Various

Chelsea is usually a pretty glitzy neighbourhood any time of the year, but it’s getting even more so this festive season. After Santa Claus himself stopped by for the big switch on, the area is now twinkling away under clusters of magical illuminations.

The regenerated King’s Cross area will once again be transformed into a Christmas paradise from November, with eight different markets popping up over the course of five weeks. The Lower Stable Street Market offers up everything from food and drinks to homeware, art, books and clothing. Christmas under the Canopy will be showcasing some of London’s best artisan traders and food stalls, with a special vegan Christmas market over one weekend of its run. Elsewhere, the Mexican Christmas Market will provide a spicy twist on the festive season, with piñatas and a roaming cumbia band while you shop for artisanal clothing, accessories, ornaments and crafts from the country. After its 2023 debut, lifestyle brand TOAST returns to Coal Drops Yard, bringing with it handcrafted and sustainably made lifestyle products, from textiles to stationery. The Illustrators Fair will highlight local independent artists, the Crafty Fox Markets will showcase more than 100 designers and makers in the fields of jewellery, homeware and more, and the Shōtengai Christmas Market will bring a taste of Japan to London. Talk about shopping til you drop!

London’s iconic New Year’s Eve fireworks will once again take over the skies above the Thames, waving goodbye to 2024 and welcoming in 2025 with a bang. The end of year show by the river is one of the biggest in the world, with people rushing to buy tickets from October to see tens of thousands of pyrotechnics light up the city landmarks by the Thames. Ticket holders will be allocated one of a series of viewing areas to see the sparkles, which stretch from Victoria Embankment to Westminster Bridge and Waterloo Bridge.  If you want a river-side seat you better look sharp. The first release of tickets is already on sale, with tickets expected to go quickly. If you’re keen to bag a spot, read our guide on how to get tickets. But, if you do end up missing out on tickets, don’t fret. Head to your nearest hill or just whack on BBC1 and watch it with a selection box.  Sign up on the Mayor of London website to get updates on tickets.  RECOMMENDED: Our full guide to celebrating New Year in London.

Trying to find a good spot to watch the NYE fireworks along the Thames can be a hassle. You’ve got to get down early, jostle for space and then stay there til the big show is over. Uber Boat by Thames Clipper is offering a much less stressful and much more luxurious way to witness the spectacle this year, with special New Year’s Eve cruises. The package includes a sail down the river, a welcome glass of red or white wine or a soft drink when you board, plus a glass of Champers to toast with at midnight, live music and a yummy snack box to keep hunger at bay. The cruises set sail from various points of the river, including Tilbury, Gravesend, Barking, North Greenwich, Putney, Battersea Power Station and Canary Wharf.

The London International Mime Festival was a true city staple, bringing weird and wild physical theatre from across the globe to the capital each year. Rarely ‘mime’ in the stereotypical sense, the fest brought mind-expanding theatre to London for 47 years straight. The 2023 edition was its last, but MimeLondon is the same idea in all but name, and returns for its second edition in January 2025, with shows spread across the Barbican, Southbank Centre and the Sadler’s Wells Peacock Theatre and The Place, with a series of workshops at Little Angel Studios and Shoreditch Town Hall. 

Short films are where many of the greats – Martin Scorsese, Lynne Ramsay, Paul Thomas Anderson et al – got started, and for over two decades, the London Short Film Festival has been a trusty showcase of new talents and small, but perfectly formed short films. Returning for its 22nd year, the 2025 edition features a whopping 204 new shorts across more than 60 programmes, as well as a bunch of talks, workshops and walking tours. Loads of great cinemas and arts spaces across the city getting involved to host, including the BFI Southbank, the ICA, Rich Mix, the Rio and SET Peckham. Highlights of the programme include the ever-present opening night ‘Funny Shit’ programme featuring comedy flicks from the surreal to the slapstick (Curzon Soho, Jan 17), two always popular programmes celebrating of penny-pinching movie-making (‘Lo-Budget Mayhem’, Jan 20) and wildly unconventional shorts (‘WTF!’, Jan 25) at Dalston’s indie institution the Rio Cinema and the Animation Variety Show programme, featuring everything from claymation and 3D animation to stop-motion embroidery (Rich Mix, Jan 21). And in an exciting new addition to the festival, a series of free screenings will be taking place in a restored 22-seater Mobile Cinema Bus from the 1960s, which will be stoppingin Walthamstow, Hounslow and Crystal Palace.