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.

" recommend booking early if it's something you want to do but I can't speak to the Abbey services."

It's worth noting the 8am communion service and Evensong on Christmas Day don't require tickets.

Claudia, yes just sharing the 2024 link for reference. It should be updated soon.

Also, Stacie -- I am finding several pubs open for Christmas Feast. This historical, famous one, The Ship Tavern, seems to have a lovely menu: https://theshiptavern.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/CHRISTMAS_A5_Brochure2025.pdf

And The Wolseley was open in 2024. It would be wonderful for Christmas! I'm guessing this restaurant books up quickly.

CaliMom- thanks for the info about the pubs. I am sitting in Heathrow waiting to return home after a week in London. I checked with the PI County Hall and they are also open on Christmas. A nice pub lunch sounds much better.

Because of an acute case of FOMO, I booked a ticket for the carols at Royal Albert Hall on Christmas Eve.

OP, just for fun I encourage you to watch the 1956 film, The Man Who Knew Too Much. Stars Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day. Directed by Hitchcock.

Why?

Because the final scenes were filmed in Royal Albert Hall. Other than the ceiling diffuser discs that were added in 1969 the Hall looks exactly the same.

Look closely at the terra-cotta mosaic freeze that depicts the Arts and Sciences that surrounds the building. Really well done.

Twice I’ve attended the Classical Spectacular there. Hearing the 1812 Overture complete with real cannon fire was quite the experience!

Bravo for obtaining tickets.

Lastly, given there’s no public transport on Christmas Day realize it’s about a 15-20 minute amble to Hyde Park. If weather is good will be a nice stroll. If a walker you could also follow the Thames Path to Battersea Park. Just another option.

Have a wonderful time.

Gosh I had no idea that public transportation was shut down on Christmas Day in London!

I do see that London Walks has a couple scheduled for that day.

Claudia- thanks for the movie recommendation. I’ll definitely check it out.

I just finished a week in London, and clocked the walking distance of some things I’d like to see at Christmas without public transportation.

I’m hoping to get motivated to write a trip report about this past week’s trip.

Christmas is a such a fun time to go to London - no tips for your particular question but just wanted to recommend to plan well for Boxing Day (Dec 26) because a lot is closed on that day. Timeout.com usually has a good list of things to do that are open. Check closer to your trip. Have a great time!

The vacation rental company that I am working with for my Christmas trip said Boxing Day is a huge sale shopping day if you are interested.

We are going to be in London almost those same days, December 22 to January 1. We are also going to Carols for Christmas at St Martin in the Fields on Tuesday 23 December 2025 at 4pm. No plans to attend Westminster for Christmas, but that sounds like a fabulous idea. Enjoy the trip!

We attended the Westminster Abbey Christmas Service that's held on the 23rd. I had to wake up early and booked immediately when the tickets became available. If your hotel is not within walking distance and you go on the 24th or 25th, you will need to find one of the very limited transportation options.

CaliMom

Over decades of travel to London at Christmas I learned to throughly respect the Brits for shutting down public transport on Christmas Day. Meant you were spending time with family. Also learned to love the madness of shopping on Boxing Day. Completely different experience than what I’d grown up with in the States. Especially compared to California when grocery stores stayed opened and everyone drove to where ever they were going.

Recall my first Christmas there in the 70’s. The quiet without all the traffic, how lovely it was strolling about Hyde Park. First time I learned about Christmas sandwiches from the grocery markets. Pret A Mangers didn’t exist in the 70’s.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. The more I plan, the more excited I become. Just booked a ticket to see All My Sons with Bryan Cranston on Dec. 28. My itinerary is filling up.

I am definitely checking out the shopping on Boxing Day. Already planning on taking an extra bag.

I think I'm most excited to see London slow down and take a pause on Christmas day. As someone who worked as a food server in a resort for many years, I had to work on Christmas day, and it quite honestly stinks. The County Hall PI told me they will be open on Christmas, so I will more than likely eat there (and include a nice Christmas tip). When I was a server, it was worst for me to go in on Christmas and not have many tables. If I had to work on Christmas, I wanted to make money and feel like I was being compensated for the imposition. But I would be perfectly happy to stock my fridge with goodies and manage on my own for Christmas.

OP well done on the theatre booking. IMHO nothing is better than seeing theatre in London. On my trip last Fall saw John Lithgow in Giant.

Totally understand why you want to provide a Christmas tip for your server but realize your server will not be expecting a tip. Tipping is part of our American culture. It’s not universal.

That said I’m sure your server would be appreciative.

Lastly do hope you’ve researched Santa Runs and Pantos Both are fun British Christmas traditions.

Just a small correction- tipping at restaurants is expected here. Many restaurants even add on an automatic 10% or 12.5% service charge now, tho it is optional and you can ask for it to be removed. If not added in automatically, 10% is standard. However, unlike the US you don't have to tip when just ordering drinks. I think a bigger tip at xmas would definitely be appreciated!

Fine. I’ll stand corrected regarding tipping.

Tip if you want on Christmas Day, I'm sure it will be well appreciated.

But, do be aware that staff that choose to work on Christmas Day are normally very well paid. Probably double pay if not triple pay it is also not unusual for them to get a day off in lieu on top of that and even the employer arranging private transport to and from their home to work to cover for the lack of public transport. This is one reason why eating out on Christmas Day can be prohibitively expensive.