Christmas in Shoreditch 2026: markets, lights and nights out
Christmas in Shoreditch starts on Wednesday 11 November, when Old Spitalfields Market switches on its lights. From there the confirmed 2026 dates stack up: winter rooms at the Museum of the Home from Tuesday 17 November, candlelit Christmas visits on Folgate Street from Friday 20 November, makers' markets on Wednesdays and a run of shows at Hoxton Hall in the week before Christmas. Everything below was checked against each venue's own listings on Saturday 31 October. Where a 2026 date has not been published yet, we say so.
Old Spitalfields Market: the lights and the markets
Old Spitalfields Market at 16 Horner Square, E1, holds its Christmas 2026 Light Switch On Party on Wednesday 11 November from 4pm to 7.30pm. After that, according to Time Out's 2026 market dates, the Urban Makers Christmas Market runs every Wednesday before Christmas from 10am to 6pm, and there are Vinyl Markets on Friday 4 and Friday 18 December, 10am to 5pm. The market has a long head start on Christmas: trading here began with a licence from Charles I in 1638, and the Horner buildings you shop under went up between 1885 and 1893. Normal hours apply the rest of the week: 10am to 8pm on most weekdays, 8am to 6pm on Thursdays, 10am to 6pm on Saturdays and 10am to 5pm on Sundays.
Museum of the Home, Kingsland Road
The Museum of the Home at 136 Kingsland Road, E2, is free and the most Christmassy building in the area. Its Winter Programme runs to Sunday 10 January 2027:
- Winter Past, a free exhibition: Tuesday 17 November to Sunday 10 January. The real tree goes up in the welcome area the same day.
- Almshouse 14 by Candlelight tours: from Wednesday 18 November, £8 to £10.
- Winter Market for makers: Saturday 28 November, pay what you can, £8 for early access.
- Victorian Britain at Christmas, a talk: Saturday 28 November, £10.
- Ho Ho Home Late, an after-hours evening: Thursday 3 December, free.
- Festive Object Encounters in the Collections Library: Tuesday 8 to Sunday 13 December, free.
- Christmas Yule Goat Workshop: Saturday 12 December, £40.
The museum opens 10am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday.
Dennis Severs' House, Folgate Street
Dennis Severs' House at 18 Folgate Street does Christmas better than anywhere in E1. Christmas tickets run from 20 November 2026 to 10 January 2027: a Christmas Relaxed Day Visit at £18, where talking is allowed, a candlelit Christmas Silent Night at £25 and a Christmas Dennis Severs' Tour at £80 for no more than seven people, all plus a booking fee. The evening slots go first; book now. The house was built around 1724, and each room tells part of the story of the Jervis family, the fictional Huguenot silk weavers Severs invented to live in it, which is why candlelight and a winter evening suit it so well.
Hoxton Hall: the Christmas shows
Hoxton Hall on Hoxton Street, which opened in 1863 as a music hall, has a full December. Hohnen Ford plays on Tuesday 8 December and James Yorkston on Wednesday 9 December. The Crick Crack Club Christmas Carols Show is on Friday 18 December, with a family version on Saturday 19 December, and A Christmas Carol 2026 runs from Monday 21 to Wednesday 23 December. Tim Key's Chrimbo Bimbo, from Sunday 6 to Wednesday 16 December, is already sold out.
Columbia Road in December
Columbia Road keeps its Sunday flower market, about 8am to 3pm, through December. Last year the shops opened 5pm to 9pm every Wednesday before Christmas. The 2026 late nights had not been announced at the end of October, so check before you go.
Parties and nights out
- Boxpark Shoreditch, 2-10 Bethnal Green Road: Christmas party bookings are open and a Christmas events programme is promised, though dates are not listed yet.
- Queen of Hoxton, 1 Curtain Road: Christmas bookings are open, and the rooftop has a heated yurt in winter.
- XOYO, Cowper Street: Andy C on Saturday 5 December.
Not yet confirmed
As of Saturday 31 October, there are no published 2026 dates for Columbia Road's late-night shopping or Boxpark's individual Christmas events. We will update this page when they appear. For the rest of the year, see things to do in Shoreditch.
