Ideas for children in London in December

I don’t think there are any good Christmas markets in London. The decorations are very good everywhere in central London. They would probably enjoy Hyde Park Winter Wonderland which is a Christmas fair type thing. Take them to see a show - Matilda is great for this age group. Paddington is fantastic but I expect it’ll be sold out.

The London Eye is good and the whole South Bank walk along the Thames is fun with lots going on.

Don’t rule out parks just because it’s December. The days will be short and grey but it’s usually fairly mild in London and as long as it’s not raining you can still enjoy being outside.

Hamley’s Toy Store
Winter Wonderland ( book tickets in advance )
Kew Gardens ( book tickets in advance )
Harry Potter
Christmas Lights
Spitalifields Market

Helen, thanks for your suggestions! I hadn't thought of a show. I will look into that now. What are typical temps for London in December? 30's or 40's Fahrenheit?

Claudia, thanks for your suggestions, too. I will make note that we need to reserve in advance for the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland and Kew Gardens. I looked up Hamley's Toy Store. My grandchildren will love it!

If the kids want to see the Harry Potter studios book it now, preferably yesterday.

I assume that this is not the last week in December - if it is then things will be very different.

As far as I’m aware there are no Christmas markets worth going to in London. The two biggest ones are in Manchester and Birmingham. Both cities have plenty to commend them for a visit but for me the Christmas markets aren’t one of them

You will definitely need to book Warner Bros Harry Potter well in advance, it is very popular and does sell out.
Winter Wonderland has become a feature of Christmas in London but be warned it can get busy and the cost of rides etc can quickly add up. It is not cheap!
Children that age usually love riding the front seat on the top deck of the bus. The 139 bus route goes through the centre of town starting at Waterloo and it would give you a great view of all the Christmas lights and windows.
All the big department stores have Christmas departments and grottoes that would we worth exploring. Selfridges is usually particularly good (I am a bit biased I was once, briefly, an elf in the grotto!)

British supermarkets always go to town with Christmas themed food. Marks and Spencer's are particularly innovative, occasionally bordering on the deranged! Your grandchildren might enjoy exploring their food hall for Christmas snacks to try. M&S chocolate and biscuits would be good gifts to take home. Definitely try the Percy Pigs. A full Colin the Caterpiller would probably be too much but they will probably do Christmas themed mini Colins.:-)
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/a73785205/ms-skiing-colin-the-caterpillar/

'Christmas' sandwiches will be available everywhere, and would make an interesting lunch. I'm a particular fan of the Pret a Manger version.

My first thought before reading any of the responses was Hamleys. I'm glad Claudia brought it up.

It's gping to be very busy but the kids will love you forever.

If the weather is decent, the London Zoo is great. We went there in Dec of 2014 because our college freshman daughter wanted to see it. I guess because of its former empire, it had animals(especially snakes) that the zoos we had been to in the US didn't have. I had booked Harry Potter in July for Dec 24 and although I am not a HP fan, it was great to see the Great Hall decorated for Christmas.

You absolutely need reservations for the Warner Studios Tour London: Harry Potter, as they sell out. Also, it's important to know it’s not in London proper, but in a suburb and will take a good ¾ of a day with transit out, time there and then getting back to London. It’s been at least 10 years since I went with my daughter — I do remember that we took a train out of Euston station to Watford Junction and a bus to the studio from there. It would be a real treat for a Harry Potter fan All of the details are on the official website: wbstudiotour.co.uk.

My husband and I were in London in December 2024 and we really enjoyed the lights and decorations everywhere, especially the West End theater district and the Southbank Centre Winter Market by the London Eye.

How about the Mail Rail at the Postal Museum?
I really the tea bus. They have tours leaving after dark for the Xmas lights, as well as other themed tours.
https://b-bakery.com/london/bus-tours/christmas-afternoon-tea

Do not miss Christmas at Kew light display!!! Buy tickets now.

https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/christmas

Thank you everyone! I admit the choices are mind-boggling. I've checked a few websites and see that days are getting sold out. I thought I was early but apparently not.

Regarding the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, there are so many different passes to choose from. So is this an amusement park with Christmas lights and festivities? Are Kew Gardens more enjoyable? I realize that is subjective. Sounds like the cost would be more manageable, though, than Winter Wonderland.

It sounds like if we can't get tickets for Kew Gardens and/or Winter Wonderland, we still would enjoy the Christmas ambiance just walking around and going into department stores and supermarkets, right?

We arrive in London on December 7, and we fly home on December 13.

Does anyone know if it's necessary to buy advance tickets for the Tower of London and Aquarium in December? If so, how far in advance? My daughter will be meeting with her agent when we are in London a few times, so she needs to get that schedule settled before we can make any reservations.

PS. We like the idea of the tea bus, too!

Kmkwoo, just to add to the possibilities….

We loved going to Hampstead and Hampstead Heath. It’s an easy trip from London and when we were there saw a lot of families walking and having fun. I checked their website for Christmas and it seems there is a nice market and other kid friendly activities. Just a thought!

https://www.hampstead-village.com/2026/06/christmas-at-hampstead-heath-kenwood.html

Kew would be a very different experience to Winter Wonderland so it just depends what you like. I’d look up some videos on YouTube to get an idea of both. Everything Christmassy in London gets booked up very early. Many families and groups of friends get together to see a show or event or whatever it is in the run up to Christmas, often doing the same activities every year as a tradition.

The weather in December is typically around 10C. It does depend what you’re used to as to whether that’s cold for you or not.

I see Tower Bridge is on your list. Are you aware that you can actually go inside, up one of the towers across the high level walkway and down the opposite tower? Chargeable obviously.
Another quirky attraction is Battersea Power Station, which is now a shopping centre. High end shops but warm and the sheer scale of the building is impressive. You can go up the inside of one of the massive chimneys in a transparent lift. The emergence at the top is a "wow" moment. Again, there is a fee.
Temps around that time should be 7-10C, 40sF, although we could have a mild spell or a cold spell. Unlikely to see snow that early.

I don't think anybody above has mentioned a panto.

www.timeout.com/london/theatre/christmas-pantomimes-in-london

I am a second for panto. A British Christmas tradition kind of spoof on a fairytale with humor and music. Great fun for all.

And the timeout website referred to above for panto is a great resource all going’s on for London with a separate tab for children friendly events.

Finally the new London Museum is scheduled to finally open Nov 28. The previous incarnation was great for kids and the new one should be even better. https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/visit/. And admission free.

Other museums with free admission include the British Museum, the V&A and the Natural History. What great about that is you don’t feel bad popping in for just an hour or so and leaving again if kids are tired bored or whatever. And they often have special things for kids like kit for treasure hunt etc. Here the page for V&A. https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/families

Another fun idea is the Jurassic Tea at the Ampersand Hotel if your kids are into dinosaurs.

Pantomimes are a peculiarly British entertainment and there will be a number of in.jokes that might not work for a non-Brit

Oh yes they will! Sorry Bill, couldn't resist.

I would add the Young V&A in Bethnal Green as well for kids. A museum specifically designed for young children, used to be the Museum of Childhood. Lots of interactive stuff. Out in the East End but right by Bethnal Green tube station.

I also highly suggest Panto. It is one of our favorite memories of a trip when my kids were younger. Not as young as your kids but yours are a great age for it. Look at some of the videos on it.
Some of the jokes are local but that is part of the fun. Think we might have been the other only tourists there. Lots of families. We were in the front row & the diva picked out my husband and
Came down off the stage to sit on his lap. Alas we didn’t have our phones out to take a pic and only have the memories. It is fractured fairy tales for all ages. If you want to experience a London Christmas you really should go. Fun memories
And what locals do with their families.

Yeah we go every year with extended family to see the Bristol Hippodrome panto. Lots of people do the same thing. The kids love it as part of the run up to Christmas.

hey hey kmkwoo
wowcher.co.uk
a website that has ideas about activities, restaurants, afternoon teas, etc to check out in london that some are 2 for 1 for your family to check out if interested. it is a short time but do enjoy your time.
aloha

kmkwoo, I think you might remember that I took my two grandkids to London back in March of 2025, and they loved it there. A lot of the ideas here are great, but I was going to also suggest that you take them to one of the optical illusion museums. My granddaughter found them online and they absolutely love them. They were so much fun, and I even enjoyed them.

If you look for my trip report from back then, you’ll find some information about the two that we went to. There were two different ones. I also recommend Hanley’s toy store. They would probably also enjoy the M&M store, which is nearby.

I’m about 30,000 feet up in the air right now, so I don’t have a whole lot of time left to look everything up, but you can find my blog and that has a lot of the information as well. And of course the trip report. But I think of anything else, I’ll let you know.

I say this as politely and respectfully as possible- I am always slightly surprised at how many people from the US say they enjoy coming here to see a panto. This is of course a very personal thing, but to me the comedy is just so broad, and they're always full of D-list celebrities- it's just too silly for me. This isn't meant to detract from anyone else's enjoyment, just providing an alternative perpsective.

On a more positive note, here is what I recommend booking in advance:

Tower of London- book in advance
Tower Bridge- you can walk across any time, or visit the upper part of the bridge for a fee- no need to book in advance
London Transport Museum- no need
Science Museum- no need
Trafalgar Square- nothing to book
Golden Hinde- no need
Sea Life London Aquarium- no need but you can save if you book online in conjunction with a train ticket

Humor too broad?

British humor is different from American humor.

I adored Monty Python while some of my friends thought it stupid.

Recall a London visit in the 90’s where I discovered French and Saunders. Laughed so hard nearly hurt myself. The friends I was traveling with weren’t enamored.

My father loved Benny Hill.

I enjoy Mr Bean ( the opening of the London Olympics with him was sheer brilliance) Ricky Gervais, Hyacinth Bucket, Edina and Patsy.

Thank you so much everyone! These are awesome suggestions. I am at my daughter’s house now, and we are going over all the suggestions. Will try to make some reservations this weekend. We definitely want to see Matilda, the Harry Potter studio, and Tower of London.
And want some free time to visit Hamley Toy store and various department stores and food shops.

Mardee, where are you traveling to?

Consider going to Hampton Court Palace. We took our grandchildren there, and they loved the maze and the Magic Garden play area. You can check the December dates that the Magic Garden is open. I think it is open the last 2 weeks of December.

In December there is supposed to be a Winter Palace and Christmas Beast Ball festivities. There is also an artisan food market on Dec. 4-6 and Dec. 11-13. An open air ice rink is available which may require separate tickets.

Prebook your reservation for Hampton Court Palace online in advance. Our family really enjoyed it last summer. It is an easy tube ride from London.

Our grandchildren also enjoyed the London Eye and the Tower of London. Amorino gelato near Buckingham Palace was a favorite. The classic gelato cone serves 3 flavors of gelato in a rose shape.

Best wishes for a great trip!

Mardee, where are you traveling to?

I'm in Coeur d'Alene for a Rick Steves get-together (just for the weekend)! https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/travel-meetings/invite-for-sept-26-2026-weekend-meet-up-in-coeur-d-alene-idaho

Here are the 2 blog posts with info on the optical illusion museums. Honestly, there were lots of kids there of all ages and they all loved them!

https://mostlytraveled.wordpress.com/2025/03/30/day-3-museum-day/
https://mostlytraveled.wordpress.com/2025/04/08/day-nine-more-optical-illusions-and-a-lazy-day/