Nine reasons to be happy this month

Rejoice and be merry, for the gloomiest Budget in years is at last out of the way. Sure, average UK earnings are forecast to be lower in 2022 than in 2008 — “pretty grim reading”, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies — but that’s all the more reason to start accentuating the positives. So ding-dong merrily, you guys.

Festive cheer is, surprisingly, thick on the ground — word of possible snow has led to bookies slashing the odds on the UK seeing a white Christmas this year, Love Actually is coming to Netflix, and there is a plethora of outdoor pastimes worth wrapping up to fill up your Christmas calendars.

We’re also up to our necks in nostalgia, from Gap’s throwback crazy striped sweater to the return (again) of Paddington Bear and Star Wars. Book up your diaries, put on your sparkling best and turn that frown around. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love and/or good old- fashioned festive cheer actually is all around.

Get your skates on

The nights have drawn in but that shouldn’t put you under self-imposed house arrest. London is lit up with winter fêtes: Winterville in Clapham and Christmas at Kew with their glistening ice rinks and twinkling lights; Portobello Winter Festival on December 9 and 10 with a grotto, rum shack and live calypso, a Christmas choir, children’s orchestra and market stalls stocked with yuletide delights; Greenwich Winter Time festival.

Winter Wonderland is, literally, at the centre of London’s festive scene: the familiar big wheel, Christmas circus and one of the world’s largest rollercoasters are also a hotspot for would-be celeb-spotters (Simon Cowell, Tamara Ecclestone and model Malaika Firth have already dropped by this year).

Stripe force

You’ll always feel better with a sweater, and Gap’s latest holiday campaign revives its iconic rainbow number – the crazy stripe! – a throwback to simpler times when mobile handsets were huge and Donald Trump was still just an eccentric millionaire. Fun for all the family. Faux fur is also a seasonal requisite – and London-based designer Hannah Weiland is the master of the moment. Stock up in style at her Shrimps sample sale on November 28-29 at Fitzrovia’s Noho Studios.

How to stop Brexit...

If you aren’t a Remoaner, you’ll know one, and time has not proved to be a great healer. Former Deputy PM Nick Clegg has used his retirement from politics to pen a “resistance handbook”, How to Stop Brexit: And Make Britain Great Again. He discusses his strategy with journalist Emily Maitlis at UCL’s Logan Hall on November 28. Indulge your intransigence.

On the box

If a snug night in is more your bag, the season is set to spoil you too. Hunky heart-throbs are well in stock: War and Peace star James Norton returns in McMafia on the BBC, a gritty tumble into the criminal underworld, while Matt Smith returns for The Crown’s second season on Netflix opposite Claire Foy.

Indeed, November is prime time for Netflix binges: La La Land and When Harry Met Sally will be added to the digital streaming service, while Love Actually drops later in December.

Coming to a galaxy near you...

Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits cinemas on December 15, the second instalment in Disney’s new trilogy. Hard-core franchise buffs and newcomers alike have much to salivate over (Empire Strikes Back was widely considered the best in George Lucas’s original franchise).

Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver all return, but the big excitement is the return of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi himself. It’s expected to gross $200million on the opening weekend alone, so The Force is strong with this one.

Bear necessities

Paddington Bear is not the only ursine companion on the block this Christmas. AA Milne’s beloved Winnie-the-Pooh is brought to life at the V&A from December 9 in an exhibition featuring sketches, letters, photographs, cartoons, ceramics and fashion. He’s a fuzzy little cubby all stuffed with fluff, and enough to brighten any day.

Acting up

What could be more uplifting than a little make-believe? This Christmas it’s all about the immersive. Cult immersive events company Gingerline launched Chambers of Flavour V3 this week: you will receive a text on the night to guide you to your secret destination, and the rest is shrouded in mystery (previous clandestine dining adventurers have led guests from Crystal Palace to a submarine mess hall in Shoreditch).

Meanwhile, Olivier award-winning Hartshorn-Hook Productions follows up the success of its Great Gatsby production (still playing in secret London locations) with A Christmas Carol in Shoreditch from December 1, which includes a includes a Christmas feast cooked by MasterChef winner Natalie Coleman in a mocked-up Scrooge’s parlour.

Play things

The headline act this Christmas is Hamilton, the improbable Broadway smash about Alexander Hamilton, America’s first Secretary of the Treasury, which opens for previews on December 6. Join the premium ticket lottery every Monday and watch this space. Alternatively, it being panto season, head to Scrooge and the Seven Dwarves at Theatre503 in Battersea, also from December 6, a production by uproarious comedy trio Sleeping Trees.

Eat, drink and be merry

Free is the best price. On December 1 Mexican restaurant Corazón in Soho celebrates its first birthday by handing out 250 of its signature baja fish tacos – lightly beer-battered fish, crunchy red-and-white shredded cabbage with lashings of chipotle mayo – free. Meanwhile, Radio Alice are giving away a thousand slices of free pizza at cocktail parties on November 29 in Hoxton and the following day in Clapham.

There’s also a handsome spread of new restaurant openings to sink your teeth into. Following a soft launch, Dishoom in Kensington opens its doors on December 27 with thrilling Bombay Art Deco and Jazz theatre nights in the golden-walled restaurant, as well as staple comfort foods such as the bacon-and-egg naan. Mumbai is having a moment, with new Mayfair restaurant Bombay Bustle the latest iteration in the Jamavar family. Expect perfect dosas.

Meanwhile, the people behind The Palomar and The Barbary are opening a pub in Chinatown, The Blue Posts, also on 1 December 1, with a cocktail lounge, beer cellar and wood-burning stove for cold nights. If you can’t get your chin up, a knees-up will do.