When to book Christmas entertainment
A choir can only be in one place on a given evening. That one fact governs everything else about booking live music for Christmas. From the last week of November onwards, offices, hotels, livery halls, and charities all want the same few evenings, and the diary fills in the order the enquiries arrive. This guide explains how December works from the performer’s side of the desk: which dates disappear first, what is realistically still available in October and November, and what The London Choral Service needs from you to hold a date.
How December works for live performers
The pressure in December is not spread evenly across the month. It concentrates on the first three weeks; within those weeks on Thursday and Friday; and within those days on the early evening, when guests arrive and the drinks go round. A choir of eight can sing one of those slots. If two clients want the same Thursday at six, one of them moves to another date, another time, or another ensemble.
There is a limit to how many ensembles we can field on the same evening. The singers we work with are professionals with their own December commitments in cathedrals, concert halls, and recording studios, and this is their busiest month too. When we tell you a date has gone, it means the singers for it are committed elsewhere.
The rest of the year this is a much easier conversation. A wedding in June or a corporate dinner in March can usually be covered at a few weeks’ notice, at any size. December is the one month where the date decides what is possible.
The date that matters: mid-September
Most years the first three weeks of December are closed out by the middle of September. That is the pattern in our own diary, and it is the same figure we give event managers when they ask about lead times — see our information for event managers for how that sits alongside the rest of the year.
Enquiries that land in late September and October are mostly about the third week of December, midweek dates, and afternoons, because that is what remains. Enquiries in November are usually about ensemble size rather than date: whether four singers can do what twelve were wanted for. None of that means a late enquiry is wasted. It means the question changes from which date would you like? to what can still be assembled for this one?
Month by month
Summer to early September
Everything is open. You choose the date first and the format second, which is the right way round. A Small Choir of four, a sextet, a full choir of eight, and a chorus of twelve are all available for the same evening at this stage, unaccompanied or with an organist. If your event has a fixed date — a board dinner, a carol service in a church you have already booked — this is the moment to lock it in.
Late September to October
Midweek availability is usually good. Prime Friday evenings in the first fortnight thin out fast, and by mid-October most of them have gone. Ensemble size becomes a constraint before the date does: we may have four singers free on a Friday when twelve are not. If your event can sit on a Tuesday or Wednesday, October is still a comfortable month to book.
November
Now we are working around bookings already in the diary. Smaller ensembles stay possible longer than large ones, for the obvious reason that four singers are easier to assemble than twelve. Off-peak days, afternoons, and the week running up to Christmas hold up best. Send us the date anyway. We would rather tell you within the day that it has gone than have you assume it has.
December itself
Occasionally possible, for off-peak days and times. For funerals we take short-notice work as a matter of course, because singers hold diary space open for exactly that. December has no such space, so we make no equivalent promise about Christmas. If your date is a Monday afternoon, or falls after the 20th, it is worth asking — send it over and we will confirm availability the same day.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
We sing on both, including carols by candlelight on the 24th. Those two dates carry a premium, typically around 25 per cent, confirmed in the written quote before you commit to anything. They are also the first dates to go each year, ahead of everything in the first fortnight of December. If you want either one, ask well before September.
What booking early gets you
Booking in the summer buys choice, not a lower price. Three things in particular:
- The ensemble you wanted. A chorus of twelve for a church that seats four hundred, or a Small Choir of four that can move through a lobby without blocking it. In September you pick; in November you take what is free.
- The time slot you wanted. Six o’clock on a Thursday in the first fortnight is the most requested hour of our year. In August it is still free.
- Time to plan the programme. Luca finalises the repertoire and coordinates arrival, positioning, and technical requirements with your venue. Booked in September, that work has weeks rather than days: readings placed between the carols, a piece for a soloist, a descant on the last verse of O Come, All Ye Faithful, a rehearsal with your chosen readers if the running order is complicated.
Late bookings still get a proper programme. They get it faster, with fewer options on the table, and with less room to accommodate a request that arrives the week before.
What we need to confirm a date
Three details are enough to check availability: the date, the venue, and a rough sense of the format — carol service, drinks reception, office party, or a set during dinner. Headcount and a preferred ensemble size help, but they are not needed to start.
Send those and we come back with a proposal within 48 hours: ensemble options, a programme outline, and a written quote. If your date is tight, say so in the first email and we will check that date before anything else. If you would rather talk it through, call 07356 042468.
Prices do not rise at Christmas
There is no seasonal uplift. A Small Choir of four is £1,150 in December as in June, a sextet £1,600, a full choir of eight £2,000, and a chorus of twelve £3,000, inclusive of all taxes, fees, and travel within Greater London. An organist or pianist starts at £250. A standard Christmas booking runs up to 1.5 hours including breaks, or the length of a church service; longer bookings carry a premium, quoted upfront. The two exceptions to the standard rates are Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Full figures are on our pricing page.
Waiting therefore costs you dates and ensemble sizes rather than money, which is a different kind of pressure from the one most seasonal booking advice describes.
Frequently asked questions
When should you book Christmas party entertainment?
For a December date, book by early September. The London Choral Service closes out the first three weeks of December by the middle of September most years, and Thursday and Friday evenings in the first fortnight go before anything else. Booking over the summer gives you the widest choice of dates and ensemble sizes.
Is it too late to book carol singers in November or December?
Often not, and it is worth asking. By November we are working around bookings already in the diary, so a Small Choir of four or a midweek date is more likely to be free than a full choir on a Friday. In December itself we can sometimes cover an off-peak day, an afternoon, or a date after the 20th.
Is it cheaper to book Christmas entertainment early?
No. Our prices are the same in December as in June, with no seasonal uplift, and we do not discount for booking early. A Small Choir of four is £1,150 and a chorus of twelve £3,000, inclusive of all taxes, fees, and travel within Greater London. Booking early buys choice of date and ensemble size rather than a lower fee. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the exception: those two dates carry a premium, typically around 25 per cent, confirmed in the written quote.
Which December dates get booked first?
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day go first, then Thursday and Friday early evenings in the first two full weeks of December. Early-evening slots on other weekdays in that window follow. Afternoons, Mondays, and the days after the 20th hold up longest, so flexibility about the time of day widens your options more than flexibility about the week.
Text us on WhatsApp for the fastest reply, or call us on 07356 042468.