If Marmite Christmas lights and the buzz of Oxford Street leave you cold, this alternative Christmas destination could be just the thing. Centred around the piazza but also taking in some of the streets radiating from it, Covent Garden Christmas offers a wide range of festive treats, all of them beginning on November 7 when the lights were switched on to the accompaniment of the Gay Men's Choir (who will also sing every Saturday from Nov 24 until Christmas). A range of other activities includes the opening of a Lego advent calendar window every day, reindeer petting every Saturday (every Saturday November 10 to December 15, noon-4pm), a food market (every Thursday 11am-7pm until December 20) and a topiary reindeer. The lights remain on display until the first week of January.
To find Christmas lights all around London see www.timeout.com/xmaslights