Horniman Museum and Gardens in Forest Hill has a host of events and exhibtions to pique your interest over Christmas and well into the new year. Here are just some of the highlights:

Horniman Christmas Market Thursday, December 7, 5.30–9.30pm. Enjoy a special late night Christmas shopping experience with gorgeous gifts, mulled wine, workshops and your favourite festive tunes. The Museum will be filled with stalls and products by local designers and makers, craft breweries, music and dancing. Bring your friends and make an evening of it.

Free entry Tea with Santa Saturday, December 9 and Sunday 10 and Saturday, December 16 and Sunday 17. Join Santa and the elves for a magical cooking and eating experience, then aid your digestion with a little singing and dancing elf style! Prepare a traditional Lapland meal with Mary Christmas in this group interactive theatre experience with food. Stir sticky porridge, create festive cakes and edible snowballs and help the elves wake Santa before he sleeps through Christmas. Performed by children’s theatre company Tea Dance for Little People.

Tickets – £8 per child / £5 per adult. Recommended for ages 3+.

Horniman Christmas Fair Saturday, December 16, 10.30am–4.30pm. Join in the festivities and get into the spirit of the season at our Christmas Fair. Pick up your seasonal produce at our Farmers’ Market, take part in festive themed craft workshops, and enjoy a carol concert on the Bandstand Terrace with mince pies and mulled wine. Free entry.

Horniman Butterfly House Throughout the year 10am-4pm November to February. 10am-5pm March to October. Last admission 30 minutes before closing.

Get up close with hundreds of beautiful butterflies in a tropical indoor garden. The specially-planted habitat is the perfect place to experience free-flying butterflies and discover amazing facts about the life-cycle and behaviour of these fascinating creatures.

Tickets: Adult £6, Child £6, Family (2 adults and 2 children) £15 [includes voluntary 10% Gift Aid donation which supports the work of the Horniman. Standard prices also available.]

Exhibitions and Displays British Wildlife Photography Awards 2017 Saturday, November 25 2017 to Sunday, January 14 2018. An exhibition of over 100 photographs that showcase the beauty and diversity of wildlife in Britain. From action to pattern, the extraordinary images were all taken by talented photographers working in the UK ranging from established professionals to under-12s.

Free Coral: Fabric of the Reef Saturday, December 9 2017–Sunday, September 9 2018 Inspired by the Horniman’s Aquarium and Natural History collection, in this display artist Karen Dodd uses woollen fabric – dyed and sculpted, and intricately bound and stitched – to draw attention to coral and coral reefs, simultaneously celebrating their beauty and raising awareness of their vulnerability in the face of increasing environmental change.

Visit horniman.ac.uk for full details.