Kew Gardens: Royal Botanic Gardens
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Christmas in London with children 2026
At Christmas, London is particularly well suited to a trip with children: the Christmas lights start glowing from late afternoon, major attractions get a festive makeover and several experiences are designed especially for families.
The hardest part is deciding what to do. With Christmas at Kew, Winter Wonderland, Santa experiences, ice skating, shows and Harry Potter, it is easy to pack too much into your itinerary. With children, it is usually better to plan one major activity per day and leave some time simply to enjoy London's Christmas decorations.
If you are also visiting as a family outside the Christmas period, our guide to London with children covers the best family-friendly museums, attractions and neighbourhoods.
What to do in London at Christmas with children
For a first family visit, a few experiences stand out. They are all very different, so there is no need to try to fit them all into the same trip.
| Activity | Choose it if... | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas lights | You are looking for an easy, free activity | Easy to enjoy from late afternoon |
| Christmas at Kew | You want to dedicate an evening to Christmas lights | Outdoor night-time trail, advance booking required |
| Winter Wonderland | Your children enjoy rides and funfairs | Many activities cost extra on top of admission |
| Hampton Court Palace | You want to combine a historic visit with Christmas | Winter Palace is included with palace admission in 2026 |
| Warner Bros. Studio Tour London | Your children are Harry Potter fans | Hogwarts in the Snow gives the sets a festive makeover |
| Ice skating | You want a relatively short Christmas activity | Popular sessions should be booked in advance |
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See the Christmas lights as a family
This is the easiest activity to include in a family trip, and it is completely free. From late afternoon, a walk through central London is already enough to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere.
Regent Street, Oxford Street, Carnaby and Covent Garden are close enough to combine several of them in the same outing. In 2026, Covent Garden launches its Christmas season on 12 November, with more than 300,000 lights around the neighbourhood, the Market Building's giant golden bells and the traditional Christmas tree on the West Piazza.
With young children, two or three areas are more than enough. A shorter walk, with a break for dinner or hot chocolate, will often be much more enjoyable than covering several kilometres in the cold.
Our guide to the Christmas lights in London will help you choose which displays to see and plan your route.
Visit Christmas at Kew with children
Christmas at Kew transforms Kew Gardens into a night-time light trail. The route winds through the gardens between light and music installations, including the illuminated Palm House. Food stalls and a small traditional funfair add to the experience, and Santa also appears along the 2026 trail.
The 2026 event runs on selected dates from 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. The earliest entry slots start at 4:20pm and advance booking is essential.
For a family of two adults and two children, 2026 tickets cost £89 off-peak or £108 at peak times. Children under 4 enter free of charge, but they still need a ticket.
With young children, choose one of the earliest time slots if possible. You can enjoy the lights after dark without keeping everyone out late into the evening. As the trail is outdoors, make sure you are prepared for cold weather and possibly rain.
Dates, opening times and booking conditions are covered in our guide to Christmas at Kew.
Kew Christmas Express for younger children
Kew also offers a daytime experience from 3 to 23 December 2026. The Kew Christmas Express lasts around 45 minutes and combines a miniature train ride with characters, music and a Christmas story. Admission to the gardens is included in the ticket.
It can be a good alternative if your children are still young or if you would rather avoid a long night-time outing. Bear in mind that this is a separate experience from Christmas at Kew and requires its own ticket.
Visit Winter Wonderland with children
Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park is closer to a huge Christmas funfair than a traditional Christmas market. The 2026 edition runs from 19 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, except on 25 December.
With young children, start with Santa Land. It has family rides, a small train and several attractions aimed at younger visitors. Santa's Grotto also offers the chance to meet Santa for free between 10am and 6pm.
You cannot book the Santa experience: visitors are admitted on a first-come, first-served basis. On busy days, the queue may close before 6pm, so it is better not to leave it until the end of the day.
Winter Wonderland can become expensive if you add several rides and attractions. Admission to the site does not include everything, and many activities have their own prices. Packages combining several attractions are available, including options for Santa Land.
For families with young children, the morning or early afternoon is generally easier to manage than a busy evening visit.
The different attractions and ticket options are covered in our guide to Winter Wonderland in London.
Meet Santa in London
In London, meeting Santa can be anything from a quick visit to a full attraction. Santa's Grottos appear in department stores, attractions and Christmas events, sometimes with elaborate sets, characters and a gift for the child.
At Winter Wonderland, Santa's Grotto is free and does not require a reservation. At Christmas at Kew, Santa appears along the light trail. Other experiences require a separate ticket and a specific time slot.
If meeting Santa is particularly important to your children, choose where they will meet him before filling the rest of your itinerary. Experiences that require reservations can sell out well before Christmas.
Our guide to meeting Santa in London covers the main options.
Spend Christmas at Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court is a good option if you want to get away from central London and combine a proper palace visit with a Christmas activity. In 2026, the historic rooms host Winter Palace: The Christmas Beast Ball for the first time, an immersive experience combining decorations, projections, puppetry, fantastical creatures and performances.
Winter Palace runs from 28 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, with several closure dates during this period. The experience is included with palace admission and can be explored at your own pace. Historic Royal Palaces recommends allowing around two hours, in addition to any time spent exploring the rest of Hampton Court.
On the weekends of 4 to 6 and 11 to 13 December 2026, the Festive Fayre also brings together more than 100 producers and exhibitors in the gardens. Admission is included with a palace ticket on the relevant dates.
Hampton Court's ice rink runs from 20 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, except on 25 December. It requires a separate ticket, so there is no need to automatically add it to your day if the palace visit already fills your schedule.
See Hogwarts in the snow at the Harry Potter Studio Tour
For a family of Harry Potter fans, the Studio Tour can easily become the highlight of the trip. From 14 November 2026 to 17 January 2027, Hogwarts in the Snow brings Christmas to several of the sets used in the films.
The Great Hall is decorated with Christmas trees and its festive banquet, the common rooms are dressed for the season and the Hogwarts castle model is covered in artificial snow. The 2026 edition also explores how the filmmakers created Christmas sound effects for the films.
The Studio Tour is primarily a behind-the-scenes experience featuring sets, costumes, props and filmmaking techniques from the Harry Potter films. There are no rides like those found in a theme park, which is worth explaining to younger children who may be expecting a Harry Potter amusement park.
Tickets must be booked in advance. If Hogwarts in the Snow is one of the priorities of your trip, book this visit before arranging the rest of your itinerary.
Our guide to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – Harry Potter explains what to expect during the visit and the different ways to get there from London.
Go ice skating at Christmas
An ice-skating session is fairly easy to fit between two visits, provided you choose a rink that is already close to your route. Crossing London just to go skating can quickly take up a large part of the day.
Hampton Court, for example, allows you to combine skating with a palace visit, while Winter Wonderland has its own ice rink in Hyde Park. Other seasonal rinks also open across the capital.
Dates, prices and admission conditions change each winter. Our selection of Christmas ice rinks in London will help you choose the one that best fits your itinerary.
Explore the Christmas markets
With children, Christmas markets often work best as a break between other activities: a few stalls, something to eat and the decorations are usually enough. You do not necessarily need to devote half a day to them.
Winter Wonderland has a large area of Christmas stalls in Hyde Park. At Hampton Court, the Festive Fayre combines a market with a palace visit over two weekends in December. Other markets and seasonal installations can be found across London.
Our selection of Christmas markets in London will help you see which ones coincide with the dates of your trip.
See a Christmas show with children
After several hours outdoors, an evening at the theatre can be a welcome change. London's festive programme includes musicals, ballets, family shows and pantomimes, a British tradition closely associated with Christmas.
If your children are not fluent in English, choose a story they already know or a highly visual production. They will be able to enjoy the show without needing to understand every line of dialogue.
As productions change from one season to the next, our selection of Christmas shows in London covers the performances taking place over the festive period.
What can you do for free in London at Christmas with children?
Paid Christmas activities can quickly add up for a family. Fortunately, you can enjoy a significant part of London's festive atmosphere without buying a ticket.
- see the Christmas lights on Regent Street, Oxford Street, Carnaby and in Covent Garden;
- admire the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square;
- listen to Christmas carols around the Trafalgar Square tree in December;
- explore the decorations and window displays along London's shopping streets;
- walk around Covent Garden and Christmas markets with free admission.
Keeping a few free activities in your itinerary also gives you more flexibility. If the children are tired or the weather changes, you can cut the outing short without feeling that you are wasting a reservation.
Which Christmas activities are best for different ages?
With young children
Early-evening Christmas lights, Covent Garden, meeting Santa and Santa Land are easy to enjoy and do not necessarily require several hours of concentration. The Kew Christmas Express, which takes place during the day, may also be easier than a long night-time trail.
The main mistake is planning a full day of sightseeing before a major evening activity. In December, cold weather and tiredness often arrive before the end of the itinerary the parents had planned.
With primary-school-age children
Christmas at Kew, Hampton Court, an ice rink or Winter Wonderland feel more like complete Christmas outings. For children who already know Harry Potter, Hogwarts in the Snow can also justify spending most of a day at the Studio Tour.
With pre-teens and teenagers
The Harry Potter Studio Tour, Winter Wonderland rides and West End shows are easy to combine with the Christmas lights and an evening in central London. At this age, you can generally plan slightly longer days without filling them with reservations.
How to plan a family Christmas day in London
The simplest rhythm is to plan one main visit in the morning or early afternoon, then take a proper break before heading out again when the Christmas lights come on.
If you have booked Christmas at Kew or Winter Wonderland, treat it as the main activity of the evening. There is little benefit in adding a two-hour walk around Oxford Street, Regent Street and Covent Garden beforehand.
It gets dark early in London in December. With children, that is actually good news: you can enjoy the Christmas lights from late afternoon without turning every evening into a late night.
Tips for visiting London at Christmas with children
Start by booking activities with fixed time slots: the Harry Potter Studio Tour, Christmas at Kew, certain shows or some Santa experiences. Then build the rest of your trip around those reservations.
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Keep the Christmas lights, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square and walks through decorated neighbourhoods as flexible parts of your itinerary. You can easily move them around depending on the weather and how tired the children are.
Evening outings also require proper winter clothing. Many Christmas experiences take place entirely or partly outdoors, and standing still in a queue can feel much colder than walking around London.
Finally, 24, 25 and 26 December require some extra planning. Opening times, attractions and public transport change during these three days. Our guides to London on 24 December, London on 25 December and transport in London over Christmas and New Year will help you plan them separately.
FAQ: Christmas in London with children
Is London worth visiting at Christmas with children?
Yes. Christmas lights can be enjoyed for free across much of central London, and several attractions run special festive events. You therefore do not need to book a paid activity every day to enjoy Christmas in London as a family.
Which Christmas activity should you choose with children?
It depends on what they enjoy. Christmas at Kew focuses on Christmas lights, Winter Wonderland on rides and the funfair atmosphere, Hampton Court combines Christmas with a palace visit, and Hogwarts in the Snow is primarily aimed at Harry Potter fans.
Where can you meet Santa in London?
Several places offer Santa experiences. Winter Wonderland has a free Santa's Grotto that does not require a reservation, while Santa appears along the Christmas at Kew trail. Other experiences require a ticket booked in advance.
What can you do for free with children at Christmas in London?
The Christmas lights in central London, Covent Garden, the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree, festive window displays and decorations along the shopping streets, as well as some Christmas markets, can all be enjoyed without a ticket.
Do you need to book Christmas activities in advance?
Yes, for the most popular experiences. Christmas at Kew, the Harry Potter Studio Tour, shows and some Santa experiences can sell out. The Christmas lights and walks through decorated neighbourhoods do not require reservations.
Can you visit London with children on 25 December?
Yes, but the day is very different from the rest of your trip. Most attractions and shops are closed and regular public transport does not operate. Christmas Day is better suited to walking and activities arranged in advance.
When is the best time to visit London at Christmas as a family?
From the second half of November, the main Christmas lights and most festive events are already in place. Early to mid-December allows you to enjoy the full Christmas atmosphere while avoiding the particular restrictions of 24, 25 and 26 December.
Summary
At Christmas with children, it is better to plan one major activity per day rather than filling your itinerary with reservations. Christmas at Kew is particularly suited to families looking for impressive Christmas lights, Winter Wonderland to those who enjoy rides, Hampton Court to families who want to combine Christmas with history, and Hogwarts in the Snow to Harry Potter fans.
Add the Christmas lights, Covent Garden or Trafalgar Square for festive experiences that do not require reservations. If your trip includes 24, 25 or 26 December, plan those days separately, as opening times and public transport are very different from the rest of the festive period.
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