You’ve got that window between Christmas and New Year to fill with seeing the friends you don’t quite see the rest of the year, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our mate date suggestions!

Handmade Mysteries: Operation Mindfall

*This game is now being run by AIM escape and you can find out more here

Operation Mindfall, escape room with a difference — Undercover in Hawaiian shirts!

The weather outside may be frightful, but this escape room with a difference is so delightful. Operation Mindfall is amazing, the mission? A terrorist organisation known as Spider Tech has developed a virus that infects the human brain, giving the terrorists full control over the victim’s mind. You and your team of covert operatives have 120 minutes to find the antidote and stop them from unleashing chaos and destruction across the globe. An escape room where you have to go undercover and work for a secret agent, solving clues out and about around London, perfect right?! Especially for the fans of organised fun and low level stress! You can read about Jess’ experience of Operation Mindfall as part of a larger date day we had.

The Grid

Ok, so the point of this was not to fill it with escape rooms, but things to do with your friends. The Grid is no exception. Located in a secret HQ right by the river Thames, you’re welcomed to the mission immediately. An indoor escape room with cocktails and activities aplenty, it’s the perfect way to have some fun and save humanity whilst you’re at it! We went as a two and were put in a group with people we didn’t know, which is always an interesting way to do an escape room, but it worked! We soon worked out each others strengths and weaknesses, created some magnificent cocktails and saved all of humanity! A great giggle and a brilliant way to combine cocktails, fun and thinking this Christmas!

Lights! Camera! Action!

A Door In a Wall are one of our most favourite experiential evenings to do (or daytimes actually), and in November Jess got the chance to preview a new game that they will be running called Lights! Camera! Action! which was all about writing, starring in and filming our own Oscar winning performances….which we won best company for! It was SUCH a laugh. We were a little apprehensive beforehand, but the brilliant team explain everything well and the old Hollywood actors, producers and sound men that are dotted around the venue are fabulous for helping you complete the tasks! We had so much fun we cried laughing, and of embarrassment when our films were shown at the end! When they bring it back for good you should 100% do it, and in the mean time, have a look on the Door In A Wall website at all the other amazing things they do!

After Dark Lates at Chiswick House

After Dark is a light trail and music spectacular set around Chiswick House and its huge grounds. Open until the 30th December, and unlike it’s bigger sister it’s not sold out. It’s our highlight of Christmas so far and both romantic and Christmassy! We went at the beginning of December and it’s a great evening out, particularly if you want a knees up afterwards as the bars and food available at the end of the trail are fabulous, and Chiswick itself is a hotbed of brilliant bars and restaurants! You can read all about our visit to Chiswick House After Dark to see the light trail here too.

B Bakery tour

The B Bakery bus tour is great. You think you know London…until you explore more – and what better day to do it than on a double decker red bus, playing British music, and serving afternoon tea! We had such a fun time doing this, it’s perfect for the tourist or hardened Londoner, and you can get some really good deals on it from Virgin Experience Days too! The service is fab, and you get free tea and coffee refills throughout, the food is amazing, and the sights and commentary are fab! Grab your mates, mum or loved one and get on it!

Draughts: The board game cafe

Let’s face it, everyone loves board games, and if your mate is telling you they don’t, the quite frankly, you should ditch them. Draughts is the perfect amount of organised fun, considering you choose the games – and they have a whole library of them catalogued in their own special way! There are two locations – one in Haggerston, and in our opinion, a much nicer one in the Waterloo arches in Leake Street. It’s perfect for a christmas meet up, a second date (perfect for the internet date second date too), or just a casual afternoon, but particularly over christmas I would book before you go as draughts gets busy!