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Christmas can be an expensive time of year.
Fortunately, not everything we do over the festive period has to come with a hefty price tag.
London has some wonderful events and experiences that are both fun for all the family and free of charge.
Our list features thirteen of the best of them.
Among this year’s gratuitous events, you’ll find immersive snow flurries, stunning Oxford Street window displays, light-based art installations and a parade of ceramic penguins.
We have selected experiences in and around central London and all of them run throughout Christmas and most of them into the new year so you have plenty of time to enjoy them.
Bear in mind that while the events are free, the organisers of some of the events on our list encourage you to donate.
Let it snow and off we go.
NB: Our list is in no particular order.
1. Covent Garden Snow Flurries
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We can’t guarantee you’ll witness a white Christmas in the capital this year, but we can promise you will see plenty of the white stuff should you visit Covent Garden Piazza this December.
Be sure to get your timings right because the flurries of fluffy flakes descend punctually on the hour.
So get there in good time if you want to experience the ersatz icy precipitation.
Dates and Times:
Dec 1–31; Flurries descend daily every hour between 12:00–21:00.
Address:
Covent Garden Piazza, London, WC2E 9DD.
Phone:
020 7240 3468.
Website:
https://www.coventgarden.london/experience/christmas-in-covent-garden/
2. St. Pancras International Christmas Tree: Wicked-Themed Spectacle
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To celebrate the release of the Universal Studios blockbuster Wicked this winter, the train station has erected a huge tree-like structure in the main concourse.
The tower, which stands eleven feet tall and took more than 4,000 hours to erect and paint, is supposed to evoke the Emerald City of the film and consists of 100 illuminated towers, each housing an engaging diorama featuring aspects of Oz and the new film.
Immediately below the tree, you’ll find photo booths and a seating area where you can enjoy tunes from the film.
Dates and Times:
(Nov 1, 2024–Jan 2025). You can visit the tree daily during station hours.
Address:
St Pancras International Station, Euston Road, London, N1C 4QP.
Phone:
020 7843 7843.
Website:
https://stpancras.com/news-events/st-pancras-international-2024-wicked-christmas-tree.
3. Southbank Winter Festival: Winter Light
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The upside of the nights drawing in over the winter season is that it lends itself to light shows.
The dark winter nights of Christmas are perfect for exploring the Winter Light experience in London’s Southbank.
The artists invited to display their luminous creations this year have been encouraged to use light and colour playfully while addressing themes around identity, the environment and technology.
Dates and Times:
2 December 2024 – February 2, 2025. You can visit daily between 10:00–22:00.
Address:
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
Phone:
020 7960 4200.
Website:
https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/winter-light/
4. Hyde Park Winter Wonderland
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Hyde Park is a magical place over Christmas.
This year, it has a plethora of fun-filled festive experiences on offer, including ice skating, festive rides and games and Alice in Wonderland ice sculptures.
Off-peak entry to the park is free, which means you’re at liberty to wander through the Christmas markets, check out the festive food stalls, and listen to live music.
The ice rink, circus shows, and rides are all ticketed events, however, so you will have to book and pay should you want to enjoy them.
Dates and Times:
Nov 21, 2024 – Jan 5, 2025; 10:00–22:00.
Address:
Hyde Park, London W2 2UH.
Phone:
020 7262 5533.
Website:
https://hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/.
5. Winter Light Trail at Vauxhall City Farm
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This is another experience that puts wintry luminosity at the centre of the experience.
The farm is one of the capital’s oldest and easily its most urban – its animal pens are within earshot of Big Ben’s gongs and overlooked by a high-rise housing tower.
Over Christmas, the farm’s garden is lit up with enchanting fairy lights and the paths to the animal pens are also illuminated, adding an ethereal charm to the experience of petting and feeding the inhabitants.
Dates and Times:
Dec 1–22, 2024. The trail opens at 16:00 on event days.
Address:
165 Tyers Street, London SE11 5HS.
Phone:
020 7582 4204.
Website:
https://vauxhallcityfarm.org/events/farm-lates-winter-light-trail/.
6. Soho Kids Xmas Lights
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Now in its fourth year, this award-winning lights installation is a must-visit experience for anyone visiting the West End of London this year.
The lights are designed by kids at Soho Parish Primary School. The theme this year is ‘lighting, identity of place, and migration’, and the students have been invited to reflect on local identity and the role of light in shaping a sense of place.
The children’s designs have been transformed into illuminated LED installations and mounted above the streets and thoroughfares of Soho.
The 2024 light display includes six new designs selected via a judging process and 49 designs from previous years – a total of 55 luminations for you to visit.
Dates and Times:
November 12 2024 – January 5, 2025. 24/7.
Address:
You can find the children’s designs in Old Compton Street, Dean Street, and other areas in and around Soho.
Phone:
N/A.
Website:
N/A.
7. The More the Merrier Xmas Window Display at Selfridges in Oxford Street
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The windows at the famous Selfridges store on Oxford Street will be ablaze this festive season with 36,000 baubles, 15,000 LED lightbulbs and over three miles of garlands.
The design is the brainchild of the store’s crack group of artists, including Andrew Logan and Charles Jeffrey, and features traditional Christmas themes and motifs given a modern twist.
Look out for the display’s gargantuan tinsel sculptures and vivid festive landscapes featuring creatures from ancient myths.
Dates and Times:
November 2024–January 2025.
Address:
Selfridges, Oxford Street, London W1A 1AB.
Phone:
020 7318 3663.
Website:
8. Penguin Parade
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This Christmas, London’s Fleet Street Quarter will be transformed into a winter wonderland with a magical parade of sculptured penguins as the centre of attention, all in support of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Each of the installation’s twelve penguins is decked out in a unique festive garb, designed by local artists.
Penguin spotters will be able to find the bird sculptures in strategic spots dotted across the Fleet Quarter, including Chancery Lane, New Street Square, Ludgate Circus and Fleet Street.
Dates and Times:
Nov 14, 2024 – Jan 2025.
Locations:
Fleet Street Quarter, including Chancery Lane, New Street Square, Ludgate Circus, and Fleet Street.
Phone:
020 7250 5800.
Website:
https://www.fleetstreetquarter.co.uk/.
9. Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square
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There is perhaps no more famous Christmas tree in the world than the one that is erected in Trafalgar Square every December.
2024 will be the 77th year in which the people of Oslo, Norway have gifted a Christmas tree to the citizens of Britain in recognition of the role the country played in its liberation during WWII.
The tree will remain in place throughout the festive period and you have until January 5 to pay it a visit before it’s removed and recycled.
Date & Times:
Dec 5 (Lighting ceremony and carols) – January 6 2025.
Address:
Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DS.
Phone:
020 7983 4099.
Website:
https://www.westminster.gov.uk/trafalgar-square-christmas-tree.
10. Santa’s School for Elves
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This event at Christmas at Battersea Power Station is free for children between the ages of 0-2.
The School for Elves can be found in Santa’s yurt, where children learn the skills they need to become one of Santa’s little helpers from his trusty Elves. Lessons include Elf & Fitness and Arts & Elfy Crafts.
During the 25-minute group experience, every child is given a gift, an official Elf hat and an Elf Academy certificate.
While you’re in the building, be sure to check out the iconic building’s spectacular Christmas lights display, featuring 150+ Christmas trees – including a stunning 40-foot tree in Malaysia Square.
Dates and Times:
November 8 – 5 January 2025.
Address:
Battersea Power Station, 188 Kirtling St, Nine Elms, London SW8 5BN.
Phone:
020 7223 9000.
Website:
https://batterseapowerstation.co.uk/events/christmas/Contact
11. No Room at the Inn: A Dramatised Nativity and Blessing of the Crib
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What better way to spend Christmas Eve than watching a dramatic reconstruction of the famous nativity story?
The performance features carol singing, a real-life baby playing the role of the infant Jesus and a scene-stealing donkey.
The dramatisation lasts just over an hour and gives viewers the low-down on the birth of Christ in a modern, engaging way.
Dates and Times:
December 24, 13:00.
Address:
St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ.
Phone:
020 7766 1100.
Website:
12. Christmas at Kew Gardens
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This is another free event that leans heavily on festive lights to wow visitors.
The two-mile light trail of enchanting illuminations is made up of 20 dazzling installations that feature glittering tunnels, lakeside reflections, and trees bejewelled with sparkling lights.
When the temperature drops, head to the fire garden where you’ll be able to re-heat and take in the larger-than-life illuminations.
Dates and Times:
November 13 – January 5, 2025. (16:20 – 22:00, last entry is 20:00).
Address:
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB.
Phone:
020 8332 5655.
Website:
https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/christmas.
13. The New Year’s Day Ceilidh
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Start the new year with a bang with this free Gaelic party in Southbank.
The music festival is hosted at the Clore Ballroom in the Southbank Centre and is led by the Ceilidh Liberation Front, a group who call themselves ‘London’s most radical and vivacious Ceilidh band’.
The event features traditional ceilidh music, which is a lively mix of Scottish and Irish tunes, so don’t be surprised if revellers are wearing kilts and sporrans to enjoy the festivities.
Dates and Times:
Wednesday, January 1, 2025. Starts at 13:00.
Address:
The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
Phone:
020 3879 9555.
Website:
https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/new-years-day-ceilidh/
Final Thoughts
London hasn’t forgotten that the spirit of Christmas is giving.
In fact, if you know where to look you can find freebies galore on offer in the capital.
Hopefully our list has inspired you to get out and about this festive season and enjoy some of the gratuities the metropolis has to offer at this time of year.
Merry Christmas!
If you want us to add a suggestion here based on your experience, please get in touch with us!
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- Senior Online Media & PR Strategist at ClickDo Ltd. | Editor in Chief at LBN | Summer Course Student at the London School of Journalism and passionate Digitalist.
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