London’s Festive Traditions: A December Guide
By December, London has fully committed to Christmas. The lights are up, the markets are busy, and there’s a real warmth to the city despite the cold. Here are the traditions worth building an evening around.
Ice rinks and lights
Skating at Somerset House or the Natural History Museum has become a proper London ritual. Even if you’re hopeless on the ice, it’s worth it for the setting alone.
Markets and mulled wine
The Christmas markets are busy and a little pricey, and nobody really minds. A hot drink on a cold night with the lights overhead is what December is for. If you’re after more ideas, our piece on soaking up the festive season is worth a look.
Planning the festive run
There’s a lot on in December and it books up fast. A look at London Guide UK helps you line up the lights, a market and dinner into one smooth evening rather than three separate trips.
Ice rinks worth booking early
Somerset House is the famous one, and it books out fastest as a result, with tickets for weekend evening slots often gone within the first couple of weeks of release. The Natural History Museum’s rink has the advantage of a genuinely stunning backdrop and slightly more availability, while Hyde Park’s rink inside Winter Wonderland offers the biggest capacity if the others are sold out. Whichever you choose, booking a specific time slot the moment tickets go on sale, usually in October, is the only reliable way to get an evening slot at the more popular venues.
Carol concerts deserve a mention too, often overlooked in favour of markets and lights. Several of London’s churches, particularly St Martin-in-the-Fields and Southwark Cathedral, host genuinely beautiful carol services through December that are free or very cheap to attend, offering a quieter, more reflective alternative to the crowds at the markets. It’s worth checking listings a few weeks out, since the best known ones fill up on the night even without formal tickets.
The tree and the lights beyond Oxford Street
Everyone knows about the Oxford Street and Regent Street lights, but Covent Garden’s tree and decorations, along with the smaller displays around Carnaby Street, are worth the walk too and considerably less crowded. Kew Gardens runs an illuminated trail through December that’s become one of the better ticketed light experiences in the city, a proper walking route through lit-up trees and installations rather than just a static display, and it’s worth booking ahead given how popular it’s become in recent years.
Pacing yourself through the month
December in London can turn into an exhausting blur if every weekend gets packed with markets, ice rinks and parties. Spacing out the big festive activities across the month, rather than trying to cram everything into a single weekend, tends to keep the season feeling special rather than like an endurance test. Leaving at least one evening free just to walk the lights without a fixed plan is often the one people remember most fondly by January.
If you enjoyed this, our guide to A Night Out in London When It’s Cold Outside is well worth a read too.
