Venues that come with ready-made Christmas entertainment

Located in vaulted cellars close to Tower Hill, Ivory Vaults is known for its wacky medieval banquets. Come December, it’ll be hosting ‘Midday Feasts’ and ‘Nightfall Banquets’, complete with live entertainment and free-flowing booze. With prices starting at £50pp, treat your team to five festive courses with sides of knights, acrobats and jugglers. Nine semi-private areas are available to groups of 50-60, or you can hire the whole space for up to 450 guests.  

Tropicana Beach Club will transform its tropical Covent Garden paradise into an icy winter pop-up. ‘The Big Freeze’ will see guests transported into a winter wonderland featuring snow-clad huts, giant snowball installations, a frozen lagoon dancefloor and Arctic-inspired cocktails. But even in the bleak midwinter, the venue won’t let go of its tropical theme: a frozen trolley will be dishing up coconut ice creams, rum ice lollies and frozen daiquiris.

You can zoom right back to the glory days of 1960s Las Vegas at The Brewery this December. At its ‘Golden Palms Lounge and Casino’ pop-up, guests can sip on classic cocktails, help themselves to food and hang out in the lounge with all the other hepcats. Packages for anything between 10 and 1,800 guests include a cocktail reception, entertainment on arrival, unlimited booze, a buffet or three-course meal, and live music through the night. Prices start at £125pp, with exclusive and shared hire available.

Get ready for a wild jungle experience at the Barbican, whose ‘Christmas in the Jungle’ party package – housed in the leafy conservatory – will put a Tarzan-like twist on your celebrations. Expect tropical plants galore, food served on bamboo trays and expertly crafted cocktails. Prices start at £99pp and cover arrival drinks, three hours of free-flowing booze and a DJ. Add-ons include stilt walkers and flaring mixologists. Wild.

How about bringing a touch of screen magic to your annual bash? Backyard Cinema is a theatrical, immersive cinema in Borough that can be hired exclusively for Christmas parties (300 standing capacity; 140 if you’re watching a film). Packages are bespoke and can include a wintry-themed cocktail reception, food from neighbouring Mercato Metropolitano street-food market and a film of your choice. Throw in set builds, actors and live music, and you’ve got the makings of an unforgettable party.

Europe’s only rooftop ice rink returns to Docklands from November to January. Skylight at Tobacco Dock is a shoo-in for office dos what with its banging views of the capital and fun activities to boot. Not only can you ice skate here, but groups can also take part in an ice hockey slap-shot challenge. Food and drink will chime with the wintry theme, with fondue (cheese and chocolate – need we say more?), street food and festive tipples. Hire the whole rooftop for up to 300 guests, or reserve a heated area for 50.

Our friends at Butlin’s have come up with a cracking offer for the party season. For £185pp (minimum 100 guests), you can treat your crew to a festive dinner and bed and breakfast. Also included is car parking and meeting room hire – useful for that end-of-year presentation. For post-dinner fun, book the Hotshots venue (there’s one at every Butlin’s resort) for a round of 10-pin bowling. 

Dream no more, as crazy golf trailblazer Swingers is more than prepared for Christmas parties in its original City and new West End venues. There are four party packages on offer that range from the ‘Sprout Set’ (£32pp including crazy golf and two deluxe drinks) up to the grand ‘Turkey Set’ where £105pp will get groups the obligatory round of putting, a reserved area, unlimited drinks, street food and – our favourite bit – a festive Swingers crazy golf visor. Food comes from the likes of street food whizz’s Made of Dough, Pizza Pilgrims and Patty & Bun (no dry turkey dinners here) and both Hackney Gelato and Crosstown doughnuts will be conjuring festive flavours (mince pie gelato, anyone?). Both venues come with a trio of private party spaces for groups to take over – we’d swing by now to secure your space.