Seasons Greetings From The Royal Albert Hall

The first Christmas card was created in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole, who was instrumental in realising Prince Albert's vision for the Royal Albert Hall.  To celebrate Sir Henry’s legacy, this year we have recreated that first Christmas card with some famous faces from the Hall’s history.

Thank you to everyone who has made 2016 an unforgettable year at the Hall.

Press play to see our Christmas greeting.

#HallStars

www.royalalberthall.com

The Erith Christmas Tree Festival - Admission Free

Bringing the community together in the spirit of Christmas, celebrating the work of Christ Church, Erith and Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice
80 real Christmas Trees sponsored by local groups, societies, businesses
and individuals decorate the grade 2 * listed building helping to create the sense of awe and wonder
Dates & Times 2016
Friday 9th December        12 noon - 7pm
Saturday 10th December    10am - 7pm
Saturday 10th from 7pm The Festival Concert starring The Bexleyheath Rock Choir
Sunday 11th December      12 noon - 5pm
Carols By Tree Light - Sunday    Starts 6:30pm

Admission to the festival is FREE,
More Information

Christmas at Kensington Palace - Kid's Go Free

A Victorian Christmas

Join us as we decorate the palace for Christmas. Experience festive music, lantern-making workshops and more at Kensington Palace, the childhood home of Queen Victoria.

Christmas as we know it today started during the Victorian period. Join us as we decorate Kensington Palace with beautiful lanterns inspired by Queen Victoria's diaries. Experience festive music, talks on Christmas traditions and food, lantern-making workshops and more.

Kensington Palace is the perfect place to spend a special Christmas day out with the family this festive season, especially as kids go free!

Buy palace tickets

Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree - Started its Journey on the 16th Nov - Lighting Up Ceremony 1st Dec 6.00PM

Every year, since 1947, the people of Norway have given the people of London a Christmas tree. This gift is in gratitude for Britain's support for Norway during World War II.

About the tree

The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is usually a Norwegian spruce (Picea abies) over 20 metres high and 50-60 years old. It is selected from the forests surrounding Oslo with great care several months, even years, in advance. The Norwegian foresters who look after it describe it fondly as 'the queen of the forest'.

The tree is felled in November during a ceremony in which the Lord Mayor of Westminster, the British ambassador to Norway and the Mayor of Oslo participate. It is brought to the UK by sea, then completes its journey by lorry. A specialist rigging team erects it in the square using a hydraulic crane. It is decorated in traditional Norwegian fashion, with vertical strings of lights. Energy-efficient light bulbs are used.

The lighting ceremony

Don’t miss the lighting of the world’s most famous Christmas tree on 1st  December 2016 in Trafalgar Square at 6pm. The 25-metre high tree is a gift from the people of Norway to London, in thanks for Britain’s support in World War II. This historic tradition has happened every year since 1947, and signals the countdown to Christmas in London.

Recycling the tree

The Christmas tree remains in Trafalgar Square until just before the Twelfth Night of Christmas, when it is taken down for recycling. The tree is chipped and composted, to make mulch.

Blessing of the crib

4th  December, 5.30pm

Join a special blessing of the crib ceremony on Sunday 4th December 2016 in Trafalgar Square.

The event will begin with a torch-lit procession at the steps of St Martin-in-the-Fields led by the Salvation Army Band with the church’s choir and clergy. The crib is designed by Tomoaki Suzuki with figures inspired by Londoners from around the world. It will be on display in the square throughout December. Find out more at www.london.gov.uk/events

Carol singing

5 - 23 December

From Monday 5 to Thursday 22 December (except Saturday 10th & 17th December) over 40 carol singing groups will gather beneath the famous Christmas tree to entertain visitors to Trafalgar Square. Why not come along? Performances take place from 4-8pm on weekdays, and from 2-6pm at weekends. Find out more at www.london.gov.uk/events

Click the button underneath to view the schedule of performances and find out when each group is performing and which charities they are fundraising for.

The Journey Began 

Dr Who - Christmas 2016 - Video Preview

This year’s festive offering – The Return of Doctor Mysterio – will air on BBC One on Christmas Day.

Video - Oxford Street Christmas Lights 2016 - Switched On

Oxford street Christmas lights 2016 have been switched on kicking off the festive holiday season in London. Stopping on the way at Herman Ze German for a festive Bratwurst sausage. Then the best hot chocolate in London from Said Chocolates.

Fortnum & Mason - Christmas Windows 2016 -The home of Christmas since 1707

A series of nine stories detail the partnerships of classic arch-enemies with charming outcomes: like The Bull and The China, The Butcher and The Turkey, The Wolf and The Sheep, and The Boy and the Brussel Sprouts.  

Each story, specially illustrated by artist Brett Ryder, has been expertly hand-sculpted into 3D versions, which were then intricately painted by theatre makeup artists. A secondary story lives subtly in each window, with mice appearing around these exquisite sculptures, having their own Christmas moment. Continuing into the store itself, the Atrium sees a giant sun and moon meeting in an embrace.

Duke of York Square - Christmas 2016

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NEWS Christmas Lights Switch-On: Saturday 12 November Join us for a day of family fun as we welcome Santa and light up the Square. Featuring twinkling ballet dancers, sparkling stilt walkers and real life reindeer, our Switch-On event is a great way to kick off the festive season in style. Find out more

NEWS Save the Date: Chelsea Christmas Shopping Weekend Get into the seasonal spirit with a romantic horse and carriage ride, exclusive festive offers and fabulous Christmas performers. Indulge in some retail therapy with the Chelsea Christmas Shopping Weekend, 3-4 December, taking place at the Square and across Chelsea. Find out more

Regent Street - The Spirit of Christmas - Christmas Lights 2016

Add Thursday 17th November 2016 to your calendar, as Regent Street will be unveiling its spectacular festive light display, ’The Spirit of Christmas’, set to be the biggest and most beautiful in the capital.

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As winter draws near, Regent Street brings you the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ with its stunning festive lights showcasing the best of modern British design.

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Regent Street has long been renowned for its spectacular lights display during the festive season, as the first ever central London location to boast Christmas lights, which decorated the street in 1954. This year Regent Street celebrates this remarkable history with the creation of central London’s largest Christmas lights display, which touches upon the history of the street, as well as bringing British design and craftsmanship to the fore. Named ‘The Spirit of Christmas’, this year’s Christmas lights unite Regent Street’s world-class retailers, restaurants and hotels under a grand, sweeping canopy of light that stretches from Langham Place all the way to Waterloo Place at the southern end of Regent Street St James’s. With complementary schemes across Jermyn Street and at the newly-completed St James’s Market, this is the largest scheme ever embarked on by Regent Street.


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A sculptural masterpiece, the lights are inspired by Regent Street’s very first Christmas lights scheme, which featured traditional angels positioned as if playing trumpets . This year’s scheme is a dramatic and modern reimagining of those original Christmas lights, featuring a fleet of impressively large-scale ‘spirits’ that soar along the length of the street. Created by James Glancy Design Ltd in partnership with The Crown Estate, the Spirit of Christmas lights will make a beautiful and bold statement on Regent Street. Each of the sixteen individual spirits is a piece of masterful, three-dimensional sculpture, hand-crafted in London using cutting edge techniques. The spirits’ impressive 17-metre wing spans will be lit from beneath by spotlights, and are studded with LED pea lights in varying shades of white, which twinkle in harmony to create a co-ordinated ripple effect along the street.

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The Regent Street switch-on event will take place on Thursday 17th November and will include live entertainment and a unique on-street experiences for all visitors. Heart London is the media partner for the switch on event and will be announcing the line-up live on air in the coming weeks.

Covent Garden Christmas 2016

The Piazza on November 15th at 5:30pm for the official switch on of Covent Garden’s Christmas lights!

Artists from The Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera Chorus will officially ‘switch on’ Covent Garden’s Christmas lights this November 15th, as the Piazza transforms into an open-air spectacle of festive song and dance. 

Dancers from The Royal Ballet and The Royal Ballet School will perform excerpts in the Piazza from beloved yuletide ballet The Nutcracker to Tchaikovsky’s magnificent score, which includes some of the world’s most famous melodies. The performance will include some magical moments from the ballet, including the celebrated pas de deux of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Prince.

The evening will culminate with the Sugar Plum Fairy herself switching on Covent Garden’s Christmas lights and famous Christmas tree, illuminating the Market Building and surrounding streets with over 40 magnificent mistletoe chandeliers and 80,000 pea lights. 

Before that, the acclaimed Royal Opera Chorus will fill the Piazza with song from 5.30pm with recitals of operatic favourites, including Carmen, Norma and Il trovatore, alongside a performance of best-loved festive carols.

Our 'Meet me under the Mistletoe' Christmas decorations include over 40 magnificent mistletoe chandeliers - each ranging from 2.5 to 3.5 metres in size, and adorned with almost 700 glistening berries. 

Over 320 metres of garlands unite the chandeliers, with around 100,000 pea lights suspended within the historic Market Building. 

Outside, the world famous Piazza will once again host London’s biggest hand-picked Christmas tree.   

Make sure to share your photos to @CoventGardenLDN with the hash tag #CoventGardenChristmas

Oxford Street Christmas Lights - 6th Nov - 12-7 PM

We're super excited to 'fill you in' with the news that our iconic Christmas Lights will be switched on by R&B legend, Craig David, along with stellar line up of performances from The Vamps, Louisa Johnson and Nathan Sykes. Join us on Sunday, 6 November for our FIRST ever Traffic-free Family Festival from 12 - 7pm. Prepare to be spoilt by a series of exclusive in-store offers and events, enjoy on-street children entertainment zones brought to you by the NSPCC and Hasbro and indulge in the flavours of London's finest street food. See you there! Read More

Join The Party: Carnaby Christmas Revolution

Natural History Museum Ice Rink - opens today

Celebrate the season at the Natural History Museum Ice Rink The Natural History Museum Ice Rink opens today for another fun-filled festive season. Take a spin on the ice and skate beneath thousands of fairy lights and relax with friends and family in the Cafe Bar. Watch our film to find out more. Museum Members save 10 per cent on all skating sessions when booked onsite. 'The loveliest of London's pop-up ice rinks' - Metro Until 8 January Associate sponsor Swarovski.

Beat the crowds in November Why not get ahead of the crowds this winter? November is a great time to enjoy a little more space to practice your moves.

Family skating Grab a penguin skate aid or head to the smaller rink just for kids to help the little ones perfect their skills. We offer family tickets as well as a parent and toddler deal.

Student offer Students skate for just £9 and get a free drink at the Cafe Bar on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays until 7 December. Show your student ID when booking tickets at the box office, and save your ticket to redeem your free drink.

Bubbles and skate Are you after something special? Book one of our champagne skate packages for the perfect treat this winter. This £28 package includes skating, a glass of champagne, profiteroles and use of the cloakroom.

Food and drink Enjoy a well-earned snack, meal or drink after skating in the Cafe Bar, or simply relax, soak up the atmosphere and watch skaters from the viewing platform.