Another Christmas in London Question

We spent Christmas in London with our family several years ago. Friends have family in London and they helped us make the needed reservations and/or buy the tickets we wanted.
We had different times in October that tickets were being released for the Christmas Eve service and made plans to obtain them. Both my granddaughter in London and me in the USA were ready to get those tickets when they were released. My granddaughter got all the tickets online from London while I could not get any online from the USA.
Once she had the tickets everything went very smoothly. Line up early for the entrance to Westminster Abbey as the line for ticket holders is very long. It was such a magical Christmas!

St John’s on Waterloo Road is a 10 minute walk.

When you arrive on the 23rd…walk to it, go inside. In the “ lobby “ you can usually find notices, flyers, etc describing festivities, special times for masses, etc.

As far as fun Christmas traditions research Santa Runs. Watching and encouraging the runners is enjoyable. Same with Christmas Pantos.

Lucky to have spent more than 1 Christmas in London. Personally I like strolling about a park on Christmas Day. Families out and about in new coats, jumpers, hats and gloves. Babies in new prams. Dogs on new leashes. Great people watching.

Bear in mind that many restaurants will be closed on Xmas Day, so you should book breakfast, lunch and dinner that day noting that Xmas Day lunch tends to be the (very) large meal that day.

On Christmas Day at Westminster Abbey, we've been a few times and not had any difficulty securing tickets. There is also the morning holy communion service and also Evensong, which are not ticketed. It really comes down to whether you'd like to be seated in the body of the nave, in which case you need to arrive early, or if you're happy to sit in one of the transepts, in which case you really only need to get their 45 mins or so before the service. I have not been to the Christmas Eve service, but I suspect that would be more popular.

You could also look at Southwark Cathedral which is a 15 to 20 minute walk from County Hall along the South Bank.

I would be very surprised if they ticketed services.

It is very much the poor relation on this forum, which is a great shame.

Hi Stacie, we are planning a trip at Christmas as well! Just thought I'd pop the link to St. Paul's Cathedral and their 2024 Christmas calendar in here for you. Looks like there are concerts and services throughout the season: https://www.stpauls.co.uk/christmas

CaliMom are you sharing the 2024 St Paul’s calendar for reference only?

Thanks everyone! I knew I'd get some great tips.

Claudia- St. John's on Waterloo definitely sounds like an option. Walking through Hyde Park on Christmas morning is also on my list of things to do.

BillS719- Thanks for the reminder about meals. That's something that I have been planning for. I believe that the PI serves food on Christmas. I'm going to double check with them when I stay there in a couple weeks. I also plan on stocking my mini fridge with some Christmas goodies from Harrods.

isn31c- Thank you so much for your tip about Southwark Cathedral, "the poor relation on the forum." I checked out their website and stumbled upon the story of Doorkin the Magnificat. I'm an animal lover, and was deeply touched. Even if I don't make it there for Christmas, I am now planning on attending a Sunday service while visiting at the end of the month. The choirmaster at my church has a great dane who attends every Sunday and looks down on us from the choir loft. I love when our furry companions can worship with us.

CaliMom- It sounds like Christmas in London is very popular this year. I checked out the website for St. Paul's Cathedral and will probably try to enter their lottery for a ticket. Hopefully I'll get lucky and get one for St. Paul's or Westminster. If not, I'll skip on over to St. John's at Waterloo.

My parents and I did the 4 pm service at St. Paul's in 2018, and it was memorable as we got to sit under the dome for the service (this was before they had tickets, so no help there). We missed out on tickets for Westminster Abbey due to the time frame (my parents were visiting me for Christmas while I was in London volunteering and only mentioned they wanted to attend service after arriving just before Christmas), so I'd recommend booking early if it's something you want to do but I can't speak to the Abbey services.

Trafalgar Square has a beautiful tree, and is donated by the city of Oslo every year as a thank you for support during World War II. There are also beautiful lights along Regent and Oxford Streets (but be warned they can get very crowded over the holiday period), as well as other spots (Carnaby Street, Covent Garden, etc). Many businesses shut on Christmas Day itself (including all public transport: buses, the Tube, Overground, etc), so it might be a good day to get out and see the lights on foot. There are also several skating rinks around London that pop up in the winter, which is fun. Pantomimes are popular shows at Christmas time in the UK, if you are into theatre.

I received the excellent advice on this forum to attend a Christmas panto, and I'm so glad I did. A top-tier experience for Christmas memories.