Monday to
Saturday
8AM – 8PM
Sunday
9AM – 7PM
The Sidings,
Waterloo Station,
London SE1 7BH
It’s Christmassssssss!
I know it’s November but the second Halloween is over, everyone at The Sidings is only thinking about one thing, Christmas! As we prepare all our decorations and the centre is filling up with Christmas gifts, food and drink, our friends next door at Leake Street Arches are preparing for Christmas in a style unique to them – as we’d expect.
For the 5th straight year, Leake Street Arches is transforming into the biggest and best festive venue for one night only. This alternative Christmas celebration has been organised by the lovely people at WeAreWaterloo and Southbank BID and is headlined by a screening of ‘Home Alone 2 – Lost in New York’ but that is just the beginning of the fun.
The evening itself begins with a cabaret performance from the award-winning artist, Pi the Mime, before we begin the movie showing, but all the while other live events and treats can be accessed.
As the film takes place in Manhattan and with the amazing backdrop at Leake Street Arches, it makes sense that they would be having Graffiti workshops happening through the evening with the Artist-In-Residence, Marc Craig. You get to make your own mark on the famous tunnel walls – not many Christmas venues we know offer that.
If creating art on tunnel walls isn’t your idea of party fun, let’s offer you a more traditional festive activity, Wreath Making. Take the opportunity to create your own Christmas Wreath that you can take home at the end of the evening and add as a personal decoration to your home.
The festive-themed fun doesn’t stop there, as you’ll find face-painting available and they have even arranged for snow to get delivered directly into the venue, which will sit perfectly with the snowboard simulator – it’s a great way to take on your friends in competition.
Feeling thirsty or hungry with all this activity? Don’t panic, they’ve got you covered. The party is supporting local traders, so you’ll find plenty of street food options and market stalls where you can find that perfect (and unique) Christmas gift, and it’s all washed down with lots of Mulled Wine!
And to add to the party feel and where you’ll find the drink flowing, why not drop into the Humbug Dive Bar? Sorry, you don’t know about the Humbug Dive Bar? Then let us correct that mistake right away…
Open now until the 6th January, the Humbug Dive Bar is an Immersive Christmas experience that you won’t want to miss. Santa is not feeling the Christmas spirit and it’s your job to bring the festive joy and cheer him up.
On arrival you get to join an interactive 2-hour show, meeting Santa and his helpers, where your decisions help bring the performance to life! It means you can visit multiple times because each visit will be a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
You can pop along for a matinee performance at 2 pm (perfect if you want to kick off that office Christmas party early) or the evening slot of 7 pm. Once that merriment finishes and night falls, a full-blown Christmas party, complete with live music, DJs and party sign-along for that true Christmas experience.
You’ll be waited on all night, so no awkward queuing at the bar and if you’d like, you can even book private booths for the extra special experience.
Head over to our socials to find out how you can enter the big Humbug competition for a chance to win 4 VIP tickets!
That should be more than enough to convince you to check out Leake Street this festive period but if you were looking for one more reason, then how about having all this fun AND making money for a great cause?
That’s right, monies collected for activities like the wreath making and graffiti workshops will all go towards the amazing charity ‘Waterloo Foodbank’. So really, you have literally no reason not to visit, we look forward to seeing you all soon.
