You’ve been stuffing yourself silly for the past month, hitting peak mouth-dribbling, shirt-staining excess on the 25th, but we all know ‘Christmas calories don’t count’. Until you wake up on Boxing Day and your gravy-tainted bubble is burst. You’ve got a week to kill before the fun of New Year's Eve, and while your family are great and all that, you might need something to save you from your uncle’s pro-Brexit ramblings and the turkey soup fumes. It’s Crimbo Limbo, Twixtmas; January might be approaching but it's not time to stop the celebrations just yet. Survive Crimbo Limbo, live it and conquer it with these seven things to do in London after Christmas.
1. Go for a walk on Hampstead Heath and grab a pint at The Stag
Your jeans are devastatingly tight, the only form of exercise you’ve had in the past month is lifting mince pies to your mouth and the greenest thing you’ve seen is a £10 disposable Christmas tree from Tesco. Get out of the house and go for a walk (your mum would be so proud), and where finer than Hampstead Heath, a place to cavort with those who look like they’re really winning at life? We want to break you in gently with London things to do after Christmas, so make sure you head to The Stag near Belsize Park; they have more than 100 types of bottled beer and 25 on their taps. From Yeastie Boys’ tea-infused brews through to favourites such as South London’s The Kernel, there’s enough alcohol to keep you there all afternoon, after the walk obviously…
2. Culture-up your life at the theatre
Yes, The Great British Bake-Off Christmas Special will have you and Auntie Jean in floods (Channel 4, you heartless monsters), and watching Elf for the tenth time is just as hilarious as every year, but perhaps it’s time to heave yourself from the sofa and do something a bit cultural. Step in theatre, the ultimate boredom-busting thing to do in London between Christmas and New Year. From Lion King and Book of Mormon to Trainspotting Live, there’s something for all the family. Leave feeling inspired, uplifted and drafting an email to your boss detailing that 2017 is the year that you become a West End superstar - how hard can it really be?
3. Have a cocktail somewhere super swanky such as Six Storeys and Swift
London may have some of the world’s best cocktail bars but it’s also got (what feels like) some of the longest waiting lists. Not between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, folks. This is your time to shine, to head to those swanky spots for a cocktail and make like you're earning the big bucks. Soho is always an excellent choice, especially as the area is ditching the Prets and returning to its fun-time vibe of independent nightlife spots. Six Storeys is six floors of shenanigans while Swift - the new spot from the people behind Nightjar, and Callooh Callay - promises more of their award-winning concoctions.
Six Storeys in Soho is bringing back the spirit of fun to the area - and will be wonderfully relaxed in between Christmas and New Year's Eve.
4. Play some real games with a big fat quiz
You’ve resisted throwing the Monopoly board at your smart-arse, thirteen-year-old cousin for the festive season, taken the relentless teasing of having the same Boggle skills as Grandma's westie, and now is the time to redeem yourself before 2017. Pubs across the capital are hosting quiz nights in the week between Christmas and New Year, testing your knowledge and forcing you to relive the trauma that was 2016 (this time it will be fun, we promise). Choose from The Victoria in Mile End, Battersea’s The Duke of Cambridge and The White Hart in Barnes as they put your brain cells to the test. If you're not heading back to London until New Year's Eve, try Sounds Familiar Music Quiz.
5. Do Winter Wonderland one last time - with lots of alcohol
Winter Wonderland - the spirit of Christmas embodied or the birthplace of Lucifer - whatever your take on it, it’s one sure fire way to drag out the Christmas cheer just a little longer. How could one not possibly feel all festive with all those glaring lights, mulled wine that requires a mortgage and blaring trance music. Do Winter Wonderland right, with lashings of alcohol as One Big Night Out take on the chipper spot, start off in the Bavarian Beer Hall before moving onto a West End club to up the festivities.
Winter Wonderland is best done with a drink or three in hand.
6. Slip, slide and glide on an ice rink
Up there with caroling, panic-buying on Oxford Street and trying to kiss someone inappropriate at the office party, ice-skating is a winter ‘must do’. And for fun things to do in London between Christmas and New Year, you can’t beat trying to suppress a cackle as someone falls over. There’s also the sheer beauty of ice skating rinks, from the spot at The Natural History Museum to skating at Somerset House, even the grumpiest of grinches will have fun.
7. Try and escape from a killer zombie in an immersive challenge
Some people hate Christmas; hate the tinsel-wrapped, Hark the Heralding, mince-pie sweetness of it. These people are obviously wrong but Trapped In A Room With A Zombie is so much fun that we will allow it to distract us from the Christmas merriment ever so briefly. Head over to Whitechapel for a fun London event between Christmas and New Year's Eve 2016 and to be locked in a room with a zombie on a chain. You have one hour, your team and a series of challenges and problems to complete in order to leave - who said things to do in London between Twixtmas had to be Elf-ified?
In teams, you have one hour to escape from a chained zombie - while the chain gets looser and looser.
