A traditional English Christmas
28 November 2009
10.15-15.45
£210.00
Suitable for all levels

Festive flowers for the table and the home will be the theme of this one day workshop with a bit of added style. You will take away a table centerpiece with candles and a wreath of fragrant blue spruce decorated with cones, ribbon, fruits and flowers. There will be a question time to answer all your queries about flowers and decoration at this time of year.

A contemporary English Christmas
5 December 2009
10.15-15.45
£210.00
Suitable for all levels

New trends and ideas for the festive season will be explored in this one day workshop. You will create two arrangements to take home and see more demonstrated. All your festive creations should last until the New Year.

The Celebrity Christmas Stocking Auction is one of the most glamorous events in the London Special Events calendar.

Each year Macmillan ask fifteen celebrities to tell us what they would like to find in their 'Dream Christmas Stocking'. These stockings are then auctioned off to an exclusive audience at the Waldorf Hilton. In past years, celebrities such as Sir Elton John, Kevin Spacey, Hugh Grant, Helen Mirren and Robbie Williams have all helped us to create their 'Dream Christmas Stocking'.

Each stocking includes an outstanding assortment of gifts. Last year's luxury items ranged from holidays to exotic destinations such as Mauritius, Barbados and Thailand, to fabulous handbags, diamond jewellery and the latest in hi-tech gadgets and mobile phones.

Doors will open at 18.30 and you will be welcomed into the Palm Court for a champagne and canapés reception where you will have the opportunity to browse the contents of each stocking which will be on display. The auction, conducted by Andrew McVinish of Christies and co-presented by Neil Fox, will commence at 20.00.

Join us on this dazzling evening and help us to exceed our target of raising £100,000 (net) for the vital work of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Christmas Poetry Reading at London Metropolitan Archives

The staff and volunteers from Keats House present their annual festive choice of poems and stories for Christmas.

Food! Glorious Food!
12 December, 10.00-12.00

Stories, poems, art and craft activities on the theme of food from the world of Charles Dickens. From gruel to the largest turkey in the shop, there’s something here for everyone.

Christmas Fayre: Food From the Days of Charles Dickens
12 December, 10.00-16.00

Event. Join Monica Askay, cook and food historian to find out what people were eating at the best tables and in the workhouse during the nineteenth century! Monica will present her expert demonstrations throughout the day.

A Medieval Christmas Tale
14 December, 14.00-15.00

Talk. Discover what life was like for the medieval Londoners during winter and how people survived the long, dark nights and cold days. The afternoon will feature seasonal recipes, entertainments and the celebration of the great Christmas festival.

Christmas with Dickens
15 December, 15.00-16.00

Poetry Reading. Join the Poetry Ambassadors of Keats House for a Dickensian Christmas. Poetry and prose to get you in the festive spirit.

A Medieval Christmas Tale
16 December, 14.00-15.00

Talk. Discover what life was like for the medieval Londoners during winter and how people survived the long, dark nights and cold days. The afternoon will feature seasonal recipes, entertainments and the celebration of the great Christmas festival.

Walkers should come prepared to be on the move in a large group for approximately two hours.

There are two Christmas Day Walks, and possibly an evening one this year. To be confirmed.

The Charles Dickens Christmas Festival Explorer Day will take place on Saturday, 5th December and Sunday, 6th December.

25 December 2009
Last year's walks on Christmas Day - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The meeting point for the two Christmas Day walks was by the big Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square.

1. Christmas Morning, 1660 - Samuel Pepys's London goes at 11.00.

2. The Christmas Day Charles Dickens' London Walk goes at 14.00.

Be sure to keep checking the london walks website for any seasonal featured walks.

Guided Walk:
Christmas Through The Ages Hyde Park

'Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat…' Why would this have been important in years gone by? Join us for a leisurely stroll and discover some of the seasonal folklore that’s developed through the ages. The Royal Parks have also had their role to play in entertaining people through the darkest, wettest and coldest months of the year – find out how on this walk.

Places are limited and booking is essential. Please come dressed for being outdoors.

Guided Walk:
Christmas Through The Ages in Kensington Gardens

Explore the history of English Christmas folklore and find out how Royal Parks have entertained Londoners during past winters on a free guided walk through Kensington Gardens.

'Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat…'’ Why would this have been important in years gone by? Join us for a leisurely stroll and discover some of the seasonal folklore that’s developed through the ages. The Royal Parks have also had their role to play in entertaining people through the darkest, wettest and coldest months of the year – find out how on this walk.

Places are limited and booking is essential. Please come dressed for being outdoors.

Ever been in a muddle over what wines to serve with a Christmas meal? Are you in need of a bit of inspiration or just want to learn a bit more about wines in general?

Come along to our Christmas wine tasting evening and hear an expert from our local Majestic Wine store in Brentford talk you through a tasting of 10 different examples to include champagne, a selection of red and white wines, port and a dessert wine.

The evening will be based in Decimus Burton’s elegant Grade II listed building, Museum No. 1, where you will enjoy the event from our festively decorated first floor suite.

For all lovers of the grape it promises to be a fun evening, not to be missed, so as numbers are limited please book early to reserve your place.

For one night, and for one night only: Fortnum & Mason is opening its doors for an evening of frivolity and festive fun.

A throughly marvellous time will be had by all, with live music, demonstrations, fine food and champagne throughout the store throughout the evening.

Experience the wonderful, the strange, the exotic and the extraordinary: from the finest food, to gorgeous gifts and incomparable inspiration.

There is a cornucopia of Chritsmas prizes, and a celebrity gift auction in aid of this wonderful charity, so do bring a friend or a partner to what is set to be the happiest event of the season.

All profits from ticket sales and money raised on the night will be donated to Cancer Research UK.

The Great Christmas Pudding Race is a great way to kick off the festive season whilst raising vital funds for Cancer Research UK.

Form a team wearing fancy dress or company branding. Each team runs around Covent Garden Market carrying a pudding on a tray whilst using their skill to negotiate a number of obstacles along the way.

Prizes and trophies are awarded to the winning team and to the team with the most creative costumes. If you can't participate, join the crowd and cheer on the teams!

The 29th Great Christmas Pudding Race will take place on Saturday, 5th December 2009 at 11.30. in Covent Garden Market, London.

The event, now in its 29th year, is organised by the CRAC committee, a group of volunteers who raise money in a variety of imaginative ways in their spare time. To date they have raised in excess of £875,000 and helped provide equipment and facilities for Cancer Research UK.

The event is organised by CRAC on behalf of Cancer Research UK and supported by Matthew Walker and Covent Garden Market.

Take a magical night-time tour through London's glittering streets at Christmas. See buildings, streets, arcades and shop windows transformed into blazing spectacles of colour, decoration and light.

On this special anniversary year of the world famous Regent and Oxford Street Christmas Lights, don't miss this unique opportunity to see London as you've never seen it before.

London at Christmas Walks start at 19.00, Trafalgar Square every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in December from 3rd December (not on Boxing Day).

The first walk takes place at 17.15, Thursday, 3 December and will include the annual lighting ceremony of the famous Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree.

Three fantastic parties which will get you warmed to the festive spirit in the company of World renowned Master Chef Marco Pierre White in the comfort of his own restaurant in Knightsbridge.

Marco Pierre White’s Christmas Dinner & Dance
10 and 17 December 2009

Join Marco Pierre White this Christmas for an unforgettable Christmas Dinner and Dance plus a fantastic evening of entertainment at Marco’s very own Frankie’s Restaurant, Knightsbridge.

Your evening will begin with a champagne reception, after which you will enjoy Marco’s choice of menu including half a bottle of wine per person and a 3 course dinner.

After dinner you will be able to participate in an interview with the master himself followed by live music into the early hours.

Dress Code: Lounge Suit
Tickets: £195+VAT per person
Private Tables available for parties of 4 or more
Max Capacity: 200

• Champagne Reception with Marco (18.00 for 19.00)
• 3 course meal
• Half a bottle of wine per person
• Interactive Interview with Marco
• Live music into the early hours
• Approx Carriage 01.00
  

Marco Pierre White’s Chocolate Christmas Lunch
11 December 2009

Join Marco Pierre White and leading chocolatier Willie Harcourt-Cooze this Christmas for an unforgettable afternoon of entertainment at Marco’s very own Frankie’s Restaurant, Knightsbridge.

Your evening will begin with a champagne reception, after which you will enjoy Marco’s choice of menu including half a bottle of wine per person, following your meal enjoy a sensational chocolate dessert made by infamous chocolatier Willie Harcourt-Cooze.

The afternoon will also feature an audience with Marco Pierre White alongside Willie Harcourt-Cooze.

Dress Code: Lounge Suit
Tickets: £195+VAT per person
Private Tables available for parties of 4 or more
Max Capacity: 200

• Champagne Reception with Marco & Willie Harcourt-Cooze (12.00 for 12.30)
• 3 course meal
• Half a bottle of wine per person
• Interactive audience with Marco & Willie Harcourt-Cooze
  Approx Carriage 17.00

1st January 2010 will be the 24th Anniversary of the New Year's Day Parade.

The Parade starts at 12.00 in Parliament Square and finishes on Piccadilly, at Berkeley Street around 15.00.

More than 10,000 performers representing 20 countries world-wide will assemble for the 2010 Parade. More than half a million are expected to cram London's most famous streets to see the fantastic spectacular as it weaves its way along the 2 mile route.

There will be three hours of Live Satellite Coverage will be beamed around the world. Major broadcasters such as the BBC, CNN, Fox news, SKY and CBS are expected to cover the event.

The 2010 Parade will be filled with marching bands, cheerleaders, clowns acrobats, baloons and much more!

The Parade route
Big Ben > Westminister Abbey > 10 Downing Street > Royal House Gards > Trafalgar Square > Cockspur Street > Piccadilly Circus > The Royal Academy > Fortnum and Mason > Ritz Hotel > Berkeley Square.

Whilst all across London, children are eagerly waiting to unwrap their presents, the members of the "Serpentine Swimming Club" who have met in London’s Hyde Park, winter and summer since 1864 are preparing, some decked out in Santa hats, to swim their traditional 100 yards annual Christmas day swim.

The race is only open to members and is raced on a handicap system. For anyone foolish enough to plunge into the icy Serpentine waters, with its temperature usually below 40 ^oF (4 ^oC) in the winter, without acclimatisation over several months, the shock could prove fatal!

To compete in the Peter Pan Christmas Day Race you must have competed in the entire Winter Series. You cannot join the swimming club on the day and swim in the race.

The Royal Horticultural Society has organised a series of festive workshops.

Children’s Christmas Decoration Workshop
28 November 2009, 10.30, 12.30, 14.30 (1 hour)
Member £6.00, Non Member £8.00

Start the Christmas season off in style by getting your children to make their own decorations. Help and guidance will be available throughout. Price includes all materials.

The Magic of Christmas
12 December 2009. 10.00-16.00
No pricing information is available for this event

Come and hear some Christmas tales and then have a go at making your own natural tree decorations. You will also be able to enjoy hot chestnuts, music, flower arranging demonstrations and donkeys.

Flower Arranging - Christmas Table Arrangements
16 December 2009, 10.30-16.00
Member £50.00, Non member £56.00

Flower Arranging - Christmas Table Arrangements - with Diana Barnes During this workshop, Diana will demonstrate how to create gorgeous table arrangements in time for Christmas. Help and guidance will be available the day. Price includes materials, flowers and lunch.

Taste of Christmas, the foodie event of the festive season, is back returning to Excel London this 4-6 December 2009. Twenty of London’s top chefs, 150 of the finest artisan producers and all you discerning gourmets will be mingling under the mistletoe for three full days of luxurious winter feasting. Discover the Michelin star secrets behind the ultimate Christmas dinner, stock up on the best festive food and sample your favourite restaurants’ seasonal menus – all under one roof. Be inspired at Taste of Christmas, a winter wonderland of flavour.

Taste Theatre
Who needs panto with twenty celebrity chefs in the house? The drama and banter will be entertainment enough as the capitals's top culinary talent takes to the stage at Taste Theatre, one of the show’s hottest attractions. Pick up tips, watch the chefs at work and see them whip up their signature dishes live on stage. Grab a ringside seat for a seasonal showdown of cooking demos, festive cook-offs, live cookalongs and a host of festive frivolities.

Taste Beer
Launching this year at Taste of Christmas 2009 is ‘Taste Beer with Beer Exposed’. Designed to bring the exciting flavours, diversity and versatility of beer to Taste’s discerning visitors, Taste of Christmas’ newest feature will convert even the snootiest of wine buffs. Look out for the Beer Masterclasses, a programme of tutored tastings by leading industry experts, or take a tour of the Boutique Beer Market to discover some craft brews from 20 of our favourite independent producers.

Taste Wine
Santa’s got it right. He knows Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a drop or two of sherry. Discover all about his favourite tipple – and wines and spirits too – at the Wine and Spirit Theatre. Whatever your level of knowledge, there’s an interactive masterclass and tasting for you, with friendly wine experts and brilliant sommeliers there to guide you. Visit the Boutique Wine Market afterwards to check out its exclusive stock, meet the producers and pick up a bottle or three for Christmas day.

Cookery school
Go to the top of the class this Christmas with a session at the Taste of Christmas Cookery School. The finest food writers and chefs around will join you at the stove to make some show-stopping seasonal dishes, good enough to impress the most exacting critics of all – your family and friends. Get practical kitchen advice, hone your skills and pick up some tips from the professionals in a series of hands-on seasonal cooking sessions and festive masterclasses.

Taste Chocolate
Figgy pudding, mince pies, clementines…sometimes chocoholics get forgotten at Christmas. Not at Taste of Christmas, however, where 2009 sees the launch of the first ever Taste Chocolate, a showcase of all things deep, dark and seductively chocolatey. Discover the UK’s most exciting young chocolatiers and their latest creations; explore festive drinks that go with them and get stuck into some seriously delicious chocolate tasting.

Taste Cheese
Serious gourmets will love Taste Cheese, making its Taste of Christmas debut this year. A wonderland of cheese from all over the British Isles and Europe, Taste Cheese invites you to meet the producers, take one of our first ever cheese-tasting tutorials and try your hand at matching cheese with wine. Whether it’s a truckle of traditional Christmas Stilton you want, or a taste of some seriously stinky French cheese that will run off the cheeseboard, you’ll find it here.

Twelfth Night is an annual seasonal celebration held in the Bankside area of London. It is a celebration of the New Year, mixing ancient seasonal customs with contemporary festivity. It is free, accessible to all and happens whatever the weather.

The Twelfth Night programme:

The Holly Man from the Thames
To herald the celebration, the extraordinary Holly Man, the Winter guise of the Green Man from pagan myths and folklore, decked in fantastic green garb and evergreen foliage, appears from the River Thames brought by the Thames Cutter, Master Shipbroker (boat subject to weather!).

The Bankside Wassails
With the crowd, led by the Bankside Mummers, the Holly Man 'brings in the green' and 'wassails' or toasts the people and the River Thames - an old tradition encouraging good growth. The Globe is wassailed in like fashion.

The Mummers Play
The Mummers then process to the Bankside Jetty, and perform the traditional 'freestyle' Folk Combat Play of St. George, featuring the Turkey Sniper, Clever Legs, the Old 'Oss and many others, dressed in their spectacular 'guizes'. The play is full of wild verse and boisterous action, a time-honoured part of the season recorded from the Crusades.

King Bean and Queen Pea
Cakes distributed at the end of the play have a bean and a pea hidden in two of them. Those who find them are hailed King and Queen for the day and crowned with ceremony. They then lead the people through the streets to the historic George Inn in Borough High Street for a fine warming up with Storytelling, the Kissing Wishing Tree and more Dancing.

The Royal Parks have also had their role to play in entertaining people through the darkest, wettest and coldest months of the year – find out how on this walk.

It all depends on the weather, the park may be basking in sunshine or under a cover of snow. Come along and enjoy the delights in Greenwich Park. Please come dressed for being outdoors.

Meet at the noticeboard outside the Park Office, Blackheath Gate.