The Christmas Party dates that go first every year are the second Thursday and the second Friday in December. These are typically the busiest dates of the year in London, and by the time most teams start looking, the good rooms on both dates are gone.

Move your party to a Tuesday, or to a long lunch that finishes at five and two things happen. You often get a better room and at a lot of venues you pay less for it.

Which December dates are actually the expensive ones?

The pattern is the same every year. The first two weeks of December, Thursday and Friday evenings, take most of the demand. The last week before Christmas drops off sharply because people are travelling. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually quiet throughout and daytime is quieter every day of the week.

That does not mean the whole of December is booked. It means about six evenings are and everyone wants one of those prime December dates.

Do venues charge less midweek?

At hourly venues, often yes, and you can see it on the listing.

The Leahy Hall at St Mary at Finchley is £23 an hour Monday to Friday and £36 at the weekend and on a five hour booking it is the difference between £115 and £180.

The same pattern turns up at venues listed for Christmas parties. The Private Hall at Meghna Grill in St John's Wood is £36.72 an hour Monday to Friday and £61.20 at the weekend. On a five hour booking that is £184 against £306 showing that a weekday booking is cheaper.

Plenty of venues charge one flat rate all week, in which case moving midweek saves you nothing on the room and everything on availability. Check the individual listing rather than assuming because both patterns are common.

Minimum spend venues work differently, and usually in your favour midweek. The minimum is set against the date rather than against you, so a quiet Tuesday carries a lower rate than the second Friday in December. Plenty of venues publish both. The Bathroom at The Cocktail Club Old Street is £200 midweek and £400 from Thursday to Saturday, set out on the listing with no hire fee either way. Where the midweek figure is not published it is still worth asking, because a venue would far rather fill a quiet night than hold it empty, and most will tell you straight away what your date looks like.

Is a daytime Christmas party actually cheaper?

Yes, and by more than people expect, for three reasons.

The room costs less. Venues with evening premiums charge them in the evening. A lunchtime booking at a venue with an evening rate is straightforwardly cheaper.

The drinks bill is smaller. A party that starts at midday and finishes at five costs a fraction of one that runs to midnight, and nobody is short-changed by it.

Nobody pays for a taxi home. Not your cost, but it is the reason a good number of people might prefer a lunch.

There is a fourth reason that has nothing to do with money. More of your team is likely to come. A Tuesday lunch does not compete with school pick-up, a partner's work party or the last train. Attendance at daytime Christmas parties can be noticeably better than at evening ones, and a full room is the thing that actually makes a party a success.

Rooms that suit a midweek or daytime party

All prices were listed in September 2026. Check the current rate on each venue's page.

The Gloucester Room at The Lansdowne in Primrose Hill takes 40 seated or 70 standing, and it is the clearest example on this list. It sells the room in three slots a day, morning, 12:30 to 5pm, and evening, at £250 on a weekday and £350 at the weekend. A midweek lunch in a proper pub dining room is £250 flat venue hire rate, which is £100 less than the same room on a Saturday.

The Private Hall at Meghna Grill in St John's Wood holds 60 at £37 an hour with the kitchen attached.

The Pub at The Hare in Bethnal Green holds 100 at £25.50 an hour and only hires out Monday to Friday between 11am and 4pm. So it is a lunch or nothing, which is part of why it is this cheap. There is no food on site, so you either bring a caterer in or put on a buffet yourself and save again. A hundred people in a proper East End pub at that price is hard to beat.

The Cocktail Lounge Bar at The Balham House holds 30 at £51 an hour, the same rate every day of the week, so a Tuesday costs exactly what a Friday does. Worth knowing when you are weighing dates.

The Cafe and Terrace at St Peter de Beauvoir Town in Hackney takes 40 seated or 70 standing at £89.25 an hour, the same rate every day, with a steward included in the price.

How to sell a Tuesday to your team

This is the actual obstacle, so it is worth having an answer ready.

Ask for the date before you ask for the diary availability. "We are doing the Christmas party on Tuesday 8 December, lunch, finishing at five" lands better than putting three options to a vote and losing the room while people think about it.

Say what they get for it. A better venue than the budget would otherwise buy, and an afternoon off, is a straightforwardly good trade.

Finish at a stated time. The thing people dislike about a lunch is not knowing whether they are expected back at their desk. Say it in the invitation.

And if your team genuinely will not do a weekday, book early rather than paying more later. The second Friday is not worth having if it means a room that does not fit you.

Browse Christmas party venues in London and check the date you actually want. Prices and availability are on every listing, so you can see what a Tuesday saves you before you ask your team.