Celebrate: Christmas Markets are wonderful and warm places to buy unique gifts and support local artisans while shopping for your friends and family this season. London has a variety of Christmas markets spread all around the city; from charity Christmas markets to designer fairs where you can get some really exciting Christmas presents. Here are a few:
Cologne Christmas Market at the Southbank Centre: Traditional German market where you can get gingerbread and “gluhwein” along London’s Southbank, between the Southbank Centre and London Eye. As well as 60 chalet stalls, you can enjoy a merry-go-round and festive music. This year, Southbank is also hosting a Christmas Chocolate Festival (Dec 10-12) and the Real Food Christmas Market (Dec 17-19).
Winter Wonderland Market Hyde Park: Features the Angels Christmas Market with more than 100 stalls selling arts and crafts from around the world, as well as continental food and drink, plus traditional English cafes and bars. Entry is free and while you’re there you can also enjoy Winter Wonderland’s funfair and outdoor ice rink (you will need to pay for rides and ice skating).
Greenwich Christmas Market: Open every day in the month leading up to Christmas with more than 150 traders including arts and crafts, antiques, collectibles, vintage, gifts and hot food. The market’s Christmas lights switch-on is on 24 Nov and will include a children’s lantern procession and a Christmas grotto, which will also run every weekend up to Christmas.
Contemporary Applied Arts Christmas Exhibition: Held at the CAA in Percy Street, this exhibition features some of the UK’s most celebrated designers and makers working in glass, metal, ceramics and textiles. Choose from a wide range of diverse and unique gifts for sale. There’s also craft workshops for kids and adults so you can make your own gifts.
Christmas at Spitalfields Market: Spitalfields’ normal market becomes a hive of Christmas activity at this time of year. There’s late-night shopping, market stalls are selling extra-Christmassy goods and the Winter Arts Market is on every Thurs-Sun until 19 Dec. And don’t miss the Celebrate with Song choir performances at lunchtimes and evenings from 13-17 Dec.
Watch:
The Fighter – A look at the early years of boxer “Irish” Micky Ward and his brother who helped train him before going pro in the mid ’80s.
The Company Men – Bobby Walker is living the American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and co-workers Phil Woodward and Gene McClary jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands, and fathers.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarvf camps, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.
Read:
Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 by Mark Twain – The year 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain’s death. In celebration of this important milestone, Twain’s uncensored autobiography is available in its entirety and exactly as he left it.