Within easy reach of London you’ll find some of England’s most beautiful coastline and countryside – from the bustling beaches of Eastbourne to the peaceful Ashdown Forest.

We’re offering one lucky winner an overnight stay in a luxurious Elite hotel near London, including breakfast and full use of the leisure facilities.

You can choose from The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire, Ashdown Park in Sussex and Tylney Hall in Hampshire.

If you fancy waking up in one of these plush hotels, enter now for your chance to win!

Enter now for your chance to win a stay at an Elite hotel

One of the best of these is the Dickens and London exhibition at the Museum of London.

Visit, and you’ll see paintings, photographs, costumes and objects illustrating the world Dickens lived in and captured brilliantly in his books. Don’t miss the chance to check out Dickens’s rarely seen hand-written manuscripts, which will also be on display.

This Christmas, we’re offering you the chance to win two tickets to the exhibition, and, to make your experience a memorable one, we’re throwing in a night’s stay at the gorgeous Art Deco Thistle Hotel in Marble Arch. As well as staying in an Executive room, you can enjoy breakfast and dinner in the Marmor Grill.

Enter now for your chance to win this fantastic Dickens prize!

John Lewis are offering a delicious festive hamper worth £250 to one lucky winner.

The Ultimate Refresher Hamper includes 20 items of fresh food and drink selected by Waitrose. The luxurious seasonal fare includes:

• Cropwell Bishop Creamery Blue Stilton 500g E
• Waitrose Orange & Honey Roast Ham 940g E
• Loch Fyne Bradan Orach Traditional Smoked Salmon 200g E
• Fleuron de France Brut Champagne 75cl
• Warre’s Otima 10 Year Old Tawny Port 50cl

Don’t miss your chance to win this exceptional prize, and a gastronomic Christmas to remember!

Enter here to win the John Lewis Ultimate Refresher Hamper.

Whether you’re a Shakespeare aficionado or a complete novice, you’re sure to be impressed by the magnificent Shakespeare’s Globe.

The theatre is a faithful recreation of an open-air playhouse designed in 1599, where many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed.

We’re offering the chance to win a private tour of Shakespeare’s Globe for up to five people, where you’ll find out more about the Bard, the building and Shakespearean London.

You’ll also discover how books were made in Shakespeare’s day, and have a go at printing your own text on a 17th-century-style printing press.

Enter now for your chance to win a private tour of Shakespeare’s Globe

St Pancras Station has unveiled the tallest-ever Lego Christmas tree, constructed by professional Lego builder Duncan Titmarsh out of 600,000 Lego bricks.

Ever-fashionable Claridge’s boasts a tree by Lanvin’s creative director Alber Elbaz, complete with marionettes dressed in Lanvin-designed Claridge’s uniforms.

Covent Garden has a hand-picked British tree festooned with red and white lights, as well as topiary reindeer, giant mirror balls and a nativity art installation.

Giles Miller is creating the world’s tallest cardboard Christmas tree for the Design Museum. See it in the museum’s atrium from tomorrow, Friday 2 December.

And the lighting ceremony for Trafalgar Square’s famous Christmas tree – donated by the people of Norway every year since 1947 – will take place this evening, Thursday 1 December.

What’s your favourite Christmas tree in London this Christmas? Let us know below or add your photos to the Visit London Flickr pool

Are you bored of the usual turkey and Christmas pudding? Looking for festive food inspiration?

Then head to Taste of Christmas for some top seasonal cooking tips from celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

We’ve got a pair of Taste of Christmas tickets to give away, along with dinner for two at Gordon Ramsay’s fantastic York & Albany restaurant.

Today’s the first day of our Christmas Advent Calendar competitions. Look out for more daily prizes between now and Christmas Day!

Enter now for your chance to win Taste of Christmas tickets and a meal for two

You can visit Santa’s reindeer at London Zoo from Sunday: but here’s a wonderful sneak preview of them getting used to their new home for the festive season.

Are you hoping to visit Father Christmas in London in the coming weeks, and tell him whether you’ve been bad or good?!

Here’s a list of the (many!) places he’s currently waiting to hear about your Christmas wishes: Santa’s Grottos in London

I’ve got three Christmassy announcements, the first from the Old Vic, which is reviving Michael Frayn’s hugely successful comedy Noises Off, directed by Lindsay Posner, over the festive period. Second, a new musical version of Swallows and Amazons will be produced by the National Theatre at the Vaudeville for Christmas; with music by Neil Hannon of the Divine Comedy. And children’s favourite, The Gruffalo will be bringing its terrible tusks and terrible claws to the Lyric for morning and afternoon performances from November to January.

The other new shows announced this week are even further ahead. If you’re planning a theatre trip for next year, you can choose between Singin’ In The Rain at the Palace Theatre, starring Adam Cooper and Scarlett Strallen from February (a transfer of the Chichester Festival Theatre hit); or She Stoops To Conquer at the National Theatre starring Sophie Thompson, Steve Pemberton and Katherine Kelly from January.

And reaching even further into the crystal ball of theatrical future, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre has announced its plans for 2012. It’ll stage A Midsummer Night’s Dream and contemporary musical Ragtime from May to September next year. Book before the end of April 2012, and you’ll get a special ticket price of £20.12 on all performances during the Games themselves (25 July to 12 August).

This week’s casting news:

• Busted star Matt Willis and Phantom regular Gina Beck are to appear as Fiyero and Glinda in Wicked from December
• The Young Vic has released more details about its production of Hamlet this autumn. Adeel Akhtar, star of Four Lions joins musical theatre regular Sally Dexter and Sherlock actress Vinette Robinson in the show
• Laurie Metcalf will appear alongside David Suchet in the forthcoming drama Long Day’s Journey Into Night at the Apollo Theatre

More next week…