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17 Christmas events to get you in the festive spirit
The Christmas countdown has started, and these are the best days out, attractions, shows and events to help you make the most of it
When does Christmas start? Is it when the lights go up? When the shops start playing Mariah Carey? When you binge eat all the little chocolates inside the advent calendar? Christmas starts whenever you want it to, of course – and the weeks and months leading up to 25 December are sometimes better than the day itself, with Christmas movies, Christmas food, Christmas adverts and Christmas activities all an important part of the magic.
The best way of spreading Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear, but the second-best way is to start getting out and about to some festive Christmas events – with plays, exhibitions, ice rinks, candlelit concerts, shows and live film scores all now booking up.
If you need a bit of inspiration to make this year’s countdown to Christmas memorable, here are our top picks for 2024:
Glide at Battersea Power Station
Turn off the Hallmark Channel and star in your own Christmas movie this year – by skating around a spectacular 30ft tree in the twinkly glow of Battersea Power Station. Expect three ice-rinks, vintage-style fairground rides, a range of street food options, cosy bars and a Christmas card backdrop to all your photos. The perfect place to meet-cute a dashing prince or a humble farmer or an over-worked magazine journalist.
Brighton Royal Pavilion Ice Rink
The Royal Pavilion has always seemed like it’s been dropped in the middle of Brighton out of the pages of a fairy-tale, but it gets another sprinkling of magic at Christmas when the lights go down and the ice comes out. It’s also the country’s only Christmas ice rink powered exclusively by renewable energy, so you can enjoy yourself without costing the earth.
The World Of Tim Burton
From Edward Scissorhands and Batman Returns to The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton has done as much for Christmas as he has for Halloween – taking all the best bits of the festive season and twisting them into something gothic, odd and wonderful. The Design Museum is now hosting the final stop of a world tour exhibition dedicated to Burton’s career – showing off highlights from Burton’s personal art archive. If you’ve got a Jack Skellington hanging on your tree, you won’t want to miss this.
The Muppet Christmas Carol in concert
The greatest Christmas film of all time (yeah, we said it) gets an upgrade this winter with a live concert tour hitting the road throughout December. Wrap a tiny red scarf around your neck, put another rat on the fire and settle down to Charles Dickens’ immortal classic the way it’s meant to be told: with Michael Caine, muppets, and full live orchestra to accompany the score and songs.
Love Actually in Concert
Not the greatest Christmas film of all time (yeah, we said it again) but still an absolute classic, Richard Curtis’ ode to young love, old love, sad love, dad love, unrequited love and Prime Minister love is like a Christmas selection box without any duds. You know you’re going to rewatch it this year anyway, so why not do it on the big screen with a live orchestra?
Lapland Liverpool
Pick the right Santa’s grotto experience and your kids will remember it for life. Pick the wrong one and they’ll remember it for life too… There’s a very big difference between queuing up to see Santa outside a derelict Paperchase in your local shopping mall and the real deal: with steam trains leaving Liverpool Victoria this Christmas for a magic trip to the North Pole. Bake gingerbread with Mrs Claus, help the elves in the workshop, go ice skating and more, all before meeting the big man himself.
The FRIENDS Experience: The One In London
Joey mulching Christmas trees… Monica tipping everyone with cookies… Rachel hunting for her hidden presents… Chandler quitting his rubbish job… Ross dressed as the holiday armadillo… Phoebe singing “Please tell Joey, Christmas will be snowwwy!”… So many of the best Friends moments happen in the Christmas episodes, and you can recreate them all at The FRIENDS Experience this year. You can even put a turkey on your head, which is actually in a Thanksgiving episode, but it still sort of counts.
Manchester at the Musicals: A Festive Celebration
Co-op Live turns into an immersive winter wonderland on Friday 20 December as the best Christmassy bits of the West End head to Manchester. Expect Sheridan Smith performing songs from The Greatest Showman and Cilla, Samantha Barks (the real life Elsa from Disney’s Frozen), and a whole sleigh-full of surprise guests.
Phantom Peak
Have yourself a very steampunk Christmas at Phantom Peak this year – with the town completely re-dressing for the season once Halloween finishes up. Details are still under wraps, but discovering the secrets of Phantom Peak is all part of the fun. Expect trails, games, food and platypuses, all with new festive storylines to unwrap.
Lastminute.com London Eye
Get a Santa’s eye view of the capital from one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks – the best way to see the London Christmas lights this year. From the top of the Eye you’ll be able to see Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace, but also the glow of Oxford Street, Covent Garden and Glide at Battersea Power Station. The wheel stays open for longer in the lead-up to Christmas, and the night-time decorations look fantastic.
Disney On Ice presents Road Trip Adventures
Disney’s latest ice show, 100 Years Of Wonder, opens in Wembley next February, but there’s still time to catch the touring extravaganza, Road Trip Adventures, as it makes its way to Birmingham, Nottingham, Newcastle, Belfast, Manchester, Sheffield and London throughout the rest of 2024. See the best songs and scenes from Frozen, Aladdin, Toy Story, The Lion King, Mary Poppins and more, all on skates. No one does Christmas quite like Disney.
Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular
The Greatest Showman has become a festive family favourite since it came out in 2017, but there’s a much better way to watch it this Christmas than sitting on your sofa. The big top has gone up at the Empress Museum at London’s Earls Court, and the film is now being brought to life every night as the ultimate live circus show set to songs from the film. The talent involved has everything from Cirque du Soleil, Paddington and the Taylor Swift tour on their CV, so expect this to put your local Christmas circus to shame.
Elf The Musical
SANTA’S COMING! Specifically to Aberdeen, Brighton, Birmingham, Leeds, Hull, Glasgow and Newcastle – since that’s where Elf The Musical is stopping this Christmas for a special arena show tour of the beloved Broadway and West End show. If you need directions to any of the above, you first travel through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, past the sea of twirly-swirly gum drops, and then check the ticket link above for venue details and parking.
A Christmas Carol
It’s been done perfectly well with muppets, Bill Murray and Donald Duck already, but there’s only really one way to adapt Charles Dickens’ landmark social fable – and that’s as faithfully as possible. Written by Jack Thorne, staged in the round, the play has picked up five Tony awards so far, and raised £1.5 million for global food poverty charities. The 2024 season sees John Simm step into Ebenezer Scrooge’s slippers, and tickets are selling fast.
Candlelight Concerts
Anything with candles and classical music feels festive, but the concert series has a handful of select Christmas shows at historic venues throughout the winter, including Christmas Baroque featuring The Four Seasons, Christmas At The Movies and the Viennese Christmas Spectacular (taking place exclusively inside some of the country’s most beautiful cathedrals). Word of warning for anyone thinking of wearing a nice novelty Christmas jumper – don’t get too close to the candles.
Christmas Classics
London’s Royal Festival Hall hosts the ultimate Christmas carol concert this year on 14 – 15 December, as the London Philharmonic Orchestra bring all the classical hits to the venue. Sing along to your favourites if you want to, or let the London Philharmonic Choir and the Philharmonia Chorus do the hard work for you.
Live At Christmas
Christmas cracker jokes, TV specials and inappropriate relatives are all funny enough, but if you want a real laugh this year you need to go to a professional. Leave it to Sara Pascoe as she tours the country this Christmas with a rotating cast of special guests (Reginald D. Hunter, Mike Wozniak, John Kearns, Phil Wang, Lou Sanders, Tim Key, Josh Pugh and more). ‘Tis the season to be jolly.
For the latest on Christmas events near you this year, check out our Things To Do guide
