36 excellent things to do in London this weekend

South London has it all going on this weekend, with clothing pop-ups and craft markets in Peckham, magazine sales in Elephant and Castle and festive feasts in Rotherhithe. But the rest of the city is packing in the fun too! Just check out the list below.

Things to do 

Pom Pom Christmas Party and Indie Yarn Market, Foyles Charing Cross Road, TONIGHT, £7. Needles at the ready for this night of knitting themed fun. Pom Pom Quarterly magazine are the brains behind the evening which features a pop-up market brimming with yarns from the likes of Coop Knits, The Fibre Company, The Border Mill and Kettle Yarn Co.

magCulture Shop Launch, 270 St John Street, Fri-Sat, free. After five years online, the magCulture shop finally opens its doors IRL. Over 500 magazines will line the swanky shelves including many independent publications and mags sourced from all across the globe. Head down on Saturday lunch time for free fizz.

London Graphic Centre Christmas Fair, London Graphic Centre, Sat, free. Festive stalls, mulled wine and mince pies will greet creative shoppers at this fair in Covent Garden. Professional artists will be demonstrating products and the staff will be showcasing this year’s most durable art trends.

Only 3 days left in our HUGE Xmas giveaway: enter now!

Stack presents: Magazines for Good, London College of Communication, Sat, free. This one-off sale will see lots of beautiful mags sold at half price, with all proceeds going to L'Auberge des Migrants, a charity aiding refugees in Calais. Print enthusiasts can also hear from a number of the magazine makers themselves thanks to a mini conference being held along side the sale.

Gods Own Junkyard Christmas Fayre, Gods Own Junkyard, Sat-Sun, free. Light up your weekend at this fayre taking place in the neon paradise, complete with a Santa’s Grotto, festive stalls, hog roast and music from the Natural Voices Choir.

East Village Christmas Makers Market, various, Sat-Sun, free. Pick up unique Christmas gifts for your loved ones at this festive marketing curated by lifestyle store, Earl of East London. Products include leather goods from Briggs and Shears, ceramics from Blue Guy Pottery, terrariums and hanging planters from Ro Co, and prints from Lamplighter London.

Crafty Fox Market Peckham, Bussey Building/The CLF Art Cafe, Sat-Sun. Shop for beautifully made and designed accessories, prints, homewares, crafts and plenty more at Crafty Fox market's Peckham edition this Christmas.

Heresy Offline Shopping Experience, Holdrons Arcade, all weekend, free. Head to Peckham to bag bargains from menswear project, Heresy. They’ll be selling off deadstock, sample items, pieces from their collaboration with Blue Daisy and more.

Brick 2015: Built for Lego Fans, ExCeL Centre, all weekend, £65 VIP three day pass, £20-£22 day pass. With over 48,000 Lego lovers attending the event last year, the three day celebration returns for 2015 with workshops from professional brick builders and Lego designers, a brick market place, impressive displays from around the world, and Guinness World Record Attempts.

 

…or check out more events happening in London this weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

Eating and drinking

Tootsmas, Graveney & Meadow, Sat-Sun, free. The team behind Tootopia return just in time for Christmas, bringing ten top vendors to the back yard of Graveney and Meadow for two days of festive food and cheer.

Free Locals' Brunch Day at Dirty Bones Kensington, Dirty Bones, Sun, free. Those who live in W8 should dig out some kind of proof of address sharpish because it'll earn them free brunch at Dirty Bones Kensington. Each resident (and their plus one) may claim a free main dish between noon and 2pm on a first come first served basis. 

Christmas Feast of 7 Fishes, Brunel Museum, all weekend, £35-£40. Chef Tom Hunt's 2015 Christmas Feast returns to the Brunel Museum for a fourth year, bringing with it a delicious menu created with food that would have otherwise gone to waste.

…or check out the latest restaurant reviews.

 

 

 

 

 

Comedy

Brian and Robin's Christmas Compendium of Reason, Eventim Apollo Hammersmith, TONIGHT, £30-£45. Everyone's favourite dreamy-eyed scientist, Professor Brian Cox, and superb, erudite comedian Robin Ince join forces for their annual Christmas blow-out at the Hammersmith Apollo.

Josie Long's Christmas Miracle, Kings Place, Sat, £14.50. Every-quizzical DIY stand-up and multi-award winner Josie Long hosts this festive special, introducing her comedian and musician pals. Guests include Foster's Award-winner and 'Top Coppers' star John Kearns and ace character act Lolly Adefope.

Sofie Hagen: Bubblewrap, Soho Theatre, Fri-Sat, £12.50, £10 concs. Danish stand-up Sofie Hagen deservedly won the Best Newcomer gong at the 2015 Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Now you can catch 'Bubblewrap' in London, as Hagen plays a Christmas run at Soho Theatre.

 …or check out all the critics’ choice comedy shows.

 

 

 

 

 

Live music

Idlewild, Koko, TONIGHT, £22.50. Long-standing moody Scottish rockers Idlewild may not be quite as punky or pissed-off as they were they formed almost two decades ago, but they’ve still got plenty of energy.

Todd Terje, Koko, Sun, £25. Big Todd the disco god sprinkles some Christmas magic on Camden this winter, pitching up for a live show to celebrate the success of his debut album ‘It’s Album Time’. 

London Contemporary Music Festival, Ambika P3, all weekend, £11. You won’t find any oratorios or singalong carols here, but if you want to immerse yourself in a week of post-classical music then head underground to the epic concrete university engineering hall for 49 works, 27 of them premieres, presented by more than 80 performers.

…or take a look at all the live music events in London this weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

Nightlife

Players Ball Xmas Party, Trapeze, TONIGHT, £6-£10. The hip hop party heavyweights roll up for a mighty merry Christmas special. DJs Rob Pursey, Davey Boy Smith and J-Squared will be spinning all kinds of beats and treats, covering old and new school hip hop, R&B, old-school jams and funk.

Elrow, Studio 338, Sat, £12.50. After an epic, Carnival-flavoured special earlier in the year, Elrow is back at Studio 338 again, and this time they're going all New York on you with a Bronx-themed bash.

The Brixton Christmas Carnival, Prince of Wales, Sat, £10-£12. A one-day festive carnival full of festive carnage, on a heated terrace rooftop. There'll be three stages of carnival sounds – think reggae, bashment, dancehall, soca, grime, garage, hip hop and more – from Robbo Ranx, Murkage Dave, Star.One, Hipsters Don't Dance, Kings Hi-Fi and many more.

…or see all the parties planned this weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

Film

The Nomad: 'Gremlins', Eccleston Place Courtyard, TONIGHT, £25, £15 concs. Outdoor cinema experts The Nomad present a long weekend of festive films in a unique and lovely location. Our pick is this subversive monster movie, in which director Joe Dante tries to have his Christmas cake and puke all over it too.

Bamboozled, Ritzy Picturehouse, Sun, £13, £12 concs. Film critic Ashley Clark, author of a new book on Spike Lee’s controversial, strangely prescient reality TV satire, will introduce this fifteenth anniversary screening.

Kinema and Kocktails: ‘Bad Santa’, Cellar Door, Sun, £12. It’s taken a little over a decade, but this foulmouthed Christmas comedy is now firmly part of the festive film-watching calendar.

Or at the cinema...

Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict ★★★☆☆ A documentary about the life of the respected art collector and social butterfly.

By the Sea ★★★☆☆ Anglina Jolie directs and stars – alongside hubby Brad Pitt – in this lacklustre but intriguing marital drama.

…or see all of the latest releases.

 

 

 

 

 

Theatre

Cymbeline, Shakespeare's Globe, Fri-Sat, £10-£62. A too-static production of Shakespeare's eccentric late play.

You for Me for You, Royal Court Theatre, Fri-Sat, £10-£20. US playwright Mia Chung’s ‘You for Me for You’ follows two North Korean sisters who fall foul of the totalitarian state and make a break for the border – but only one of them makes it.

The Ballad of Robin Hood, Southwark Playhouse, all weekend, £12-£20, £16 concs. This irreverent romp through the Robin Hood legend is a fine alternative to traditional panto.

…or see our theatre critics’ choices.

 

 

 

 

 

This week's best new art

Janis Avotins: Since the Foundation, IBID Projects, Fri-Sat, free. Wispy, faint apparition-like figures populate the Latvian artists latest painting series, which draws upon 1950s Soviet Union propaganda and post-war national picture books for its subjects.

AR Penck, Michael Werner Gallery, Fri-Sat, free. Featuring important paintings and sculptures made in Dresden between the 1960s and 1970s, this free show reveals the self-taught German artist’s desire to create a universal pictorial style for the post-war period.

Rose English: A Premonition of the Act, Camden Arts Centre, Sat-Sun, free. For the past decade, the celebrated performance artist, Rose English has been working with Chinese acrobats, filming their performances and rehearsals. At Camden, she will present a three channel video installation of her footage alongside a 70-minute sound installation of operatic voices and percussion.

Ian Parry Scholarship Exhibition, Hoxton Gallery, all weekend, free. Set up to honour the photojournalist Ian Parry who lost his life whilst on assignment for The Sunday Times during the Romanian revolution in 1989, this annual photography award showcases young photographers either under 24 or on a full-time course.

…or see all London art reviews.

And finally

Win... a private box for English National Opera's production of The Mikado or a Samsung TV and a 12-month subscription to PictureBox Films

Grab... a £29 deal for an Introduction to Graphic Design and Adobe Creative Suit online course

Book… these gigs while you still can

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