Christmas in London with kids: a week in December, by train and bus

A week of Christmas in London with kids, by train there and by bus around town (top deck, slower, much calmer than the tube). The Harry Potter Studio Tour took four hours and could have been longer, St James's Park saved the busy days, and the central Christmas markets are ridiculously expensive.

Christmas in London with kids is exactly as lovely as it looks in the photos, and exactly as tiring as you fear. We spent a week there in December, travelled in by train, and then moved around the city mostly by bus.

We did the Harry Potter Studio Tour, the Christmas markets, Hamleys and a lot of park time, with children of almost 4 and 7. The markets we did once, because one waffle and one crêpe came to 22 euros.
 

When is Christmas in London?

The Christmas season in London starts earlier than you would think and runs into early January. The big lights in the shopping streets go on in early November, the Christmas markets run from around mid November, and the streets are busiest between Christmas and New Year.

We were there from 12 to 18 December 2024, so well before the Christmas rush itself. What struck us: the lights do not come on as early in the day as you hope. With children who are up at seven that becomes a planning problem, because it only really feels festive in the late afternoon and by then they are ready for dinner. So we turned our days around: the big things during daylight, something small and close to home as it got dark.
 

Taking the train to London, and why the bus wins once you are there

We arrived at King's Cross around midday, and London is immediately London: trains, tube lines and people moving in every direction.

We took the Eurostar and paid 384 euros for three people, return. Our youngest was just under four and therefore travelled free.

That last bit mattered more than we realised beforehand. On the Eurostar a child under four travels free, at the Harry Potter Studio Tour a child up to and including four gets in free, and in London itself children up to ten travel free on buses and the tube. If your youngest is about to turn four, this trip is cheaper now than it will be in six months. That is no reason to rush, but it is worth knowing before you start doing sums.

The most useful practical discovery of the week: walking everywhere does not work with children, and neither does the tube. The bus does. It is slower, but you get a seat, you watch the city slide past, and nobody has to be steered through a packed platform. Sitting up front on the top deck became the ritual, and that turned travel time into part of the day instead of something to get through.

And the bus is not just calmer, it is a lot cheaper. From our tube station into zone 1 the underground cost 3.90 pounds per person, per journey. A bus is 1.75 pounds per journey no matter how far you go, with a daily cap of 5.25 pounds. Children up to ten travel free. Work out what that saves when four of you go back and forth a couple of times a day: on the tube you have spent it in two journeys.
 

Sleeping outside the centre: what it gives you and what it costs

We stayed in Golders Green, a quiet residential area in North London on the Northern line. Not a tourist neighbourhood: ordinary streets, lots of Jewish shops and bakeries, and quiet in the evening. Exactly what you want after a day in the centre with children who are done.

We paid around 137 euros a night for an apartment, six nights in December. Sleeping outside zone 1 saves a great deal on the price, and it only costs you travel time, not atmosphere.
 

Things to do in London with kids at Christmas: what worked best

Trafalgar Square made an immediate impression, although parts of the square were closed off a few times because of demonstrations. Walking on from there to Big Ben does not disappoint, even if you have seen it many times before.

Nearby is St James's Park, and that park saved our week. Space, paths to run along, squirrels darting between people and a playground where the energy could go somewhere. We walked through it almost every day, simply because it helped.

Buckingham Palace was the unexpected hit. Interest was zero until we were standing there, and then it was all about the guards: why don't they move? When one finally did, that was the highlight of the stop.

The Christmas markets, and what they actually cost

Around Covent Garden and Leicester Square London goes all out: shop windows, fake snow, street performers and trees you have to walk around. It is beautiful, and walking around costs nothing.

And then you buy something. Prices at the Christmas markets in the centre are ridiculous. We paid 22 euros for one waffle and one crêpe, both with a bit of Nutella on top. No drinks, no extras: two things handed through a hatch. For comparison: at the Christmas market in Trier, near Landal Hochwald, prices were perfectly reasonable and a ride on the carousel was cheaper than at a Dutch funfair.

Of the three we saw, Leicester Square was the nicest. Not because it is big, because it is not, but because of the atmosphere.

Those prices took most of the fun out of it. With children who want everything they see, you spend an hour saying no. That is what a market like this is actually like with young children, and it does not show up in a single photo.

So our approach became: walk around for the atmosphere, and eat and drink away from the market. That saves enough to make the difference between a nice evening and a grumpy one.

Where we did not go is Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, so we cannot tell you anything about it. We stuck to the markets you come across anyway: Leicester Square, the Southbank along the river and Trafalgar Square. That was enough for our week, and it cost nothing as long as we bought nothing.
 

The Harry Potter Studio Tour: four hours, and it could have been longer

If one thing fully lived up to expectations, this was it. The studios are extensive, detailed and incredibly well done, from costumes and sets to how the effects were made. The Forbidden Forest and Gringotts kept it fresh even for anyone who had been before.

We were inside for about four hours and could easily have stayed longer. For the children it was absorbing and every now and then just slightly scary, in the good way.

Practical details: we paid 150 pounds for all of us, with our youngest getting in free because children up to and including four cost nothing. Getting there: we took the train from Euston to Watford Junction, which cost 28 pounds for two adults, one way. We took an Uber back for 25 pounds, because late in the evening with two tired children that beat changing trains.

And that worked out well: that Uber was no more expensive than the same train again, and you step out at your door instead of on a platform. Exactly the same trade-off as the bus during the day, only the other way round: sometimes the easy option happens to be the cheap one too.

We booked our tickets in September for a visit in December, so a good three months ahead. That is not excessive caution: in December this tour sells out.

If you would rather keep it simple, book the Studio Tour with a coach from London. Ticket and transport in one, you get on in the centre, and there is nothing to work out yourself. From around 102 euros per person. And when the tour is full, this is often the only way left to get in.
Affiliate link: you pay the same price, we receive a small commission.

When the city gets to be too much

London is intense. It is constantly busy, public transport is packed and not every moment feels relaxed. That comes with the territory and it is not a complaint, but it did confirm what we already suspected: with young children a city like this asks for a different kind of energy.

What helped were simple choices. Parks over shopping streets, buses over walking, and one big thing a day with nothing else that had to happen. If you are used to moving through crowds, London at Christmas will probably just feel magical. If you prefer a slower pace, you can have both at once: magical and exhausting. Our other winter trip, Denmark in January, had exactly the opposite problem: there, too little was open.
 

Hamleys as a gentle ending

On the last day we went for something light. Hamleys is everything you expect: six floors of toys, demonstrations on every level, cheerful chaos and wide-eyed children. As a way to round off a week like this, exactly right.

And here, for the first time that week, we simply said yes. Both children got to choose something and one extra thing came along too, and that came to 55 euros. After a week of saying no at the Christmas markets this felt like the logical place to do it: once, on the last day, and then they know exactly what it went on.

After that, collect the luggage, onto the train and home. Tired, full of impressions and ready for some quiet.
 

What a week in London with kids cost

We do not keep a ledger, so this is not a complete set of accounts, but this we know exactly:

• Sleeping: around 137 euros a night for an apartment in Golders Green, six nights
• Harry Potter Studio Tour: 150 pounds for all of us, with the youngest free
• Tube: 3.90 pounds per person per journey from our station into zone 1, children up to ten free
• Bus: 1.75 pounds per journey regardless of distance, with a daily cap of 5.25 pounds
• Christmas market: 22 euros for one waffle and one crêpe, so we did that once
• Hamleys: 55 euros, something for both children and one extra thing
• Eurostar return: 384 euros for three people, youngest travelling free
• Food: mostly our own, with groceries at Tesco (60 euros) and a smaller supermarket (25 euros), plus pizza once (52 euros) and coffee along the way (13 euros)
• Getting to the Studio Tour: 28 pounds for two adults out (Euston to Watford Junction), 25 pounds for an Uber back

What stands out when you read that list back: we ate mostly in the apartment. Groceries at Tesco and the supermarket round the corner, pizza now and then, coffee on the go. No week of restaurants, and in London that saves more than any other choice you make.

So the biggest saving was not in what we skipped but in three ordinary choices: sleeping outside zone 1, taking the bus instead of the tube, and cooking for ourselves. All three cost you nothing but a bit of convenience.
 

Frequently asked questions about Christmas in London with kids

 

Does Christmas in London work for families?

 

See also

Destinations The Belgian Ardennes with kids: three areas, our days out and what they cost Destinations Caves of Han with kids: price, parking and how long it takes Destinations Port Grimaud with kids: shallow water, no cars and where to park

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