This week's best things to do in London, from Christmas Past to Santacon 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. 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. Santacon, throughout London Depending on your taste and tolerance for crowds it's likely you'll either be drawn to Santacon or want to stay as far away as possible. Either way, the flash mob-style event is taking place this Saturday and will see throngs of revellers in Santa outfits gather to celebrate the festive season and spread Christmas cheer. Some of the crowd will be distributing presents, and coal, on the day, and most participants are likely to schedule in a few pub visits as the day goes on. The route they'll all follow is released on the website the night before the event kicks off. When: December 15 Where: Central London 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.