Can’t face scrambling down Oxford Street? Who needs West London, anyway? Fear not, East London ladies and merrie gentlemen, our yard has more to offer than Red Stripe on tap and fixie bikers (together or separately). Tom Hedley gives five good reasons for not going west of Charing Cross this Christmas.
1) Southbank Centre’s Winter Festival
Southbank’s 21-acre site has been transformed into an entrancing vista with illuminated white rabbits the size of a house, a Christmas tree maze with 300 blue spruces, bustling markets and glimmering Christmas lights.
They say the greatest gift is giving – and this one’s free. The festive spirit continues here until 11 January 2015.
Highlights include: Charles Dickens’s goodwill classic A Christmas Carol, read by Griff Rhys Jones; spectacular views from the viewing deck bar; a Christmas market with 50 wooden chalets featuring festive food, drink, gifts and treats. Christmas shows including Meow Meow, axe-juggling Quebecois family Cirque Alfonse, La Soirée, Slava’s Snowshow and Fascinating Aida; Southbank Centre Express train taking passengers along the riverfront; and a New Year’s Eve party with exclusive access to the Southbank Centre and the London fireworks.
INFO: Free entry plus premium events, 5 November to 11 January, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. T: 0844 847 9910
2) Duck and Waffle
Ditch the dishes and blow the oven. Nestling on the fortieth floor of Heron Tower you’ll find not just astonishing views, but a Christmas menu to blow your turkey out of the water. Get stuck into deviled quail’s eggs, slurp down parsnip soup topped with toffee apples, and skip tradition with roast Barbary duck. It would be rude not to have a blast.
INFO: Bookings from 11.30am-4.30pm, 5.30pm-midnight, 40th Floor 110 Bishopsgate London EC2N 4AY www.duckandwaffle.com
3) Canary Wharf Christmas Market
Canary Wharf banks the holiday spirit by hosting a Christmas market until 24 December. Deposit enough pennies and you could come away with personalised Christmas decorations, hot chestnuts, handmade soap, churros, wooden toys, mulled wine, jewellery, oil paintings, handbags and gingerbread houses.
INFO: Montgomery Square Canary Wharf E14 www.canarywharf.com/arts-events/events/canary-wharf-christmas-market
4) Hackney Christmas Lights
Why go up West to see pretty lights when Hackney boasts a dazzling display? Hackney is also enlightened by five Christmas trees created by local fashion designers – one in each of the borough’s five town centres: Hackney Central, Dalston, Shoreditch, Hackney Wick and Stoke Newington.
INFO: 29 November – 5 January, Mare Street Town Hall London E8 1EA
5) Victorian Santa’s Grotto at Docklands Museum
Grab the kids and travel back to the Victorian era to meet Father Christmas in his olde worlde grotto at the Museum of London Docklands. Children receive a ‘special’ gift and the option to have their photograph taken against a nineteenth century backdrop. No need for Google Glass, then – Santa will be relieved. INFO: From £7, West India Quay London E14 4AL. T: 020 7001 9844