How long do you give it to usher in the resplendent Christmas decoration after the demons of All Hallows Eve have vacated the premises? By the South Bank’s estimations, the answer is: three days.
From about, well, now (!), it’s all steaming ahead towards December 25 for the South Bank, with the Christmas market along the riverside opening up once again earlier this week, adorned with festive fairy lights to make those shorter nights feel brighter.
If you’ve enjoyed a dinner in Waterloo, leave room for dessert and head to the markets afterwards for some post-meal riverside ambles topped off with some churros, cookies, or Nutella-covered Dutch pancakes. If you’ve got time to kill before heading over to a West End play, fill up on some of their delightful savoury food, from Yorkshire pudding wraps to Himalayan dumplings, at the huts and enjoy a mulled wine before shuffling over to the theatre filled with the ‘festive spirit’.
Once you’ve filled up on the snacks, you can also poke your head into plenty of other stalls offering up gifting opportunities, with an array of jewellery and decorating items made by independent creators to browse through.
Anyone heading down this way would also be very wise to not pass up the chance to taste the annual fare at Jimmy’s Winter Lodge. Their stalls will be arriving on the riverside for another festive season from October 30, providing a wintery spot to enjoy Fire and Fromage, with their classic bottomless raclette inside a weatherproof cabana, or opt for another item on the festive menu. Finish off with a toasted marshmallow on the fire to truly reach the pinnacle of festivity.
The South Bank’s Christmas market got going on Monday, November 3, and it runs until January 4, 2026. You can find out more details here.