19 best Christmas things to do with kids in London in 2026

What is it? Essentially a spectacular and hugely popular festive light trail, Christmas at Kew has become a key date in London’s festive calendar. See the 300-acre botanic garden lit up with larger-than-life illuminations, with both the venue’s glass houses and the trees that cover its grounds drenched in different hues.

Why go? Not so much a Christmas light trail as the Christmas light trail, the whole thing is stunning, but don’t miss the lake, where you’ll catch reflections of the vibrant bulbs dancing on the water, taking the magical feeling to another level. Keep yourself toasty along the way with warming winter snacks and make sure you pop by the grotto to say ‘hi’ to Father Christmas himself.

What is it? Each year, Hyde Park gets transformed from pretty park to designated Winter Wonderland. The annual favourite returns in 2025 for its eighteenth year, bringing a sleigh-load of noisy festive fun with it.

Why go? It’s loud, it’s garish, you’re going to spend a load of money there – yup, for children there is literally no downside to Winter Wonderland. There is also absolutely loads to do: you’ll find fairground rides, an ice rink, a child-friendly Santa Land (including Santa’s Grotto, where presents may be waiting) and traditional Christmas markets. Keep your silent night – this is urban Christmas at its most joyful. This year’s big new addition is Gandeys K-Pop Dragon Circus, which takes place three to five times every day, and does indeed feature K-Pop, (puppet) dragons, and circus.

What is it? There has been a Birmingham Rep production of Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman coming to London under the auspices of Sadler’s Wells for over 30 years now. But it’s not this one! Yes, after over three decades the original production had been retired and the two theatres have put their heads together to stage a new 2026 Snowman completely from scratch, with a new team headed by director-choreographer Will Tuckett.

Why go? The Snowman simply is British Christmas, a charming, magical and strangely haunting story of a boy and his fleeting snowy friend. This revamp won’t tinker with the story, but it will provide it with a striking makeover visually.

What is it? The attraction once known as the Museum of London will finally reopen at its new Smithfield home on November 28 2026, where it will be known as London Museum. Full of thrilling new spaces and family friendly interactive exhibits themes on London’s past, present and future, we’ll have more information after it opens, but in short, expect a spectacular new museum to explore just in time for Christmas.

Where is it? Museum of London, Spitalfield.

What is it? Although the National Theatre will be running shows in all three theatres over the Christmas hols, The Jungle Book is emphatically its Big Christmas Show. A lavish puppet-powered family friendly adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s India-set story cycle, it’s adapted by Indian playwright Anupama Chandrasekhar. It’s not a version of the Disney film, but rather returns to Kipling’s original collection of stories, and relocates the adventures of Mowglie the man cub and his animal pals to the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans in the country’s east.

Where is it? National Theatre, Olivier.

What is it? As a rule, the posher the bit of London, the twinklier it gets at Christmas and that’s certainly borne out by the Chelsea Winter Village & Illuminations. The village bit is basically food and gift stands and is free to enter. Now in its second year, the Illuminations are the paid-for 1.5km light trail, which will is billed as being 90 percent different to last year’s and will offer all sorts of after dark illuminated fun in the grand light trail style. That’s half the length of the Kew one, but still a fair hike, and it’s just seven minute walk from Sloane Square.

Where is it? Chelsea Royal Hospital.

What is it? The Southbank Centre’s big family-friendly Christmas show is the European premiere of Cirque Alice, an Australian circus extravangaza with an Alice in Wonderland theme from the team behind the recent West End hit Now You See Me.

Why go? It’s big, slick circus fun for all the family. Expect mind-boggling acrobatic feats made even more mind-boggling yet via the addition of Lewis Caroll’s various trippy denizens. For ages five plus.

What is it? This tersely named show does what it says in the packaging, being a ten-room immersive experience themed around Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Why go? Carroll’s absurdist fantasy world should be the perfect subject for what sounds like a mix of the Insta-friendly experiential fodder represented by the likes of House of Dreamers and Bubble Planet, crossed with actual immersive theatre – we’re promised there will be actors in this one. 

What is it? Well this is certainly ambitious: a lavish seven-part, two-and-a-half-hour, three-present immersive Christmas experience that will take over Shepherd’s Bush Green for the seasonal period. We’re promised ‘a series of richly detailed theatrical settings’ that pay homage to Dickensian London as you’re sucked into a full-bore story that revolves around a mysterious secret of Santa’s. Clearly on some level it’s a grotto but there’s a lot more going on here besides.

Where is it? Shepherd’s Bush Green.

What is it? You know what a grotto is. Or you thought you did. London actually has a ludicrous adundance of grottos for every taste and budget. Check out our round up.

Why go? Because meeting Santa is magical, and in London there are any number of ways to encounter him, from Noir Kringle – a Black Father Christmas who diversifies the fictional character’s imagined whiteness – to a grotto in a pod of the London Eye.

What is it? Each winter, London fills up with pop-up rinks, from the legendary Somerset House to the newer Glide at Battersea Power Station to the returning Queen’s Ice Rink in Greenwich (pictured) returning after a fallow year.

Why go? Is there anything more wonderfully wintry than wrapping up warm, pulling on some ice skates and gliding around a frosty slab of ice with your loved ones? While London’s ice rinks are defintely adult orientated later at night, they’re a frozen treat for kids during the day – grab one of those cute penguin skate aids and get swooping.

Time Out tip: You can drop an awful lot of money on a rink – and may well be happy to – but the centrally located Queens Skate Dine Bowl in Bayswater is worth a look, being both London’s oldest rink (it’s been around since the ’30s) and one of its cheapest, with tickets starting at just £8 and topping off at £13.75 if you pre-book. 

At all, you’ll find festive vibes ramped up to the max, especially come December – and a lot of fellow Londoners vying for a spot on the ice. Book in advance to guarantee you can show off your best ice moves (or your ability to stay upright, at the very least). Here are some of the best rinks to soar across this winter.

RECOMMENDED: our ultimate guide to Christmas in London.

What is it? London is – to put it simply – the best place in the world to see a pantomime. We’ve got everything from ultra-hip, hyper-local numbers to massive celebrity blowouts and all points inbetween. To not go to at least one panto is to not truly participate in Christmas itself.

Why go? Because it’s Christmas in Britain and it would simply be silly not to.  

Where is is it? Click through for our informed guide on where to panto this season.

What is it? Most circus shows have nonsensical plots – more a theme than anything – but London’s beloved Revel Puck is this Christmas debuting an an intriging ‘adaptation’ of the venerable illustrator Quentin Blake’s wordless 1998 book Clown, about a toy (what else) clown who is thrown away by its owner and must find a new home. Obviously what we’ll largely be getting will be some cool acrobatics, but modelling them on the book’s plot is a very nice and indeed charming idea.

Where is it? Walthamstow Town Square.

What is it? If there’s one illustrator that featured as much in our childhoods as Quentin Blake, then it would probably be Tove Jansson. In 1945, the Finnish author and artist created the lovable, hippo-like Moomins. They debuted as a comic strip in London’s Evening News and, since then, more than 30 million copies of Moomins books have been sold around the world. Now, unseen drawings of the funny little characters, and over 100 other rarely seen pieces of work by Jansson are going on display as part of a major UK exhibition.

Where is it? Quentin Blake Centre of Illustration

What is it? Old school-in-a-good-way circus company Zippos return as the starring attraction of Christmas on the Heath, a festive happening on Hampstead Heath that also takes in a fun fair, a Christmas tree seller and various seasonally appropriate food and drink concessions. The circus itself with be a snowy riff on traditional Zippos themes and include ‘giant puppet polar bears, clowns, aerialists, acrobats, wheel of death, jugglers, dancers, the petrol adrenaline of the Motorcycle Globe, and even Santa himself’.

Where is it? Hampstead Heath.

What is it? After a brief post-Halloween shutdown and before a longer break from early January, Legoland enjoys a short, spectacular Christmas season. As well it might – where else can you combine theme park last minute present shopping quite so effectively? There is, naturally, a festive theme across the park – think trees, snow, an elf show – and the hotels are open as well for the perfect minifigure minbreak away from it all. Plus, naturally, you can meet Santa (or one of his LEGO avatars).

Where is it? Legoland Windsor Park.

What is it? Watch a screening of a Christmas classic while tucking into a five-course meal carefully picked to complement the films’ best-loved scenes. On the menu in London this Christmas are screenings of family classics Elf, Home Alone and How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Where is it? Each film is at at different venue: click through for details.

What is it? The holidays are here and so is another blandly-named ice skating spectacular from Disney on Ice. Discover the Magic traces a hunt for beloved fairy Tinkerbell as she fltters through the worlds of Aladdin, Toy Story, The Little Mermaid and more, except everyone is ice skating.

Where is it? The O2.

What is it? Amusing young kids in London for the full two weeks of the school Christmas holidays can be a a challenge, but riding to the ruff ruff rescue is this new stage outing from PAW Patrol. The crime-fighting puppies’ arena-touring stage outing boasts a typically mad PAW Patrol plot: the nefarious Mayor Humdinger has cloned Robo Dog and the clones are wreaking havoc across the globe – the pups need to stop them. We’re promised lavish special effects and large amounts of audience participation.

Where is it? OVO Wembley Arena.