London at Christmas time?

I have spent a few Christmases and New Years in London. And will be doing so again this December

It will be chilly and the days will be short. But nowhere near as cold as upstate New York.

nowhere near as cold as upstate New York

was my first thought too. Winters in London have been relatively mild in recent years. I wouldn't worry about crowds. Nowhere near as busy as the height of summer. Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and choosing a pantomime to see are great activities for the kids at Christmas. Lots more to see and do of course.

We were in London over Christmas a few years ago. Cold is relative, but while there was snow on the ground, it was mild enough for us (living in south east Ontario) to enjoy our walks. You can likely Google for Christmas specific activities; but the only holiday specific thing we did was Christmas Eve service at Westminster Abbey. Be aware that things close early on Christmas Eve, stay closed on Christmas Day. There will be no public transportation in London on Christmas Day. We booked our Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas day meals a couple of months in advance. We slept in late that day and took a long walk through St James and Kensington parks.

You need to be very organized as many restaurants close, the chef owners leave London for their country homes. We had the help of an American ex-Pat who lived there. Everything is closed Christmas Day and much of Christmas Eve.
We had a rental cottage with a kitchen. We did a fabulous take out Christmas Dinner from Whole Foods that we had to pick up before noon on Christmas Eve day. We were able to get a Christmas Eve dinner reservation at The Ivy in their location. We got tickets for the Christmas Eve service of the Carols with the Boys’ Choir at Westminster Abbey by quickly going to the website where tickets were released on specific dates, London time. You have to get up early if in the US! We got tickets with the last time slot
( Oct and Nov dates, go to Westminster Abbey website)they were offered, and got four tickets! The weather was OK, and beautiful on Christmas Day. It is a city so , of course, there are crowds but I don’t remember it being extraordinarily crowded. We stayed in a fun neighborhood, and always could get into the neighborhood pub for meals. We went to Rome from London and it was much colder and crowded in Rome.If you live in upstate NY, London will not feel cold.

Central London is wonderful in winter, lots of lights, decorated shops and the general atmosphere is great. However, be aware that it really shuts down down on Christmas Day. This means absolutely no public transport, no shops open, and I think, no restaurants (check this). So if you’re self-catering, you’ll need to lay in food supplies before then, and if you’re in a hotel, you need to check the hotel has a restaurant that stays open. Shops and restaurants open up again on Boxing Day (26th), but public transport will be on Sunday service levels.

You're still going to have local (non-chain) convenience stores and some restaurants and take out / delivery food places will open on Christmas day. Not everyone observes it as a holiday. That said, central London will be pretty dead on Christmas day. A good day for walking and exploring if the weather's nice

If you can navigate the logistics others have mentioned, London in December is fabulous. Amazing street and shop Christmas decorations, concerts, Kew Gardens and just a general festive spirit. If I was to celebrate Christmas away from home, London would be my first choice.

As noted by others nearly everything is closed on Christmas Day….However, I’ve spent Christmas in London more than once over the years and encourage you to seriously give it consideration.

I’d rent an apartment near a park so you can get out on Christmas morning to walk and people watch. Londoners will be out enjoying new coats, prams, bikes, puppies….

Remember not all Londoners are Christians so you will find a few restaurants and cafes serving on Christmas day but nothing is guaranteed.

London events to enjoy around Christmas time include: Pantos, Santa Runs, Christmas markets, lights, shopping, store window decorations, choral events, the King’s Christmas address on the TV, the 7am Peter Pan Cup Race in the Serpentine in Hyde Park and how quiet a city can be.

As far as weather, who knows. In all my Christmas visits I’ve seen snow flurries twice. I live in LA so I love the colder weather. Change of pace.

During December I enjoy heading into a pub by 3pm for a late lunch/early dinner. Roast, pot pie, soup, stews or turkey offerings.

Take a London Walk. www.walks.com

Shop in Liberty and Spitalfields.

Wander about Winter Wonderland at night.

See theatre.

Go, explore and enjoy London at Christmas.

I don't like cold weather but loved Christmas in London. We stayed at the Hilton near Trafalgar Square. We were able to make a reservation at a pub for Christmas Eve and eat at our hotel on Christmas Day. We went to the Christmas service at Westminster Abbey on the night of the 23rd,when public transportation was still running.

Thank you everyone for your extensive and helpful comments. I love the rich information and courtesy that’s always present on this website. You have given me several excellent ideas. It was especially good to know that there is no public transportation in London on Christmas Day. I think perhaps that the best plan might be for us to leave here on Christmas Day and arrive in London on the 26th. I think that the airports will be extremely busy on the days before Christmas. This way we can have a nice celebration at home on Christmas Day and then leave the next day.
FYI, yes, I am a child of The Great Northeast, but my family lives in Virginia and is not used to cold the way that I am. My son hasn’t lived up here for over 20 years. I have enjoyed London in April and August, especially the parks and flowers. It’s that ambiance that I’ll miss.

Once again, thank you so much for your contributions.

I'd actually recommend arriving a couple of days before Christmas, and spending Christmas Day in London - as others have posted, the lead up to Christmas in London is lovely, and Christmas Day (or Eve) church is very special as well.

In terms of public transport, it will be a reduced service on Boxing Day, so I wouldn't be keen to arrive that day - easier to arrive a couple of days prior to Christmas. We normally stay in central London on Christmas Day and walk, or take a minicab/Uber.

It seems to get quieter in London by Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day itself is extremely quiet - a great opportunity to explore without the crowds. I don't find it particularly cold (despite my home country being very warm!).

I think to arrive in London just before Christmas. One of the reasons being that Heathrow Express is not working, due to engineering work, from 24 to 27 December. If HeX is affected then the Elizabeth Line probably will alsobe - as they run on the same set of tracks. While there will be replacement buses it will just put pressure on the airport transport system.

But it will also allow you to be here for the final build up to Christmas.

Or maybe see if you can fly into Gatwick instead.

I agree about arriving a few days early is far superior to Boxing Day..

To take up a couple of suggestions above - yes, get the family into a Pantomime (oft abbr Panto) and revel in the wackiness. Even if many of the jokes go over your head you will all have a blast. It looks on the surface like aimed at junior school kids but a good panto is fab for everyone - kiddoes to grannies...

And Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park...

Not yet mentioned, Christmas at Kew, fab, get tickets asap.

Any of you like skating? Several rinks, maybe the best is in the courtyard of Somerset House overlooking the Thames.

Somerset House I'm not sure I've seen mentioned here, but that's one I have been to and that's highly recommended. Good call.

Just out of my own curiosity, I google to see what was on in the west end for panto. The big production is Peter Pan at The Palladium. For something a bit different, away from the west end, There's Aladdin at The Hackney Empire.

If you go for the decorations, be sure to see them before Christmas-some store windows that we had hoped to see on Boxing Day were empty.

We usually visit in late November to mid-December and enjoy it, especially since there are fewer crowds. It can get chilly and you occasionally get some rain, but we just dress for it and don’t let the weather interfere with our plans. Crowds are fewer so lines, if there are any, are shorter. We enjoy walking around looking around at the Christmas lights and displays. Winter Wonderland at Hyde park is very crowded. We also tend to take days trips to places like Windsor, York, Bath, Cambridge, etc. We’ve only seen flurries on one visit back in 2015.