London Christmas Market Guide 2020
Our London Christmas Market guide, filled with places to shop, eat and be merry in London’s South, East, Central, West and North poles, including...
- The enormous Hyde Park Christmas celebration
- Two popular markets that run along the Thames
- Some particularly special, sustainability-minded events in East London
- A design-led transformation of the King’s Cross market
- And much, much more...
Central
Winter Wonderland - cancelled for 2020
Winter Wonderland is a huge festival fair and theme park, crammed full with more seasonal entertainment than even the most excitable kid could come up with. Beyond the ice sculptures of the Magical Ice Kingdom, the rides and rollercoasters, the ice-skating performances, kids shows and comedy, there are over 100 stalls selling Christmas gift ideas, festive decorations and seasonal treats. Check the official site for updated times. Free to enter.
Southbank Centre Winter Market - TBC
Another festive world to explore, this one running along the Thames. Handmade gifts and street food are served from the traditional wooden chalets lined up in front of the Southbank Centre. It’s a romantic setting for a stroll year-round, but at Christmas, there’s a little more magic in the air. That may just be the bratwurst. When the cold comes in, warm up at Bar Under the Bridge, a beautifully decorated Alpine-style lodge with heated booths, ping pong and mulled wine. Check the official site for updated times. Free to enter. [caption id="attachment_5811" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
southbankcentre.co.uk[/caption]
Christmas by the River - Limited availability
Just a little further east along the river, this London Bridge event is lighting up the night once again in 2019. Fill your boots and your stockings at the pleasant wooden stalls, rich in homemade gift ideas and the kind of nibbles that go down a treat at Christmas. Head along for a free workshop, with drop-in sessions covering a whole range of Christmas-adjacent topics, from food and drink sampling to arts, crafts and book readings. Check the official site for times. Free to enter.
Christmas at Flat Iron Square - Limited availability
A very popular place for a Christmassy night out. Flat Iron Square’s Christmas market is all about the food and drink, with 12 separate venues all under one roof, serving warming seasonal cocktails and festive street food. Open until midnight, this is a good bet for a post-work Christmas drink or two. Keep an eye on their special seasonal events too, including wreath-making lessons, a dog-focused Christmas shopping market and more. Check the official site for times. Free to enter.
Christmas in Leicester Square - TBC
A Christmas heaven right in the middle of Leicester Square, this event features a set of cute stalls selling stocking fillers, a big dome putting on nightly shows and an old school Santa’s Grotto. Lists at the ready, kids. Not you. It’s for kids. You have access to a debit card. You can literally buy yourself whatever you want this year. Check the official site for times. Free to enter.
Fair Christmas Fayre - TBC
It may sound like a colleague of few words describing their time off when returning to work in January, but this is actually London’s longest-running ethical Christmas market. It’s a one-dayer, so make sure you put it in your diary. Head here for more than 20 stalls selling Fairtrade, upcycled, recycled and eco-friendly gifts. The fair supports the work done by The Salvation Army, and a portion of the profits from the stalls go to a range of other charities. It’s held at Regent Hall Salvation Army, 275 Oxford Street. Check the official site for updated times. Free to enter.
West
Ealing Christmas Market - TBC
Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre is transformed into a special London Christmas market during December. Pop along and get your bells a-jingling as you shop as the cute Christmas cabins, picking up sweet treats, handmade gifts and some Xmas clothing. All ringing around the Christmas tree, the market will be visited by Santa and his elves, as well as local school choirs and singing groups. Free to enter. [caption id="attachment_5814" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
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Animal Aid Christmas Festival - Online event
Christmas time tends to be ripe with challenges for vegans and vegetarians. Having to explain to your nan why you won’t be eating turkey this year. Telling mum again and again that it’s possible to get all the nutrition you need from a plant-based diet and that no, not even brie is vegan. So head down to Animal Aid’s Christmas Festival for a 100% vegan London Christmas market, and stock up on supplies, gifts and clothing for your trouble-free, no-questions-asked 100% vegan Christmas. There’ll be cookery demonstrations, a talk from TV naturalist and campaigner Chris Packham and some stand up from a veg-based comedian at the Kensington Town Hall event. Check the official site for updated times. Free to enter.
North
Etsy Made Local - Online event
Back for the third year at Tottenham Town Hall and Bernie Grant Arts Centre, this Etsy-run London Christmas market is all about sustainability, ethical production practices and independent businesses and designers. Head along to pick up everything from fashionable Christmas jumpers and one-off clothing, to soy wax candles, geometric jewellery and vintage-inspired homeware. The first 50 people through the doors will receive a free goody bag, so do your best to pull yourself out of bed on this December Saturday morning and get over to Tottenham. Check the official site for updated times. Free to enter.
Christmas Canopy Market at King’s Cross - TBC
King’s Cross has enjoyed a design makeover in time for Christmas, and this new focus on impeccable, contemporary design and designers is spilling out into their Canopy Market. Expect to find local designers and makers selling all kinds of imaginative and stylish gear at the daily event, surely among the most fashionable London Christmas markets. Pick up your Christmas tree from Canopy Market...all proceeds go to charity. Now you’ve just got to lug the thing home somehow. Do Uber accept Christmas trees? Check the official site for updated times. Free to enter. [caption id="attachment_5815" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
canopymarket.co.uk[/caption]
East
Zero Waste Christmas Market - TBC
Are you dreaming of a green Christmas? Then get down to the Zero Waste Christmas Market at The Boiler House on Brick Lane. Collecting together some of the country’s most fashionable and innovative ecologically sound makers and producers, the London Christmas market makes sustainable Christmases easier than ever. As well as stalls selling gifts, expect to find some of the best street food on the London Christmas market scene, plenty of mulled wine and a host of sustainability seminars throughout the day. Check the official site for updated times. Free to enter.
Turning Earth and Carve London Winter Ceramics and Wood Ware Market - TBC
Another East London Christmas market doing things a little differently. Head here for some of the best UK producers of pottery and woodworks gathered together under one roof. Take in a pottery wheel throwing demonstration, and maybe even have a go for yourself, before scouring the stalls for ceramics gifts to take away with you. Carve London is joining the party this year, with plenty of handmade woodwork items to choose from. Specially donated pieces will be raising money for Hackney Migrant Centre. Check the official site for updated times. Free to enter. [caption id="attachment_5816" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
turningearth.org[/caption]
South
Greenwich Market at Christmas - TBC
Greenwich Market is open year-round, but it has a real spring in its step come December. Head down to Greenwich to soak in the Christmas cheer in the atmospheric covered market, picking out handmade gifts, homeware, knitted clothing and Christmas snacks, ideal as stocking fillers and gifts for those who like pretty things with a story behind them. If you’ve got a little one or two with you, pop in to see Santa in his grotto, just to straighten out who exactly is buying what from their Christmas lists this year. You might be able to get him to agree to a 60/40 split, but he’s been doing this stuff since before you were born, so you’ll be lucky to end up with that. On certain dates, the market stays open later for Christmas shopping, so head down on the 11th or 18th December for long evenings of present buying. Check the official site for updated times. Free to enter.
Kingston Christmas Market
It’s a wonderful sight when the lawn in front of Kingston’s All Saints Church gets into the Christmas spirit, hosting the Kingston Christmas Market in what looks like an alpine village and ancient market place. Soak up the atmosphere this December, browsing the traditional wooden shacks and stalls for homemade giftware, unique garments, spiced biscuits, toys from yesteryear and much, much more. Drink in some Christmas cheer with a mug of steaming mulled wine, chomp down on some classic Christmas street food and head over to the fire pit to toast some marshmallows and warm up your toes a little. Check the official site for updated times. Free to enter. [caption id="attachment_5817" align="alignnone" width="1000"]
inkingston.co.uk[/caption] So, enjoy the London Christmas market circuit this year. Let us know if you have any other suggestions in the comments box below. And here's a link to our blog about London's best street food market, in case you happen to be reading this in January.