Christmas Cinema: London’s Pop Up Festive Screenings

Words Helen Brown 

White Christmas | National Gallery

This December the National Gallery is celebrating the festive season with quintessential Belgian abbey beer, Leffe, by launching a series of special pop-up film screenings. From Wednesday 14 December to Sunday 18 December, Christmas Classics will be aired in the National Gallery’s stunning Wohl Room. Festive film fans can enjoy favourites including It’s A Wonderful Life,  Love Actually and  White Christmas – a romantic tale starring Bing Crosby and set a Vermont Lodge where it is almost always a White Christmas.

When: Saturday 17 December
Where: National Gallery, WC2N
Price: £35 ( £28 for National Gallery members) buy tickets here.

Love Actually | Mercato Metropolitano

Nine intertwined stories examine the complexities of the one emotion that connects us all: love. Mercato Metropolitano are screening this well-loved festive romcom in the on-site arts cinema where you can devour a pre-show feast from some of the best food producers and artisanal talent London and Italy have to offer. 

When: Friday 2nd December
Where: 41 Newington Causeway, SE1
Price: from £16.50 , buy tickets here.

Christmas Pyjama Party | The Prince Charles Cinema

If the Miracle on 34th wasn’t enough to jolt your yuletide yearnings, The Prince Charles Cinema are hosting an all-night movie marathon of fireside favourites; from Home Alone to the Grinch, and everything in between. So get your PJs and the popcorn, this will be one hell of a Christmastime treat for even the stubbornest of Scrooges.

When: Saturday 3rd December
Where: The Prince Charles Cinema, Leicester Place, WC2H
Price: from £17.50 , buy tickets here.

Home Alone | Dalloway Terrace

Until recently the most successful live-action comedy of all time, and also the inspiration for a generation of ’90s kids to create imaginary, elaborate traps with which they could thwart intruders, “Home Alone” is such a perfect kids’ fantasy. Curl up for this Christmas-set classic beneath a silky sheep-skin blanket on the Narnia-inspired Dalloway Terrace.

When: Saturday 10th December
Where: The Bloomsbury, Dalloway Terrace, WC1B
Price: £25, buy tickets here.

A Christmas Carol | St Kats Christmas Cinema

St Kats will be presenting the animated retelling of this Charles Dickens’ classic; the story of a time travelling miser who takes a journey of redemption with the help of his ghosts of the past. No festive period would be complete without a ‘bar humbug’ or two, so jump aboard the floating platform, snuggle up beneath a blanket and lose yourself in this festive fairytale which has itself become part of Christmas folklore.

When: Sunday 11th December
Where: St Katharine Docks, E1W
Price: from £11.00, buy tickets here.

It’s a Wonderful Life | The Soho Hotel

For a swankier experience, the Soho Hotel might be just the ticket. It’s one of the more expensive options, but the price-tag includes a three-course pre-film meal in the hotel restaurant. Expect a range of Christmas front-runners including this timeless classic in which an angel helps a despairingly frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he never existed.

When: Sunday 17th December
Where: 4 Richmond Mews, W1D
Price: £35, buy tickets here.

Miracle on 34th Street | Hackney Showroom

Six-year-old Susan has doubts about childhood’s most enduring miracle – Santa Claus. But after meeting a department store Santa who’s convinced he’s the real thing, Susan has something to believe in. Prepare for some Christmas magic as you watch this holiday heartwarmer surrounded by the swirl of snow. Yes, you read that correctly. Step in through the wardrobe doorway of this Cinema in the Snow where you are guaranteed a white Christmas.

When: Sunday 18th December
Where: Hackney Showroom, Studio Amhurst Terrace, E8
Price: from £16.50 , buy tickets here.