Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without, well, Charles Dickens actually. So where better to celebrate it than at his London pad?
The London author's novel A Christmas Carol spread his love of Christmas to the masses, transforming an unpopular Christian festival to one celebrated as it is today. Unsurprisingly, Christmas is always a big thing at the Charles Dickens Museum in Bloomsbury — and this year there's a special exhibition too.
Here's what's going on at Dickens' pad this festive season. Booking in advance is recommended for all events.
A Christmas Carol
The Museum's exhibition space will be showing off artwork by students from Central St Martins, exploring the themes in what is probably Dickens' most famous story. Included in admission charge, 1 December-6 January
The novel which reinvented Christmas is performed in the very circumstances in which Dickens probably wrote it... by candlelight. Dickens actor Dominic Gerrard brings the ghosts of various Christmasses to life. Before the performance, you can explore the entire townhouse by candlelight, and see it dressed as it would have been for a Victorian Christmas.
£22, 18-29 December
Alternatively, hear Professor Michael Slater perform a witty reading of A Christmas Carol. Michael is an academic of Birkbeck University who has dedicated much of his work to Dickens.
£15, 12-15 December
Dickens After Dark
Experience the sights, sounds and smells of a Victorian Christmas at Dickens After Dark, a late night opening of the museum. As well as seeing the museum by candlelight, there will be film screenings all evening and tipples available at the bar.
£12, 17 December
Dickensian walks
Step out of the museum and into the London streets that Dickens himself once roamed, and many of his novels are set. The Christmas Dickensian Walks tour sites such as the house Dickens was living in when he first started to be successful, and the corner where Pip lodged with Herbert Pocket. Walk through Saffron Hill with Oliver twist and Fagin, and stroll along Gray's Inn Road in the company of Mr Pickwick and Sam Weller, all the while getting an insight into the life of the author himself.
£10, 23 December
If tours are your thing, let the Dickens's housemaid take you on one around the house as it was in Christmas 1839. She'll let you into the secrets of the author and his family.
£18/£14/£10, 12/19 December
Christmas Eve
A Christmas Carol is set on the night of Christmas Eve, so why not head along to the museum and see if you can spot any ghosts of Christmas past? Join in with Christmas carols around the piano, tour the museum with theatrical performances dotted around the various rooms, or learn how to make the perfect Christmas pudding. It's enough to warm even the heart of Ebenezer Scrooge.
£18/£10, 24 December
