London Family Christmas Guide
Performances
Sir John Soane’s Museum, watch The Great Belzoni Model Theatre Show in the Egyptian temple theatre in the museum, adults £8 and children £6. St. Paul’s Cathedral, Family Carol Service, Saturday 16th December, 11-11:45, free. St. Martin-in-the-Fields Festive Family Carols by Candlelight, 4-5pm, £16 adults, £14.50 children. West End Magic Presents, Museum of Comedy, Saturday 16th, 4pm, £12.50 adults, £7.50 children, family £35.00 (read my review here). Wilton’s Music Hall, The Box of Delights, tickets from £20. Coronet Printropom will be showing Winter’s Tales, where Ben Okri, Tom Hollander and Toby Stephens will be reading from classic stories, tickets from £12.50. The National Theatre is putting on Pinocchio, tickets from £30 but children are half price. The Unicorn Theatre is running The Velveteen Rabbit, tickets from £16. Battersea Arts Centre is staging Snow While and Rose Red, tickets from £12.50. See Shh … Bang at the Roundhouse, ages 3+, tickets £10 per adult, £8 per child. A Christmas Carol at Middle Temple Hall, see this Christmas classic in a fantastically Dickensian setting, tickets from £35 children/ £45 adults. Alternatively, you can see Rhys Ifans in A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic from £12. Wilde Creatures at the Vaudeville Theatre from £12.50. The Snowman and Carnival of the Animals at Cadogan Hall - screening with live orchestra, Wednesday 20th, 1:30 and 4:30 tickets from £15.
Christmas Cinema
Prince Charles Cinema has a fantastic offering including sing along The Muppet Christmas Carol, Frozen and The Sound of Music; “quote along” Elf, The Nightmare Before Christmas, White Christmas, Home Alone, Its a Wonderful Life just to name a few. The Soho Hotel will be screening How The Grinch Stole Christmas Sunday 17th at 10:30. The BFI will be showing The Wizard of Oz, Its a Wonderful Life and The Muppet Christmas Carol. Regent Street Cinema will be showing A Christmas Story, The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Star. Electric Cinema will be screening Frozen, Home Alone (along with a party), Strange Magic. The Gate Picturehouse, Enchanted and Muppet Christmas Carol.
Making, Doing and Learning
Make a collective mural honouring black artists throughout history at Tate Modern: The 8-14s Studio Painting 16th December. The Wallace Collection will be holding a drop-in workshop where you can make your own Christmas Crackers Sunday 17th, 11am-1pm, free. The Foundling Museum will also be hosting a Christmas Cracker workshop, Sunday 4-5pm, after the Christmas concert. Make your own Christmas card at Burgh House in Hampstead, Sunday 17th 1:30-3:30pm, ages 3+, free. Make Christmas candle holders at the London Transport Museum on various dates throughout the holidays, under 7s, free with museum entry. There is all sorts of fun to be had at the Imaginations Station and Drop-in Design at the V and A this season. The British Museum will be hosting all kinds of interesting learning events for families. Saatchi Gallery, Build a Festive Firtree Worksop Saturday 16th, £5 per card.
A special shout out for Coding Camp with Fuze . The kids spend the day at the Institute of Imagination in Lambeth with a team of teachers in a coding lab. My youngest programmed a robot arm while my oldest programmed a light show, created an alarm and coded her own Harry Potter Quiz … (plus, its drop-off so you can head out and get Christmas finished)
Experiences
Greenwich Wintertime Festival, head over to Greenwich for all kinds of Christmassy fun including performances, ice skating, Father Christmas … or just enjoying walking around the Naval College. Take a tour of the Houses of Parliament, see where Emily Davison hid overnight for the census, sit in the House of Lords and the House of Commons and learn about the gold-standard of Parliamentary Democracy, adults £18.50 but kids go free. The National Theatre is holding family workshops on Saturday 16th December. The Mindful Family will be hosting mindfulness journeys on The Floating Showroom, check for ages and dates, but £10 per person. Children’s Magic Workshop at Museum of Comedy in Holborn for ages 7-13 Saturday 16th, £15 per child. The BFI will be holding a stop-motion animation workshop on Sunday 17th, £20 for first child, £8 for additional siblings.
