Pop Up
WINTER MARTINI GARDEN AT HAM YARD HOTEL
Normally reserved for hotel guests, Ham Yard Hotel is opening up its rooftop terrace and garden, which has been transformed into a winter martini garden, to everyone this festive season. It’s the perfect place to get cosy with heaters, candles, tartan blankets and hot water bottles dotted around and hot cocktails, like the Paloma-tini (with Sipsmith gin, Suze and grapefruit & thyme syrup) and the Beekeeper’s Martini (a hot take on a Bee’s Knees finished with smoke) on the drinks list. There are also cold martinis on offer from the tableside trolley and you can pair your bevs with food cooked over fire, such as game & smoked bacon skewers, roast scallop with smoked butter & crispy seaweed, and ember-roasted beetroot & Cashel Blue flatbread.
Pop-Up Crisis is returning to Savile Row to help raise vital funds to help those experiencing homelessness in the UK. Open for ten days, the pop-up will be stocked with a range of menswear, womenswear, gifts and accessories, with designer pieces from the likes of Vivienne Westwood, Wales Bonner, Tods, Giles Deacon, Erdem, Pringle of Scotland, Christopher Kane, Burberry and Jimmy Choo. There’ll also be items donated by Kate Moss, Stormzy, Aisling Bea and David Gandy; wreath making workshops run by social enterprise The Glasshouse; a late-night shopping evening and a raffle competition. It’s all for a great cause, so it’s the perfect place to do your Christmas shopping.
POWERED BY DEPOP
Depop is popping up in IRL with some of its top sellers in tow to encourage more people to get involved in second-hand and circular fashion during party season. kathandrosa will be taking over the Sook space on South Molton Street on 30th November with a selection of vintage and Y2K pieces, with sellers like celiapops, alicefletchdf, reloadedld and elianaavintage all popping up in Sook’s Oxford Street space across December, so get down there and shop ’til you drop.
STORY KNITS
Every year, Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day campaign raises funds to transform the lives of children globally and in 2023, they’re hosting a seasonal sweater pop-up in Covent Garden to mark the initiative’s 12th edition. The Story Knits store is open for a week, as of Fri 1st December, and is stocked with pre-loved jumpers provided by beloved vintage clothing brand Beyond Retro. Each jumper in the curated range is priced at £30 and has been named after a child, accompanied by a label telling their story. And 100% of the proceeds go towards supporting Save the Children’s work in providing children in need with food, healthcare and education.
Flea London getting festive with a spesh Christmas market running for one weekend at Vinegar Yard. The outdoor (but covered) market will feature over 40 stalls from local and indie traders, selling a range of handcrafted gifts, plus there’ll be mulled wine and street food to keep you toasty while you shop.
If you’ve been strolling around Covent Garden lately and caught your reflection in a giant mirrored box, then you’ve also spotted the Marc Jacobs pop-up shop. The brand’s first ever UK pop-up has landed on the Piazza to promote the new Resort collection and it’s just as shiny inside with crystal canvas tote bags, other bags in silver, rhinestone and pearl finishes, and sparkly jewellery on display. Appropriately, as it’s one giant mirror, there’s a dedicated photo op spot at the back of the space.
Harry Styles is bringing his beauty brand Pleasing back to London – just in time for the holidays. The pop-up is taking over The Corner Shop at Selfridges on Oxford Street until Sat 9th December with plenty of Pleasing nail polishes (with a few exclusive shades added in), cosmetics and clothing. Plus, guests will have the chance to shop the brand-new perfume range and sample the scents at the pop-up’s ‘ticket booth’. There’ll also be live performers and custom-made confectionery, and, if you buy a perfume, you’ll get a free matching tote. The space itself looks very aesthetically pleasing too, so there’ll be plenty to snap for socials while you shop for Christmas gifts.
ASOS is going IRL in London this month and just in time for party season. The online retailer is opening the ASOS Pop-Up, its first-ever in-person shop, in Fitzrovia and it’s gonna be filled with an A/W edit featuring some of the biggest brands on the platform, including ASOS Design, ASOS Edition, Topshop, Nike, New Balance and more. The free events, including a Luxegen styling session, skincare 101 with The Ordinary and New Balance running club, are all fully booked but there’ll be space for walk-ins for Charlotte Tilbury and Drybar beauty treatments. Plus there’ll be DJs spinning at the store and a whole load of freebies on offer, so if you’re an ASOS obsessive, you won’t wanna miss it.
DALLOWAY TERRACE
Dalloway Terrace has been transformed into a glamorous wonderland this winter, inspired by the home of Perrier-Jouët Champagne, with deep red foliage, berries, fairy lights and sheepskin blankets. Toast to the festive season with a champagne cocktail and dishes like Black Angus beef tartare with Melba toast, grilled tiger prawns with smoked garlic butter & samphire, and wild mushroom & Sharpham spelt risotto with truffle & parmesan crisps.
CHRISTMAS IN LEICESTER SQUARE
Christmas is coming back to Leicester Square for another year. Expect a whole host of food, drink and Christmas gift stalls, so you can feast on bratwurst and gluhwein and shop til you drop. Plus, a vintage Spiegeltent will be taking over the square with performances from the award-winning cabaret La Clique.
LOWER STABLE STREET CHRISTMAS MARKET
The Lower Stable Street Market is back in Coal Drops Yard this Christmas with a rotating selection of traders across food, art, fashion, books, craft and more.
It’s not Christmas in London without Winter Wonderland and it’s back in Hyde Park once again. You can slip n’ slide your way around the UK’s largest outdoor ice rink; immerse yourself in the Magical Ice Kingdom; hang onto the edge of your seat at Zippos Christmas Circus, the Edelweiss Funhouse and Cirque Beserk; take a spin on the big wheel; or spend the day strolling through the Bavarian Village with hot ciders in hand.
MALTBY STREET MARKET FESTIVE FRIDAYS
It’s Friday, you’ve just left work in SE1 and you realise you’ve completely forgotten to get into the Christmas spirit. There’s only one thing to do – head to Maltby Street’s seasonal night market. The cobblestone streets are decked (think trees, wreaths and LOTS of fairy lights), the street food stalls have rolled out the festive specials, gifts abound and there’s live music, so it’s sure to have you feeling merry. Warm yourself by a barrel of mulled wine and treat yourself to dinner at one of the restaurants in the arches that are staying open late just for the occasion.
MARKET HALLS VICTORIA WINTER ROOF GARDEN
Market Halls Victoria’s roof terrace has been cosied up for winter with covers, heaters, blankets, and twinkly lights. The bars on the roof are serving up mulled wine, chocolate orange espresso martini, and winter warmer cocktails, and you can feast on winter specials from the market’s resident traders like Butchies, DF Tacos, Hotbox and Eggslut.
RUBEN'S REUBENS AT BRIXTON VILLAGE
After a summer residency at Robin Gill’s Brentford-based bakery and grill Rye By The Water, Ruben Danway of Ruben’s Reubens is teaming up with Gill for a winter pop-up in Brixton Village. Ruben has been making his reubens since the start of Covid when he would smoke meats in his parents’ garden in Brixton during lockdown. The sandwich business was inspired by his Polish-Jewish background and has already picked up a large and loyal following through a series of pop-ups. This latest residency, which will run Weds – Sun throughout the winter, will feature his reuben and salt beef sarnies alongside the likes of latke buns, hot honey burnt ends, smoked white wings, kung pao-strami cauliflower, and house lamb sausage. Word on the street is that guest chefs will be passing through the pop-up too….
SNOWBIRD
Seabird, the rooftop restaurant at the top of The Hoxton, Southwark, is becoming Snowbird this winter, complete with Mediterranean sharing plates, Grey Goose cocktails and those epic city views. The interior will be decked out with dried alpine flowers, an illuminated arch and the largest collection of iconic Slim Aarons winter photography prints currently on display in London. The menu will feature dishes like baked oysters with chorizo & lemon; smoked oxtail croquettes with aioli; dressed Brixham crab with sea urchin; hot seafood platter of oysters, mussels, scallops & tiger prawns; Basque stew with hake, mussels, saffron potatoes & roasted fennel; and baked lobster & crab pumpkin pie with caviar. Pair that with a sharing fountain of blood orange & fig spritz, fizzy dirty martinis, and a round of Arctic Espressos – mini espresso martinis served in ice shot glasses.
Winter by the River does exactly what it says on the tin: brings riverside Christmas fun to London Bridge. Not only are there a bunch of festive stalls all glowing with Christmas lights and selling boutique accessories and artisan gifts, but also themed karaoke rooms, street food and pop-up bars. Eat, drink and be merry with the likes of Korean corn dogs, burgers and Empanadas – plus buckets of glühwein.
HUMBUG CHRISTMAS DIVE BAR
What do you think Santa does after a long hard day at his workshop? He hits his fave dive bar of course, and now you can too. At Humbug, a new immersive festive dive bar popping up on Waterloo’s Leake Street, you’ll have to help Santa get back in the Christmas spirit, which shouldn’t be a problem with festive sing-a-longs, cabaret performances, live music, and DJ sets all on the cards, alongside Christmas lights, holiday memorabilia and cocktails like the Bah F*****g Humbug’ (with rum, chocolate liqueur, oat milk, crushed Oreos, whipped cream and a mince pie on top).