Monday 28 December: the city's second Christmas
The 26th falls on a Saturday in 2026, so the Boxing Day bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December — a substitute day that gives London a long, unhurried Christmas weekend. By the Monday, the turkey is finished, the wrapping paper has been cleared, and the city settles into its quieter festive rhythm. The big Christmas lights still hang over the shopping streets, the markets are still trading, and the crowds are thinner than they were a week earlier. Treat the substitute day as your own: a chance to see the city without the crush, at the tail end of the season.
Markets and shopping streets on the substitute day
With the bank holiday landing on a Monday, the capital's markets and shopping districts are the natural anchor for the day. The big West End shopping streets keep their Christmas lights up through the season, and the covered markets and food halls are where Londoners go once the formal holiday is over. Plan around the things the city reliably does every year at this time:
- Walk the decorated shopping streets of the West End, where the seasonal lights stay up across the Christmas period.
- Spend the morning in the capital's covered markets and food halls, browsing stalls and picking up provisions for a long lunch.
- Use the thinner crowds of the substitute Monday to browse at leisure — the crush of the preceding week has passed.
Concerts, services and seasonal performance
Late December in London is a season of music and ceremony, and the days around the substitute bank holiday are part of that run. Cathedrals and concert halls programme carol services and seasonal concerts through December, and the period between Christmas Day and the new year is when many of the city's annual performances take place. Check listings for the specific days around Monday 28 December and book ahead — the holiday period is popular, and the best seats go early.
Parades, street celebrations and fireworks
London marks the turn of the year with public celebration, and the days around the substitute bank holiday sit at the start of that run. The city's New Year's celebrations and fireworks are a fixture of the calendar, and the week between Christmas and New Year is when the streets fill for parades and public events. If you are in town for the substitute Monday, you are well placed to stay on for the new year — plan your accommodation and viewing spots in advance, as the centre gets busy as the year turns.
What to eat, and where to find it
Seasonal eating in London at this time of year means the market stall and the food hall as much as the restaurant table. Use the substitute day to graze: pick up cheese, charcuterie, bread and preserves from the covered markets, and settle in for a long lunch. The city's food halls and market kitchens are at their best in the lull after Christmas, when the queues are shorter and the traders have time to talk you through what they are selling.
When to go, and how to plan around the date
The key fact for 2026: Christmas Day falls on Friday 25 December, Boxing Day on Saturday 26 December, and the substitute bank holiday on Monday 28 December. That gives you a four-day weekend from Friday to Monday, with the substitute day as the calm close. Book travel and accommodation early — the Christmas period is one of the busiest of the year in London — and check opening times for individual venues and markets, since holiday hours vary. Build your Monday around a market morning, a seasonal concert or service in the afternoon, and a long lunch in between, and you will have the city at its most relaxed.
Start with the date: Monday 28 December 2026. Put it in the diary, book your bed and your tickets, and let the substitute bank holiday do the rest — a long Christmas weekend in London, with the lights still up and the crowds finally thinning.