CHRISTMAS IS COMING TO TOWN...
Christmas is coming to London Town again…so much to do, so little time to do all that last minute Christmas shopping. Here is a list of events happening around town:
1. CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
London Christmas lights really light up the capital’s streets during the bleak winter months. Christmas in London just wouldn’t be Christmas without the stunning array of decorative lights that adorn the streets throughout the festive season.
Switched on for 2012
The switching on of Christmas lights in the West End have become landmark occasions in London each year, drawing crowds in their thousands in the approach to Christmas. This year the Regent Street and Oxford Street lights are bound to bring in the crowds once more, guaranteeing festive fun for visitors to the capital’s premier shopping district. From the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree and headline grabbing Covent Garden display to the more humble but equally cheery lights on high streets across the city, these festive illuminations bring light and colour to London throughout the winter.
2. CHRITMAS CAROLS & SERVICES
St Paul’s Cathedral, EC4M 8AD
27th November – 27th December 2011
Few places are better for traditional Christmas services and carols than St Paul’s, the spiritual home of Great Britain. To meet the increasing demand, this year St Paul’s hosts a series of concerts throughout the month of December peaking with the excessively popular Midnight Mass service and carol concert. St Christopher Wren’s great dome, which dominates much of the City, fills with the sound of the Cathedral Choir for a large part of the month and the most special services and concerts are free and available to all. The cathedral formed the centrepiece of the reconstruction of London after the Great Fire of 1666 and miraculously went on to survive the Blitz in World War Two when most of the surrounding area was flattened by German bombing raids. It consequently acted as an inspirational symbol of British strength in the nation’s darkest hour and is now an icon of resurrection and rebirth – a potent symbol of all that is associated with Christmas. The festive season kicks off with the dramatic Advent Procession on the last Sunday of November, with words and music focusing on the theme of life and death, heaven and hell, time and eternity, judgement and healing.
Full programme
Sun 27 Nov & Mon 28 Nov, 6pm: The Advent Procession
Wed 7 Dec, 6.30pm: Handel’s Messiah
Fri 9 Dec, 6.30pm: Sankta Lucia
Sat 10 Dec, 5pm: Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten
Thu 15 Dec, 6.30pm: Celebration of Christmas
Sun 18 Dec, 6pm: La Natavite du Seigneur by Olicier Messiaen
Fri 23 Dec, 4pm: Christmas Carol Service
Sat 24 Dec, Christmas Eve, 4pm: Christmas Carol Service
Sat 24 Dec, Christmas Eve, 11.30pm: Midnight Mass
Sun 25 Dec, Christmas Day, 11am: Sung Eucharist
Sun 25 Dec, Christmas Day, 3.15pm: Festal Evensong
Mon 26 Dec, 5pm: Music and Readings for Christmas
Tues 27 Dec, 5pm: Music and Readings for Christmas
You are encouraged to arrive early to the afternoon of Christmas Eve and the Midnight Eucharist. Services and events are open to all, free and un-ticketed (except Messiah, for which you must apply for free tickets in advance). For more information please visit www.stpauls.co.uk.
Southwark Cathedral Carols & Services
Southwark Cathedral, London, SE1 9DA
1st-25th December 2011
Southwark Cathedral‘s popular candlelit carol services take place on the Sunday and Wednesday before Christmas but there are a host of other festive services open to the public throughout December. For the Cathedral Carol Service, the bulk of the singing is done by the boys, girls and men of the Cathedral Choir. The congregation will get a chance to join in and sing some of their favourites while the festive music will be interspersed with readings taken from St Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus. Be sure to arrive early because the annual Sunday evening event is hugely popular. Located besides the wonderfully odoriferous Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral has gained something of a cult status in recent years following a peculiar incident involving its bishop, Dr Tom Butler, in 2006. Following a Christmas drinks event at the Irish Embassy, the eccentric bishop was found, allegedly tipsy, in the back of a silver Mercedes, throwing children’s toys out of the window. Rumours that he was filling his sack for his cathedral’s Christmas tree were, of course, firmly denied – but it did get people talking about the church in the build up to Christmas, that’s for sure.
Full programme
Tue 1 Dec, 7pm: Mercy Ships Christmas Carol Service, £14.50
Sat 3 Dec, 1pm: Christmas Concert: Choir 18
Mon 5 Dec, 7.30pm: NSPCC Carol Concert, £25
Wed 7 Dec, 5.30pm: Better Bankside St Nicholas Day Service
Sat 10 Dec, 12noon: Finnish Church in London Christmas Recital
Wed 14 Dec, 7.15pm: Carol in the City: Marie Curie Cancer Care, £35
Sun 18 Dec, 6.30pm: Cathedral Carol Service
Wed 21 Dec, 7.30pm: The Spirit of Christmas, £12
Tue 20 Dec, 12.45pm: Cathedral Sing-in
Thu 22 Dec, 6.30pm: Cathedral Carol Service
Sat 24 Dec, Christmas Eve, 4pm: Crib Service
Sat 24 Dec, Christmas Eve, 11.30pm: Midnight Mass
Sun 25 Dec, Christmas Day, 11am: Choral Eucharist
St Martin-in-the-Fields, WC2N 4JJ
26th November – 29th December 2011
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a perfect venue for any kind of service or concert – especially when candlelit and on a cold winter’s night – but it is really quite extraordinary during the festive period when it comes into its own with a generous dollop of Christmas carols and services. Located almost in the shadow of the towering Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree, St Martin-in-the-Fields offers a seasonal glow throughout December with a range of services and carols that would get even Scrooge singing O Come, All Ye Faithful!
Full programme
Sat 26 Nov, 7.30pm: Bach Christmas Oratorio
Thu 1 Dec, 7pm: VSO Christmas Concert by Candlelight – Carol Singing & the Lighting of the Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square
Fri 2 Dec, 7.30pm: Norwegian Christmas Concert
Sat 3 Dec, 10am: Come and Sing Christmas Carols
Sat 3 Dec, 4pm: Family Christmas Carols
Sat 3 Dec, 7.30pm: Advent Carols by Candlelight
Thu 8 Dec, 7.30pm: The Glory of Christmas
Fri 9 Dec, 3pm: A Christmas Cracker – The NADFAS Christmas Concert
Fri 9 Dec, 5.30pm: Christmas Carols by Candlelight – the BackCare Christmas Concert
Fri 9 Dec, 8pm: Christmas Classics by Candlelight
Sat 10 Dec, 4pm: Mini Maestro Family Christmas by Candlelight
Sat 10 Dec, 7pm: Christmas Carols by Candlelight
Wed 14 Dec, 8pm: A Fabulations’ Christmas
Thu 15 Dec, 7.30pm: The Spirit of Christmas by Candlelight
Fri 16 Dec, 7.30pm: Christmas Gala by Candlelight
Sat 17 Dec, 11.30am: Mini Maestro Family Tales
Sat 17 Dec, 4pm: Carols for Shoppers
Sat 17 Dec, 7.30pm: A Christmas Celebration
Mon 19 Dec, 7.30pm: The Joys of Christmas
Thu 22 Dec, 7.30pm: Handel Messiah by Candlelight
Fri 23 Dec, 4.30pm: Christmas with the English Chamber Choir
Fri 23 Dec, 7.30pm: Handel Messiah by Candlelight
Wed 28 Dec, 2.45pm: Come and Sing: World’s Greatest Christmas Choruses
Thu 29 Dec, 7.30pm: The Complete Brandenburgs at Christmas
Fri 30 Dec, 7.45pm: Viennese Christmas
Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree & Carols
Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DS
1st December 2011 – 6th January 2012
Since 1947, stately Trafalgar Square receives a majestic Norwegian Christmas Tree as an annual gift from the people of Oslo, thanking Britain for its support and friendship during World War Two. The enormous tree is a popular seasonal tourist attraction, particularly in the fortnight leading up to Christmas, when each evening from Monday 5 December to Thursday 22 December 2011, between 5pm and 9pm, a different choir gathers there to sing carols and raise money for a range of voluntary or charitable organisations. Passers-by are welcome to come and listen to the carols in the square, and even join in the festive cheer. Nelson’s Column is decorated with Norwegian white lights and the tree is illuminated from noon until midnight until the Twelfth Night of Christmas in early January. The tree actually goes up in late November if you want to see it in all its naked evergreen glory. Then, on Thursday 1st December 2011, you can join the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields and sing carols around the tree from 6pm before the lighting of the tree at 6.30pm.
Timings
Thu 1 Dec, 6pm: Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields carol singing, followed by lighting of the tree at 6.30pm
Mon 5 Dec to Thu 22 Dec, 6pm-9pm: carol singing around the tree
3. FAMILY FUN
HYDE PARK – WINTER WONDERLAND
Fairground rides, a giant wheel, circus, market and Magical Ice Kingdom
Hyde Park Winter Wonderland Hyde Park Winter Wonderland Throughout late November and December the section of Hyde Park near Hyde Park Corner is transformed into a Winter Wonderland, complete with fairground rides, giant wheel, circus, Christmas market, food and drink stalls, Santa’s grotto and, of course, an ice rink. It’s the sixth consecutive year that the Winter Wonderland has come to Hyde Park and it’s already a favourite in many Londoners’ calendars. New for this year is the Magical Ice Kingdom, a walk-through world of ice and snow with woodland creatures and a unicorn-pulled carriage. Doing your best Torvill and Dean impersonation is a great way to embrace the cold and the Ice Rink – which surrounds the Victorian bandstand and is illuminated by 108,000 pea-lights – is the biggest of its kind in the UK. A turn on the 53-metre-high Observational Wheel offers great views over London’s most popular Christmas attraction. Zippos Circus is always a hit and the show never fails to pull crowds into its heated big top when temperatures plummet while the daredevil Zippos Cirque Berserk entertain the evening crowd. The traditional Angels Christmas Market, with its wooden chalets and various Bavarian-style bars and cafes, is a hoot, as is the Spiegel Saloon, a large, festive and fully covered restaurant. Don’t go with an empty wallet because while the whole thing is not cheap, it’s such fun you’ll want to get into the spirit and spend. (Remember: advanced booking on the main attractions is advised while you’ll need to buy tokens from kiosks dotted around the fair for the many rides.) Free entry to the site means you can just walk around and absorb the festive ambiance – but it will take a strong will not to succumb to the smells and fun on offer.2012-11-232013-01-06 Where:
Category: Seasonal
Hyde Park, Rangers Lodge, Belgravia, London, W2 2UH
Tube: Knightsbridge Station
Throughout late November and December the section of Hyde Park near Hyde Park Corner is transformed into a Winter Wonderland, complete with fairground rides, giant wheel, circus, Christmas market, food and drink stalls, Santa’s grotto and, of course, an ice rink. It’s the sixth consecutive year that the Winter Wonderland has come to Hyde Park and it’s already a favourite in many Londoners’ calendars. New for this year is the Magical Ice Kingdom, a walk-through world of ice and snow with woodland creatures and a unicorn-pulled carriage. Doing your best Torvill and Dean impersonation is a great way to embrace the cold and the Ice Rink – which surrounds the Victorian bandstand and is illuminated by 108,000 pea-lights – is the biggest of its kind in the UK. A turn on the 53-metre-high Observational Wheel offers great views over London’s most popular Christmas attraction. Zippos Circus is always a hit and the show never fails to pull crowds into its heated big top when temperatures plummet while the daredevil Zippos Cirque Berserk entertain the evening crowd. The traditional Angels Christmas Market, with its wooden chalets and various Bavarian-style bars and cafes, is a hoot, as is the Spiegel Saloon, a large, festive and fully covered restaurant. Free entry to the site means you can just walk around and absorb the festive ambiance – but it will take a strong will not to succumb to the smells and fun on offer. But don’t go with an empty wallet because while the whole thing is not cheap, it’s such fun you’ll want to get into the spirit and spend. Also, remember that advanced booking on the main attractions is advised while you’ll need to buy tokens from kiosks dotted around the fair for the many rides.
Festive fancy dress run through Greenwich Park
Battersea Park is situated on the south bank of the river, opposite Chelsea. If you’re looking for hotels in Battersea , our London Hotels page has plenty of great deals.
2012-12-012012-12-01 Where:
Category: Sporting Events
Battersea Park, Albert Bridge Road, Battersea Park, Battersea, London, SW11 4NJ
Tube: Sloane Square Station
Dates: Saturday 1st December 2012
Join hundreds of other Santas on a festive run through Greenwich Park before relaxing afterwards with mulled wine and Christmas cake. No previous experience is needed for this fantastically festive day. Simply register, turn up on the day, collect your free Santa outfit and tackle the 5km run. The spirit of the event is to be decided solely by the participants, meaning you can decide to walk, jog or run as fast or as slow as you like. Why will everyone be dressed as Santa? Well, ignoring the obvious (the time of year), proceeds from the run will be donated to Home-Start, who help children get the best possible start in life. If you’ve ever fancied a fun run through London whilst dressed as Father Christmas (and let’s face it, who hasn’t?) then this is the one for you.Note: The date for this event is still to be confirmed.
Covent Garden Piazza swells with spectators to see who will win the Christmas Pudding Race
Great Christmas Pudding Race Great Christmas Pudding Race You’re familiar with the egg and spoon race. Well how about the Christmas Pudding Race? Covent Garden Piazza swells with spectators as about 150 contestants in teams of six don fancy dress and race around a course strewn with flour-filled balloons, foam jets and other obstacles – all while trying to balance a Christmas pudding on a flimsy plate! The race has been going on every year since 1980 and it raises money for Cancer Research. At this time of year Covent Garden is a great place to be, with shops full of Christmas decorations and street entertainers putting on some diverting shows before and after the main event. The perfect way to break up a day of Christmas shopping in Covent Garden’s collection of stylish stores.2012-12-012012-12-01 Where:
Category: Seasonal
Covent Garden Piazza, Covent Garden, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD
Tube: Covent Garden Station, Leicester Square Station, Charing Cross Station
Dates: Saturday 1st December 2012
You’re familiar with the egg and spoon race. Well how about the Christmas Pudding Race? Covent Garden Piazza swells with spectators as about 150 contestants in teams of six don fancy dress and race around a course strewn with flour-filled balloons, foam jets and other obstacles – all while trying to balance a Christmas pudding on a flimsy plate! The race has been going on every year since 1980 and it raises money for Cancer Research. At this time of year Covent Garden is a great place to be, with shops full of Christmas decorations and street entertainers putting on some diverting shows before and after the main event. The perfect way to break up a day of Christmas shopping in Covent Garden’s collection of stylish stores.
3. EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH…
Coming soon…