Interesting and unusual things to do in London for £5 or less this week.
All week
CHRISTMAS PAST: See what Christmas has looked like (and how it's changed) over the last 400 years at Geffrye Museum in Hoxton. Take a walk through living rooms decorated with authentic lights, decorations and music. Free, just turn up, until 3 January
NEON ART: Soho and neon lights go hand in hand, and the death of neon signmaker Chris Bracey is marked with a special exhibition, featuring work by Chris and his family. Free, just turn up, until 31 January
ISIS AND EBOLA: Two of the biggest worldwide issues are united for an exhibition at Imperial War Museum, focusing on work that British troops do overseas. Free, just turn up, until November 2016
TINTIN: Somerset House currently has an exhibition dedicated to intrepid reporter TinTin and his faithful dog Snowy, and for fans of the books it's worth a visit. Free, just turn up, until 31 January
NOVEMBER ART: Some cracking exhibitions have opened in London this month. Not sure which ones to visit? We've tried them all to find out which ones are worth it — and best of all, they're all free.
Monday 30 November
FREE STEAK: Yep, you read that right. Flat Iron in Covent Garden is offering three nights of free steak this week. Full details here. 30 November-2 December
POETRY AND DEBATE: The Nuffield Council on Bioethics hosts an evening of poetry and debate at Rich Mix about what people mean when they say genetic modification or cloning is wrong because it’s unnatural. Free, prebook by emailing bioethics@nuffieldbioethics.org, 7pm-8.30pm
CHRISTMAS CARD MAKING: Get ahead in the Christmas card game this year: head to Drink Shop Do for an evening of Christmas card making, materials provided. Free when you buy a drink, just turn up, 7pm
Tuesday 1 December
KISSING BOOTH: To mark World AIDS Day, a kissing booth will be set up in Soho Square to support the Rethink HIV campaign, and challenge the incorrect perception that you can get HIV from kissing. Get a kiss in booth with one of Sink The Pink drag performers or model Alex Mountain. Free, just turn up, 11am-3pm
AGRICULTURE AND ELEPHANTS: UCL hosts a lunch hour lecture about what we can learn about life in rural Babylonia from archaeological excavations. Free, just turn up, 1.15pm
DISABLED WAR PENSIONERS: Head to the National Archives in Kew for an introduction to the pension records of the Royal Hospital of Chelsea, which gives an inight into disabled war pensioners of the 18th and 19th centuries. Free, prebook, 2pm-3pm
CHRISTIE'S LATE: Christie's auction house in South Kensington is open late for an evening themed on the 12 days of Christmas. Try wreath making, taste some Christmas punch and see if you can differentiate between real and fake antiques. Free, just turn up, 6pm-8.30pm
RED ROSA: Housmans bookstore in King's Cross hosts the launch of Red Rosa, a book about revolutionary socialist Rosa Luxemburg, who was imprisoned and murdered in 1919. £3, 7pm
BATTLE WITH SLAVERY: Conway Hall hosts an evening focused on Roger Casement who wrote reports and campaigned for human rights in a time of slavery, with particular focus on a rubber company in Peru and Colombia where 30,000 workers died. £3-£5, prebook, 7pm
Wednesday 2 December
GALACTIC ARCHAEOLOGY: While the history of our galaxy is a pretty vast subject, Gresham College condenses it into one lunchtime lecture, using the stars closest to us to dig into the past. At Museum of London. Free, just turn up, 1pm
BOROUGH MARKET LIGHTS:
The Borough Market Christmas lights are switched on tonight. The event begins with Southwark Cathedral’s St Nicholas Day Christingle Service, after which renowned cooks Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley will do the honours with the light switch. Free, just turn up, from 5.30pm
DOES PRISON WORK?: Head to Barnard's Inn Hall for a lecture about the effectiveness of prisons. Should we be imprisoning other human beings, and how effective is it? Free, just turn up, 6pm
A GREATER LONDON: Head to The Rag Factory for the launch of A Greater London, a new project to engage current campaigners on London issues with the story of the Greater London Council. Event includes a panel discussion with Ken Livingstone. Free, prebook, 6.30pm
WATCHMAKER'S APPRENTICE: Watch the documentary film Roger W Smith: The Watchmaker’s Apprentice at City University as part of the annual George Daniels Lecture. Smith was a student of horologist George Daniels. Free, prebook, 6.30pm
COMEDY: Mae Martin and some of her (as yet unannounced) mates will be trying out new material at the Camden Head. And because the gags are untested, it won’t cost you anything. Free, just turn up, 8pm
Thursday 3 December
BOOK OF TRAVELS: The idea for inoculating against smallpox was first brought to London from Ottoman Istanbul. Learn more about the Ottoman Empire in new exhibition The Book Of Travels at Rich Mix. Free, just turn up, 3 December-3 January
RUSSIAN CINEMA: 1915 was an important year in the development of Russian cinema — find out why at this UCL lunchtime lecture. Free, just turn up, 1.15pm
BLINDNESS IN VICTORIAN BRITAIN: The National Archives in Kew examines what life was like for blind and visually impaired people in Victorian Britain, with particular focus on blind campaigners of the era. Free, prebook, 2pm
IMAGINING SPACE TRAVEL: Dr Natalia Sidlina, curator of the Cosmonauts exhibition at Science Museum, holds a lecture about various depictions of the space age, from early sci-fi films to propaganda posters. Free, prebook, 2pm-3pm
ROCKET SCIENCE: Learn about the work researchers in and around Imperial College are doing on space, with a chance to meet Britain's first astronaut Helen Sharman and journey through an inflatable planetarium. Free, prebook, 5pm-7.30pm
ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS MARKET: Head to Old Street roundabout after work for a market where you can get hands on with activities such as sushi-making, graffiti spray painting, tea tasting and more. Free, prebook, 5pm-11pm
Friday 4 December
DISNEY SONGS: Seen the Disney Christmas tree at St Pancras station yet? Today, the Disney choir will be singing classic and new Disney songs, and there are rumours of falling snow for the full festive experience. Free, just turn up, throughout the day
MICHAEL JACKSON: Keyboard player Morris 'Mo' Pleasure was selected to play on Michael Jackson's This Is It tour, but sadly this never happened. Tonight he's at the Yamaha store playing some of the songs from the tour and talking about its production. Free, prebook, 6.30pm
COMEDY: Indulge in a spot of nostalgia as comedians (including Gareth Morinan, sketch troupe Daphne and Harriet Kemsley) pay homage to computer games at the Camden Head. £3/£5, prebook, 8.30pm
Saturday 5 December
MECCANO HANGOUT: Love Meccano models? Get yourself along to Hainault Baptist Church for a room full of models, plus raffles, competitions, and a chance to buy models. £4, 10.30am-5pm
CRIES OF LONDON: Head to Bishopsgate Institute to learn about the history of the trade of peddling in London. Free, prebook, 2pm
SEWING MACHINE MUSEUM: Who knew there was a sewing machine museum in London? Located in Balham, it only opens once a month, and today is one of those days. Free (donations welcome), just turn up, 2pm-5pm
Sunday 6 December
ORGAN OPEN DAY: The Amersham Organ Fair Museum has a rare open day, when the public can visit the instruments on display and learn more about them. Free (donations welcome), just turn up, 11am-5pm
CANDLE MAKING: Try your hand at making candles out of beeswax at Tottenham Marsh, guided by a bee keeper. £4/£2, prebook, 2pm-4pm