It's time to get the puffas out, the hats on and the heating cranked: winter is undoubtedly here. This week we've gone ski crazy with three faux chalets in central London, a winter ball, a fondue supperclub, a ski train and on and off piste products, as well as karaoke, photography, and dogs in Henry Holland. BRRR! This Weekend’s Picks • FRI Piste at Archer Street Bar • SAT Bodo's Schloss • SUN Freeze by Elit at Harvey Nichols TODAY Carnaby Street Christmas Lights We've had reindeers, snowmen and spacemen… and now we have The Rolling Stones taking over Carnaby Street for Christmas, to celebrate their 50th anniversary. (FYI: In the 60s they used to shop and record in these ends.) As well as a Stones-themed switch-on, action centres around a pop up shop with Stones photo exhibition and limited edition paraphernalia including their greatest hits album Grrr! Grrr!, opens today, 10 Carnaby Street, W1F 9PF Lights switch on at 5.30pm TONIGHT Battersea Dogs Collars and Coats Gala Ball Do your bit for London's four-legged friends: tonight is the Battersea Dogs Collars and Coats annual ball. This year there will be a Dogwalk, where pooches will take to the runway to showcase designs and accessories by top designers including Giles Deacon, Julien Macdonald, Stella McCartney, Burberry and more. We love Husky Colleen working this Henry Holland coat. Collars and Coats, tonight, Battersea Evolution, Chelsea Bridge Entrance, Battersea Park, SW11 4NJ Ticket booking line: 020 7627 9309 Skate at Somerset House Opens November 16 Sponsored Listing The festive period has officially begun: London’s most glamorous ice rink opens next week at Somerset House. This year they’re back with a host of Club Nights (including Sunday Best presents Bestival, DJ Mag and Ibiza Rocks) and a stellar line up of DJs who will commandeer the rink-side decks for fun night-time skate sessions. Skate at Somerset House, November 16 - January 6, Strand, WC2R 1LA FRIDAY DRINK: Piste SING: Karaoke Box Smithfield Head for some post-work fun at Piste, a basement club-meets-chalet at Archer Street bar. There'll be all the usual trimmings: wintery cocktails (apricot and cinnamon bellinis, please), antique skis on the walls, and a fancy dress box for those after some après-ski emulation – lederhosen and goggles, namely. Oh, and the staff will regale revellers with regular performances of winter classics including Edelweiss and Last Xmas. Go out Tokyo style tonight at the Karaoke Box's newly refurbished Smithfield location. This is karaoke for real aficionados, with private rooms complete with surround sound, waitress call buttons and in-room mixologists if you require a bespoke brand of Dutch courage. Belt your heart out to over 9,000 smashers (Mariah is always a safe bet), before heading to Fabric around the corner. 8pm - 1am Cocktails from £10.50 3-4 Archer Street, W1D 7AP 12pm-3am Rooms from £20 per hour 12 Smithfield Street, EC1A 9LA TATE MODERN A Bigger Splash Sponsored Listing A Bigger Splash: Painting After Performance invites you to explore the dynamic relationship between performance and painting, featuring key works by Jackson Pollock, David Hockney and Cindy Sherman. The exhibition proposes a new way of looking at the work of a number of younger artists too, whose approach to painting is energised by the experiments of these diverse historical sources, drawing upon action painting, drag and the idea of the stage set. A Bigger Splash, from November 14, Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG BOOK NOW Forza Win(ter) If you missed the summer rooftop supperclub by Pizza Pilgrims, book now for Forza Win(ter), their rooftop fonduta supperclub. Fonduta, an Italian style fondue with fontina cheese, raw milk and butter, will be served alongside fresh veg, meats from The Ginger Pig, bread from E5 Bakehouse and Gelupo treats. Don't worry – there will be rugs, hot cocktails and heaters to keep you toasty. Forza Win(ter), until December 22 17 Hanbury Street, E1 6QR £3o for three courses, email info@forzawin.com for tickets PARIS Bar Le Coq London's mixologist extraordinaire Tony Conigliaro is spreading the cocktail love on the other side of the Channel. His new bar Le Coq, in the tenth arrondisement of Paris (and the first outside of the UK), is based on 70s glamour. Say goodbye to the speakeasy: it's all about psychedelia and disco balls now. Bar Le Coq, opens November 10, 12 Rue Chateau d'Eau, Paris 75010 SATURDAY PARTY: Bodo's Schloss BALL: Grey Goose Winter Ball When Mahiki does an urban ski chalet, you know it's going to be good. Bodo's Schloss, an Austrian ski lodge in Kensington, offers much of the same après-ski debauchery you'll find in Verbier and Chamonix. There'll be waiters in lederhosen, stag heads, a DJ booth in a ski lift, late night discos and cocktails served out of ski boots, natch. Oh and wiener schnitzels on tap. Don some Dior snow boots (you'll get in for free wearing skiwear) and get schlossed. Email reservations@bodosschloss.com for tables and guestlist. It's that time of year again, when the glitterati come out to play for Sir Elton John's legendary party for his Aids Foundation. This year's Grey Goose Winter Ball will bring a dose of dreamy Côte d'Azur glamour to the Battersea Power Station. Hélène Darroze (of hotdog, waffle and Connaught fame) will be handling the catering, while Labrinth and Emili Sandé will take care of entertainment. Late night disco from 10pm Cocktails from £8.50 2a Kensington High Street, W8 4RE From 7.30pm £450 (all proceeds go to the Elton John Aids Foundation) Battersea Power Station, Cringle Street, SW8 5BN APP Peroni Vivi in Stile Sponsored Listing Lido Restaurant, Spa and Pool, Oakfield Place, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2BJ Bristol’s urban oasis is Victorian meets Mediterranean: a lido, changing cabins, sauna, steam room and Mediterranean tapas bar. However, it is not just known for its pool and spa services: the upstairs restaurant serves modern European cuisine using seasonal produce. The menu changes daily, but expect ingredients like scallops, monkfish, poussin and slow cooked meats. Bag a table by the huge French windows that open up on summer evenings to the lit up pool. If you want to sample the full works then ask about the swim and dine packages. For more listings on Bristol and other UK cities, download Peroni’s 7-city guide Vivi in Stile, free on iPhone and Android PRODUCT PICK Ski Get your gear in order for the season. Don some padded Moncler boots, use Oakley's hi-tech Airwave Snow Goggles (it can record speed and syncs to your iPhone!), and then tackle the slopes with some fibreglass Chanel mini-skis. Moncler Padded Boots, available at Harrods, £269 Oakley Airwave Goggles, £499.95 Chanel Fibreglass mini-skis, price on request PRODUCT PICK Puffas for Him and Her Show the puffa love on-piste and off. Pyrenex LA Dream fox-trimmed hooded down coat, available at Net-A-Porter, £875 Uniqlo Ultra Light Down Jacket, £59.90 SUNDAY DRINK: Freeze by Elit at Harvey Nichols PHOTOGRAPHY: Shoot! Existential Photography Get cosy for a boozy Sunday at Harvey Nichols' fifth floor winter retreat, Freeze by Elit. Head to the terrace to see "mountain vistas" or stay warm in the log cabin before sipping on Elit by Stolichnaya vodka cocktails, including a jalapeño firecracker and a honeyed, floral concoction. The menu is similarly vodka-laced, with Stoli hot vodka tiger prawns, manuka-glazed sausage dogs and Stoli vodka ice pops. The latest exhibition at The Photographers' Gallery explores the phenomenon of shooting photo booths popularised at fairgrounds in the 1920s. Punters would shoot a bullet and, if it hit the target, would trigger a camera (the prize was the photo). See original shots, artistic interpretations and 60 photos of the same woman who took self-portraits this way every year from 1936. 12pm-5pm Cocktails from £11.50 Fifth Floor Café, 109-125 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RJ 11.30am-6pm £5 The Photographers' Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, W1F 7LW SKI TRAIN New Route for Eurostar Now there's a fuss-free way to get the heart of the Swiss Alps thanks to Eurostar's new service with high-speed train operator Lyria. The route calls at Aigle, Martigny, Visp and Brig. Alternatively, you could change trains in Lille and head for Verbier, Zermatt, Chamonix or Mont Blanc. Happy skiing. Eurostar Ski Train, runs every Saturday from December 22 – April 13, from £189 BOOK AHEAD Viva Forever! Tickets have already started selling fast for new musical Viva Forever!, an original story of a family thrown into chaos after their daughter auditions for a TV talent show. Plus, it was written by the fabulous Jennifer Saunders and features the Spice Girls' repertoire. Zig-ah-zig-ah. Viva Forever! opens November 27 Piccadilly Theatre, Denman Street, W1D 7DY Reserved Buddha-Bar London – An international fave sets up in Knightsbridge 145 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7PA | @BuddhaBarLondon | 0203 667 5222 Location Round the corner from Harrods, down the road from Harvey Nichols: this is the place to come for a mid-shop refuel or a post-shop wind down. Vibe As it states on the website, it's a place for "the busy socialites and business people of Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Kensington [and] The City," and that's it down to a tee. There were businessmen wining and dining mummy and daddy, and we saw a lot of Anya Hindmarch bags and up dos. The atmosphere itself was soothing, owing to the yoga-style Asian instrumental (you can buy the CD in reception!) and low lighting. Hang in the upstairs bar on weekends for a buzzy crowd and international DJs. Flavours The menu, at a first glance, is slightly overwhelming, but the waiters know their stuff. To start we had dragon scallop steamed in its shell (intricately exotic in flavour), rock shrimp tempura (light, crisp, no chew) and volcano roll maki creations (the presentation was excellent). Our favourite was the foie gras and unagi vegetable makis, which had the perfect ratio of foie gras to vegetable (not much), with a tender slither of eel on top. Go classic for mains – either black cod or wagyu beef with the added luxury of truffle miso. Dessert was salt caramel ice cream mochi, though we wish we'd stuck with classic green tea. We drank Nihon-Marys all night (an Asian twist on the classic Bloody Mary with soya sauce, wasabi and schichimi spices). Décor Shiny, polished and bling – see the jewelled hanging dragons in the stairwell – this is Far Eastern luxury to the max. Black tables sit in coves behind black latticing, while a Buddha overlooks the huge dining room. Upshot The best twist on a Bloody Mary we've seen lately. 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