtyard’s magnificent 40ft Christmas tree feels like you’ve skated onto a movie set, ready to be watched by families settling in for their post-turkey food coma. Look out for the venue’s famous Skate Lates, where you can soar round the rink to a DJ soundtrack.
2. Embrace the festive magic at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland
⭐ Things to do ✨ Markets and fairs 📌 Hyde Park ⏰ Until 1 Jan 2026
Each year, Hyde Park gets transformed from pretty park to a dazzling, snow-covered, Alpine-themed, 350-acre festive funscape. One of the largest Christmas events in the UK, Winter Wonderland returns for its eighteenth year in 2025, and is expected to welcome around 2.5 million visitors over six magical weeks. As you make your way around the space, you’ll find fairground rides, a child-friendly Santa Land (including a Santa’s Grotto, where presents lie in wait) and traditional Christmas markets.
3. Fill your bags at Southbank Centre Winter Market 2025
⭐ Things to do ✨ Markets and fairs 📌 South Bank ⏰ Until 26 Dec 2025
Every winter, the Southbank Centre turns the banks of the Thames into a frosty wonderland, full of little wooden Alpine-style cabins selling gifts, warming drinks, and snacks. You’ll find huts serving up truffle burgers, duck wraps, mulled wine, Dutch pancakes, churros and many more tasty morsels to nibble on while you look through gifts, jewellery and decorations made by independent craft traders. Or, once you’re done browsing, snuggle up at pop-up king Jimmy Garcia’s riverside venue Fire And Fromage, where you can snaffle all you can eat raclette, sip on seriously decadent hot chocolates, and even toast your own marshmallows around a cosy fire pit.
4. Peruse London’s many, many Christmas markets
Markets, eh? They’re pretty nice to wander around at nearly every time of year. But, at Christmas? Well, that’s when London’s markets really come into their own. Every year the capital fills with the kind of markets that host fairy-light-lined stalls, festive street-food sellers and community tombolas, with a playlist of Christmas songs on loop in the background. In fact, whether you’re looking for tasty treats, traditional decorations and cutting-edge arts and crafts or are just shopping for a last-minute present, the capital’s selection of Yuletide stalls are here to help.
5. Step into a dinosaur’s world, like never before at Lightroom
Step into the heart of King’s Cross and enter a world where dinosaurs still reign. Actor Damian Lewis takes you on a breathtaking journey through 360° landscapes, from sun-scorched deserts to storm-tossed oceans, as prehistoric skies come alive with towering, life-size giants. Brand-new visuals and cinematic sequences recreate the most thrilling moments of Prehistoric Planet, while an epic original score by Hans Zimmer and co. pulses through every scene. Don’t miss this immersive adventure with 24% off adult tickets.
Get £19 tickets, only through Time Out Offers
6. Get your snack on at Borough Market’s annual Evening of Cheese
⭐ Things to do ✨ Food and drink events 📌 Borough ⏰ 10 Dec 2025
The world of solid dairy has some truly devoted fans and they’ll do well to pay a visit to Borough Market’s annual Evening of Cheese, where they’ll find an enormous range of products from all over the world to tempt turophiles, including wines, ciders, chutneys and – obviously – absolutely loads of top quality cheese from around Europe. Looking to craft the perfect festive cheeseboard? Head down to get your paws on loads of tasty little samples, and some expert advice from the market’s artisanal traders. There’ll be plenty of drinks on hand to complete the gouty vibes, while the festivities will also feature the annual parmesan-cracking competition, where cheesemongers compete to cut open a huge wheel of the good stuff and arrange it in a tower. Be sure to nab a spot by the front to get first dips on the freebies afterwards!
7. Head to Columbia Road Christmas Wednesdays
⭐ Things to do ✨ Late openings 📌 Bethnal Green ⏰ Until 17 Dec 2025
Head to Columbia Road on a Wednesday evening this Christmas and you’ll find its more than 60 indie shops open late for all your present buying needs. Starting from November 26, mulled wine and locally-made mince pies will be on hand to give you much-needed sustenance as you shop. Sadly, the weekly carol singing that went viral in recent years is no more.
8. Scale the O2 on a special festive climb
⭐ Things to do ✨ Greenwich Peninsula ⏰ Until 4 Jan 2026
Got a thirst for adventure and winter-themed beverages? Up at The O2 – the dare-devil tour that lets you climb up the outside of the Greenwich venue’s famous white dome – has been given a festive makeover. After being strapped into a harness and ascending to the top of the 52 metre-high dome, climbers will get to retreat into an immersive snow globe featuring falling snow, the sweet smell of cookies and a ‘whimsical winter set-up’ from which they’ll be able to enjoy breathtaking views of the city from.
9. Sing along to Christmas carols at one of London’s festive concerts
⭐ Music ✨ Classical and opera
An evening of proper Christmas carols is an absolute must if you’re interested in getting entirely wrapped up in unalloyed festive cheer. Check out our comprehensive round-up of the jolliest and most moving services in the capital. Indoors and outdoors, cathedrals, churches and secular spaces, we’ll be adding to it constantly, as more events are announced.
10. Bring in the New Year right
New Year’s Eve in London means you’re faced with some choices. Sometimes there’s so much choice, in fact, that you end up spending the night indoors with a few loved ones and plenty of booze. We’ve all been there, but London boasts loads of great New Year’s Eve events that should coax even the most reluctant NYE fan out of the house this year.