Christmas Day in London 2021

Christmas Day, December 25th, 2021 is on a Saturday.

If you're spending Christmas Day in London, you need to do a little planning in advance as almost everything will be closed for the day, and there will be very little transportation - there will not be a London bus service, and the tube network or overland trains will both be 'offline'. Some private bus companies will operate special services.

So although it's actually quite pleasant wandering around an empty capital city, smiling at passers by (as opposed to the normal 'ignoring' them), you do need to think about the basics such as food. See our section on 'What's Open on Christmas Day?' below!

What's Open on Christmas Day?

Christmas is the most widely celebrated event in the British calendar, and although London is a multi-cultural melting-pot, most places will be closed. The largest exceptions are Chinatown in the heart of London, just south of Soho, as well as Southall in West London and Brick Lane in the East.

The majority of the larger hotels will be serving food and drink (note that some of the smaller ones may not so it's always wise to check ahead of time), and you'll also find many of the pubs are open for business.

All the main parks should be open, so there are plenty of places to take a walk. Our favourite is Hyde Park.

Or you can read one of our contributor's blog posts on A Different Christmas Day in London!

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The Christmas Blog

Why a Christmas Card Shows You Don’t Care
Christmas is almost upon us. I tend to resist the pressure until December when I realize “Christmas really IS here.” But of course by then I should have sent out my Christmas cards.
by Louisa Leontiades

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You May Not Know

The official definition of a white christmas in the UK comes from the British Met Office and requires that snow is seen falling in any quantity in the 24 hours of Christmas Day. If there's snow on the ground, but it fell in the days before the 25th, it doesn't officially count.

If you're looking for information about Christmas in London 2021, then you're visiting the right site. And don't forget to read our blog. Obviously London is an amazing place for Christmas shopping, but it's also home to amazing parties, great carol singing and all kinds of festive fun. We know what to do in London at Christmas! Electricity was first used to light christmas trees in 1895, but candles had been used since the middle of the 17th century. In the UK christmas tree lights are are often known as fairy lights and generally don't work when you first put them up.