Where Can You Go in London on Boxing Day?

Posted on 23/12/2015

What to Do on December 26th?

As a fallout to Christmas, Boxing Day has a lot to live up to. No, it’s still not time for home cleaning, you don’t have worry about that yet. The house cleaning can wait – December 26th is a celebration of sports and shopping. Yes, weirdly enough, after all the shopping you did on Christmas, there is a whole shopping holiday to be celebrated. But it is of no importance why that is. The bigger question is: what to do on Boxing Day? You should probably not sit indoors and wait for your employer to come and shower you with presents or give you a ‘Christmas box’, as was the original custom of the Boxing Day. Instead, plan your holiday out, with one of the many attractions on offer all over London.

• A pint after Christmas in the pubs of London
For many people the holiday drinks don’t end on December 25th. There is still some thirst for good alcohol and company will always be welcome. And there are many pubs to get the best of both worlds. The Dove in East London offers a great holiday menu to make use of with your friends, or if you are feeling fancy, then Mayfair’s The Only Running Footman is waiting for you with its three-course offer. Among other traditional and welcoming places will be The Flash in Hampstead, The Founders Arm in Southwark, or the Spread Eagle in Camden.

• The sport events that follow
What Boxing Day will always be famous for are all the events that the local rugby and football leagues organise. Simply browse what is on offer at your local stadium and have fun with all the rest of your friends and sports fans that will be gathering. Don’t forget to see if there will be an event at your local park as many leagues will probably be there, making a competitive appearance. Or you can go to the Serpentine and witness, or even take part in, the Peter Pan Cup race – a swimming competition in freezing waters.

• The charity that never rests
A heart-warming way to spend Boxing Day is to go deep into your conscience and help in one of the many events meant for charity. Volunteers will be appreciated everywhere in the charity centres to assist in kitchens or go directly to the needy with your own set of gifts. Don’t forget that there will always be less fortunate than you and they will need all the help they can get. Make at least one of their days this year special.

• Kew Gardens fun
Alternatively, go to one of many parks or London gardens and see if there are any holiday remnants of stalls or entertainment venues. The Kew Gardens are especially noteworthy as they are one of the perfect places to take a rest and a walk after the Christmas party. The arboretum team will also be waiting there to take your Christmas tree and recycle it for you, so you can lend a hand to nature to make the world a cleaner place as well. The London Bicycle Tour Company will also be setting up events and tours which you can sign up for and ride across the great city in a sobering day out.

And only then should you return back to your home and handle all the home cleaning and the rest of the chores that will be waiting for you. And you would do well to focus on the oven cleaning as New Year’s Eve will be fast approaching and you will have to start making preparations for that as well.