Covent Garden Christmas: The Capital’s Festive Hot Spot

Christmas in London is a magical time… and we think there might be no better place in the capital to get festive than Covent Garden. 

If you can’t tell, love to get Christmassy here at London x London (absolutely nothing to do with the multiple glasses of mulled wine we might have put away, we promise). 

One of our fav spots for a bit of the best is Covent Garden. Every year they seem to up their game with taller trees, flashier pop ups and winter warming beverages. They also do something that we think might actually be a touch of genius – a Christmas sandwich festival…

We’ve put together a guide to what you should be putting in your diary festivity wise in this oh-so festive part of town. Here it is…

Covent Garden Christmas – Feeling Festive 

The area’s main piazza will totally transform into a magical Christmas village, and there’ll be food markets, art installations, and exclusive dining experiences to sink your teeth into throughout the jolly season. That includes festive menus at a bunch of restaurants in the area to the kinds of things we’ll be sinking our teeth into below… 

Warming Tipples Galore

First up, the Winter Warmer Festival will be shaking things up between the 7th and 26th November.

It’s basically a mini festival held by a bunch of the venues around Covent Garden where you can sample a bunch of warming winter beverages at cut prices and even free. 

Dolce VyTA is serving up decadent hot chocolates on the main square and you can grab free cups of organic herbal tea at Neals Yard Remedies. The one we’re really excited for though is the mulled wine at Petersham Wine Bar and Deli. It’s just sort of got to be done at this time of year… 

Christmas Sandwich Festival

Here’s one we absolutely die for. We’re massive fans of the idea, so hats off to Covent Garden for throwing a Christmas Sandwich Festival. Truly excellent thinking. 

This year the return of this grand occasion gets an extra few days and takes place between the 7th and 17th December.

For the festival nearby eateries stretching from the central Market Building all the way up to Seven Dials have been challenged to create the perfect Christmas sandwich… we can’t wait to see who steps up to the challenge.

We love anything with stuffing, if you were wondering.

Marc Jacobs Pop-Up

Classy place that it is, Covent Garden is no stranger to a bit of high fashion. Last year their Christmas pop-up was done by Dolce & Gabbana. This year they’ve got none other than Marc Jacobs in to sling his wares. Ok Marc Jacobs won’t actually be there, but lots of his nice designer fashion will be. 

Much of the glitzy box that houses these items will be dedicated to the Resort Collection (Kim K is modelling the 2023 range btw). There’s also going to be a Crystal Canvas Mini Tote Bag that’s available only in Covent Garden. 

There’s also plenty of jewellery and accessories – perfect gifts for that special someone this Christmas. 

The Sleigh Returns

A relatively new comer to the Covent Garden Christmas scene (it got parked up for the first time in 2022) is a charming reproduction of Santa’s sleigh, though, sadly, we can’t guarantee the big man himself will be there.

The traditional Sleigh, which is located in the South Hall of the Market Building, is a reconditioned 1884 carriage that has been hand painted by British artist James Gemmill. 

Even in its short run it’s become a bit of a hotspot for instagram snapping and if you pass by it at peak times you’ll find crews of pretty people posing across it. We’re guessing that a few of you will be doing the same. Just remember they close it off from 9pm – 9am, and no, we don’t advise you to jump the rope. 

Take a Peek at the Covent Garden Christmas Tree

London welcomes plenty of Christmas trees each year (though most are overshadowed by the tree in Trafalgar Square) Covent Garden loves to throw its hat in the ring with a very impressive tree in the main square. You can add it to the long list of places you’ll want to snap a pic of when you visit. 

It’s always a biggun. And they seem to get bigger as the year goes on. Last year came in at  60 ft tall, beating the year before’s by 5ft. We’ve not taken our tape measure to the 2023 tree yet but by eye we think it might have grown again. 

It towers over the rest of Covent Garden and makes for a very magical atmosphere in the market square – it’s also a convenient meeting place if some of you get lost (that totally didn’t happen to us… 

Covent Garden Christmas Lights 

Can’t get enough of London’s dazzling Christmas lights? Join the club. Not one to be outshone (excuse the pun, we can’t help ourselves), Covent Garden are, of course, getting in on the action again this winter. 

They pretty much drip the place in fairy lights. Not usually ones to compliment Britain’s rainy weather, we did stroll through here on a wet night the other day and it looked pretty marvellous. The lights were reflecting off the paving and we have to admit that in the moment we did feel pretty grateful for that touch of rain. 

The Golden Bells 

One to look out for when you’re swanning around Covent Garden this year are the giant golden bells. These are a mainstay of the festive decorations in the Market Hall. There are 40 of them, all golden in colour and topped with giant red bows. 

They run throughout the hall and are interspersed with giant baubles and mirrored balls. It’s quite a sight to behold. 

Sipsmith Martini Express 

Popping up from now until the 3rd December is a bar that has caught our attention (but then again anything promising a martini usually does). 

Gin brand, Sipsmith, are parking up a bus on the east side of the piazza and offering a range of festive treats from day to night. Before the sunset you can sip on G&Ts and a selection of warming winter tipples – a hot lemon drizzle martini being the first choice for us on that list. 

Then by night you can pop in and take the martini quiz. It’s essentially a series of questions that will help a bartender figure out your perfect martini before they mix it for you. 

Once you’re settled into the bus there’s heaps to learn about the history of Covent Garden and its connection to gin – believe us, the connection is real…

Festive Thursdays 

Throughout November they’re running a great little thing called Festive Thursdays. It’s basically a teaming up of many of the businesses in the area to bring you late night shopping evenings, entertainment in the square and (yessss) deals!

The first deal that has really caught our eyes is (alcoholics alert) the complimentary pisco sour you can nab at Lima Cantina when you use the code ‘FESTIVE THURSDAYS’ on your booking. 

Orders of mulled wine or hot chocolate at Ladurée will get you a complimentary mince pie. Fancy tea company Whittard of Chelsea will also be opening late and dishing out lashings of their signature marzipan, hazelnut and gingerbread hot chocolate 

Count us in for a cup of that. 

Choosing Keeping Christmas Event

If you love a bit of a bargain keep the 16th November free. The folks that make the Christmas cheer happen around these parts are putting together an event where you can shop for Christmas decorations and ornaments. It’s called Choosing Keeping. 

What’s that deal? Everything on display will have a 10% discount slapped on it. They’ve got over a hundred different designs so you’ll have plenty to choose from to give your Christmas a whole new look? 

The question is, can you get it looking as good as Covent Garden does at this time of year?