This week's best things to do in London, from carol singing to citywide rambling - Telegraph.co.uk

Christmas Past at the Geffrye Museum, Hackney
For some Londoners, visiting the annual Christmas Past exhibition at the Geffrye Museum is as much a part of Christmas as carol singing and scoffing mince pies. As ever, the museum which shows home interiors from the last 400 years has dressed its series of living rooms in contemporary Christmas decorations. As well as providing an opportunity to sweep through decades of different decorative styles, the display also uncovers the origins of some of our common Christmas traditions, from kissing under mistletoe to hanging up Christmas stockings and decorating trees. A number of one-off talks and concerts complement the main exhibition, details of which can be found on the Geffrye Museum site.

When: until Janury 6
Where: Geffrye Museum, Kingsland Road, London E2 8EA
Getting there: Overground to Hoxton; Tube to Old Street or Liverpool Street
How much: general admission is free, some special events are charged

Southbank Centre's Winter Festival, South Bank
Culture in all its guises comes to the forefront at the Southbank Centre this month, with the arrival of the annual Winter Festival. Cabaret, circus, comedy, mime, literature, music and more are covered in some way by a varied programme that includes a talk by feted Olympics cauldron designer Thomas Heatherwick, wheelchair dancing from the Rhinestone Rollers, opera especially for children aged under three and a performance of Handel's Messiah by candlelight. There's something for all ages there - and the South Bank's Christmas Market is also now up and running - so a visit should provide plenty of distraction for any family get-togethers due to take place this Christmas.

When: until January 7
Where: various venues at the Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road London SE1 8XX
Tube: Waterloo

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, Hyde Park
Hyde Park is again transformed into a festive escape with this week's arrival of Hyde Park Winter Wonderland. As ever, the winter event sees an expanse of the park transformed into a Christmas-themed carnival, with rides, markets, ice rink and food stalls laid out until early January. New additions the site this year include 'The Magical Ice Kingdom', a chilled environment complete with ice sculptures and ice stalagmites.

When: until January 6
Where: Hyde Park, London W2 2UH
Tube: Hyde Park Corner; Marble Arch
How much: Entry to Winter Wonderland is free, attractions within it are individually priced

London Ice Rinks
Another sure sign of winter's approach is the opening of London's seasonal ice rinks each November. The process has now begun and you can now ski at the Natural History Museum and Canary Wharf, as well as at the ice rinks at Somerset House, the London Eye and the Tower of London. See our guide to the best 2012-2013 ice rinks in London here.