When chestnut aroma scents the air and Christmas carols play everywhere, when stores around the city put up their Christmas decorations, then you know the yuletide season is near. As every year offering countless events, London is second to none in celebrating Christmas – a good reason to mark your calendar for a visit to Europe’s most bustling city this November and December. Christmas trees, Christmas shopping and turkey are all important parts of Christmas but London offers much more.
To help you get in the spirit while visiting London, we compiled a list of 8 things to do in London this Christmas for everyone:
1. Go Ice Skating At One of London’s Spectacular Ice Rinks
Great for winter sports lovers, couples, families, friends, adults and kids alike, ice skating is the ideal activity during the cold season. London’s ice skating rinks can be found at some of the city’s most popular tourist destinations, including Hyde Park, the Natural History Museum, Canary Wharf, the London Eye, Somerset House, the Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London. At about £9 for children to £13, ice skating is a great traditional Christmas activity to experience in the heart of London. Find out more
Photo Credit:Â Trustees of the Natural History Museum
2. Visit London’s Best Christmas Markets and Fairs
Visiting and shopping at one of London’s Christmas markets or fairs is one of the city’s most popular season activities. When staying at one of Urban Stay’s serviced apartments with prime location in Central London and convenient transportation links at your doorstep, you will easily find a Christmas market nearby. While they all spread much Christmas cheer, we can especially recommend the Southbank Centre Christmas Market, which you may find between the Southbank Centre and the London Eye as well as the popular Christmas Market in Hyde Park, which is part of the park’s annual Winter Wonderland celebration. Find out more
Photo Credit: Jason Alden
3. Enjoy Winter Wonderland London Hyde Park with the Entire Family
Winter Wonderland is an annual celebration at Hyde Park that runs from Nov 20, 2015 until Jan 3, 2016. Opening times are from 10am – 10pm daily. The event offers two circuses in the park as well as Santa Land and the Magical Ice Kingdom, featuring ice sculptures, ice forests and ice characters in theme rooms. Tickets for the Ice Kingdom are £8 for adults, £6 for children or £22 for a family. Entry to the Hyde Park grounds and the Christmas market is fee. Find out more
Photo Credit:Â PWREvents
4. Best Places For Christmas Shopping in London
London offers some of the best markets, shopping streets and boutiques in all of Europe. If you’re still on the hunt for an exclusive, funny, or unique Christmas present London is the place to be. If you are looking for a handcrafted gift, stylish accessories, vintage clothes or jewellery don’t miss London’s best markets! Our favourites are definitely Greenwich Market, Portobello Road Market, Old Spitalfields Market and Columbia Road Flower Market.
For London’s best high street shopping head to Westfields Shopping Centre in Stratford, Oxford Street, Carnaby Street or Canary Wharf Shopping Mall. For the most exclusive luxury shopping in London visit Regent’s Street or London’s jewellery quarter and centre of the UK diamond trade at Hatton Garden. In addition, designer shopping can also be found around Oxford Street, High Street Kensington and Knightsbridge.
 Find out more
Photo Credit:Â Rob Greig
5. Get into the spirit by listening to Christmas Carols in London
What would the Christmas season be without the matching soundtrack? All around the city choirs, bands and other musicians put on beautiful Christmas concerts, singing everyone’s Christmas favourites. Enjoying the season’s music doesn’t have to be expensive: many singers put on free concerts all around on the streets of London. Christmas carolers at Trafalgar Square sing around the Christmas tree on various evenings up until Christmas Eve. Find out more
Photo Credit: Timeout London
6. Be amazed by London’s Most Amazing Christmas Lights
Every November and December, London transforms into a magical fairytale-like lighting spectacle. Some of the city’s most beautifully decorated places include Oxford Street, Covent Garden, Regent Street, Duke of York Square and Trafalgar Square. The Christmas lights give the city a special atmosphere and can be enjoyed by the entire family. Many areas in London have a public event to mark the switching on of Christmas lights.
The giant Christmas tree at Trafalgar Square has a special history, as it is donated to London by Norway every year as a token of gratitude for helping during World War II. Find out more
Photo credit: MyTravelo
7. See London’s Top Christmas Shows This Winter
London’s West End around Shaftsbury’s Avenue in  Central London offers world class shows year round. However, during Christmas the West End is particularly exciting with its glittering Christmas Shows. From Nutcracker to a Sleeping Beauty pantomime, Disney’s Frozen on ice and circus performances at Southbank London offers it all. For a list of all the Christmas performances taking place take a look here.
Photo credit:Â Visit London
8. Try some Traditional British Christmas Food
Christmas is the time to indulge in all the goodness that the season’s foods have to offer. After all, it is not only love that goes through the stomach but also tradition and nostalgia.
In London and the United Kingdom, a traditional Christmas meal consists of roast turkey with cranberry sauce, a side of roast potatoes, parsnips and other vegetables, followed by the traditional Christmas pudding, a dessert of heavy steamed pudding with dried fruit. While London’s restaurant and food scene is one of the best in the world, a home cooked meal is still unbeatable, especially when longing for traditional cuisine. Good thing then that Urban Stay’s London serviced apartments come with a kitchen that you can take full advantage of.
Enjoy a beautifully lit up London while shopping at the city’s Christmas markets, listening to Christmas carols everywhere and perhaps going for a round of ice skating or a pantomime show and come home to your Urban Stay apartment to try yourself at cooking a traditional British Christmas meal. Find some inspiration at: BBC.co.uk Foods
Photo Credit: AmericanExperience
Enjoy all that London has to offer this Christmas season by taking advantage of the city’s events and attractions while being able to unwind at your own London home with Urban Stay Corporate Accommodation! By staying at one of Urban Stay’s ideally located serviced apartments in Central London, you can be sure never to miss out on all the most important season happenings.
