Naijagreatent: Things To Do In London This Weekend: 19-20 December 2015

All weekend

Natural History Museum is home to one of London’s many ice rinks

ICE SKATING:
Feeling smug that you’ve got all your presents bought and wrapped, tree decorated, turkey basted and still got a few days to spare? Celebrate by taking to the ice at one of London’s seasonal ice skating rinks.

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS:
Check out our guide to Christmas in London and see what’s open in London on Christmas Day.

CASINO EXPERIENCE:
Casino newbie? No problem. Grosvenor Victoria Casino offers one hour beginner’s tuition in blackjack and roulette. Choose from a dinner or bar package, and make an evening of it. £15, 19/20 December
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CINEMA IN THE SNOW:
20th Century Theatre in Notting Hill transforms into a winter wonderland for the weekend, with festive films including Elf, Love Actually, Grinch, White Christmas and Home Alone being shown, plus falling snow and Christmassy snacks. Various prices, prebook, until 23 December

MOSCOW STATE CIRCUS:
Acts from Moscow State Circus and African Whirlwind acrobats join forces to put on a show at Winterville in Victoria Park. Take the family to see aerial artistes, wire walkers, clowns and a guy who fires multiple crossbows off his head. £3.50, 18-23 December
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BIRD FEEDING:
London Wetland Centre in Barnes launches a winter feeding frenzy trail. Use the clues to find six special bird feeders and learn how you can help birds in the winter. Free with admission, just turn up, until 3 January

Saturday 19 December

Ice hockey: see London Raiders take on Streatham Redskins

DANCE CLUB:
Club night meets dance class at Birthdays in Dalston. Dance teachers Kwame Asafo-Adjei and Ulysse Zangs lead an afternoon of movement inspired by the music you would usually hear in club sets. £10, 2pm
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BLACK MASS:
Regent Street Cinema screens new Johnny Depp film, Black Mass. The crime thriller is set in 1970s Boston, with Depp and co. trying to eradicate the Italian Mob. Sounds like the perfect antidote if Christmas is getting too much. £11, 3.50pm/8.30pm
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SANTA LASH:
Santa Lash is a Santa theme pub crawl taking place around Waterloo, and raising money for Tommy’s and Shelter. All you need is a ticket and a Santa suit. £14, prebook, from 5pm

ICE HOCKEY LONDON DERBY:
Watch London Raiders take on Streatham Redskins in a London derby at Lee Valley Ice Centre. New to the sport? It’s fast-paced, but a lot of fun. Learn more here. £8, 5.30pm
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SPACE LECTURE:
Dr Kevin Wong leads this year’s Christmas lectures at the Royal Institution. An expert in space medicine, he’ll be talking about the challenges in keeping people alive for extended periods of time in space. Watch the lecture live from a screening in the room next to the lecture theatre. £12/£8/£6, prebook, 6pm

DUNGEON LATE:
London Dungeon on South Bank is open late for adults to explore the gruesome world of London’s darker side. Sup on a cocktail before stepping into Victorian London, complete with special effects and plenty of scares. £25-£29, from 6.30pm
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LIVE MUSIC:
Cecil Sharp House in Camden hosts Bellowhead and Faustus player Paul Sartin and Paul Hutchinson who team up to perform as Belshazzars’ Feast. Expect classical and jazz music, with a sprinkling of pop and music hall genres. £14, prebook, 7pm

ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA:
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Christmas Cracker takes place at Cadogan Hall. West End stars Anna-Jane Casey and Graham Bickley will join the orchestra to sing a selection of Christmas classics including Mary’s Boy Child and Let it Snow. £15, 7.30pm
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CANTUS CHRISTMAS:
Chamber choir The Cantus Ensemble perform their Christmas concert at St-Botolph-Without-Bishopsgate. Enjoy Christmas musical masterpieces, followed by singalong carols around the piano. £12/£8, prebook, 7.30pm
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COMEDY FUNDRAISER:
Nish Kumar MCs an evening of top notch comedy at Throgmortons near Bank, with money raised going to Shelter. The festive comedy line-up includes John Kearns, Isy Suttie (Dobby from Peep Show), Rob Newman and Rachel Parris. £11, 7.45pm
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CHRISTMAS CABAREILIDH:
Head to Stoke Newington for an evening of cabaret performances with ceilidh dance breaks for everyone to join in with the live folk Cabareilidh band playing. £7.50, prebook, 8pm

CHRISTMAS SINGALONG:
The Common People Christmas Prom takes place at The Phoenix on Oxford Street. The Christmas sinaglong night raises money for homeless charity Crisis, with a few well-known faces expected to put in a performance. £15, 8pm
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BRAZILIAN CHRISTMAS PARTY:
Pop Brixton’s Christmas Party takes on a Brazilian theme, with live samba, favela funk and Latin Jazz music. Free, just turn up, 8pm

CARWASH CLUB NIGHT:
Party like it’s 1989 at The Loop in Mayfair. Carwash is a club night with a colourful dress code where you can dance the night away to disco classics, 80s pop, dance, R&B and club anthems. From £8, 10pm
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Sunday 20 December

See Robin Williams on the big screen in Hook.

HITCHCOCK’S HOME:
The Mission Hall in Leytonstone plays host to an Alfred Hitchcock themed Christmas celebration. Enjoy Christmas food and family films including The Muppets’ Christmas Carol and The Gremlins. £12.40/£14, prebook, from 12.30pm

FAMILY DAY:
Keats House in Hampstead has an afternoon of Christmas family activities going on, including songs and stories with a festive theme, accompanied by a musician. Free, prebook, 1pm-4pm

HOOK:
Head to Backyard Cinema’s Winter Night Garden at Winterville in Victoria Park for a screening of Hook. The film sees a grown-up Peter Pan (Robin Williams) returning to Neverland in order to save his children, who have been abducted by Captain Hook, and stars Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman. £12.50, 2pm
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LONDINIUM:
Join experts from the Museum of London on a walk to the Roman ampitheatre in the City of London, exploring 400 years of Roman Londinium as you go. £12.50/£10, prebook, 2pm

BILL BAILEY:
Watch comedian Bill Bailey’s current show, Limboland, from top notch seats at the Vaudeville Theatre. In the show he covers a disastrous family trip to Norway to see the Northern Lights, ultimately exploring the gap between how we imagine our lives to be and how they really are. £39.50, 4pm
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BRITISH BASKETBALL:
See London Lions take on Glasgow Rocks in the top-level men’s basketball league in the UK. They’ll play at the Copper Box in Stratford, which was one of the venues used in the London 2012 Olympics. £10/£15, prebook, 4pm
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CHRISTMAS LIGHTS WALK:
Westminster Guides Joanna Moncrieff and Ray Coggin lead a Christmas themed walk around Marylebone, with money raised going to the Magical Taxi Tour charity. See Christmas lights and hear about Christmas traditions and the history of Christmas food. Minimum £8 donation, prebook, 6.30pm

LONDON DREAMTIME:
Storyteller Vanessa Woolf tells a tale of occult, magic and secret time machine in Victorian London, in a secret corner of Brompton Cemetery. With live music. £5, prebook, 6pm