Why are Christmas events in the UK so lame?

[SaturdayGiraffe]

Location after location I read the reviews, some happy, most upset and cross about having spent so much money for variations on:

• mud
• disinterested staff
• cold hot chocolate
• overpriced food
• low quality food
• cheap decorations
• short light trails
• bad parking
• expensive
• sad reindeer
• grotty grottos

etc etc

It's all so depressing! Families are spending so much money on a couple of hours entertainment, and being fleeced. Do other countries do it better?

@SiousieSoo

Interesting, I've been to Kew lights every year for about 5 years now. I don't recall ever trudging through mud, because you walk on the paths, and it takes about an hour to get round, a bit more if you stop for food and a drink.
I think it's a lovely event and I'm sad I can't go this year

I think we've been heavily influenced by Christmas movies, because I find most of those events pretty flat myself (and I love Christmas)
I have to say, I'm not at all religious, but I've found Christmas Carol services in churches, give the best 'warm and fuzzy' Christmas feelings. I'm tempted to go back to basics a bit this year and see what the local churches are doing.

Fionaville · Today 13:52

I think we've been heavily influenced by Christmas movies, because I find most of those events pretty flat myself (and I love Christmas)
I have to say, I'm not at all religious, but I've found Christmas Carol services in churches, give the best 'warm and fuzzy' Christmas feelings. I'm tempted to go back to basics a bit this year and see what the local churches are doing.

I agree. I'm also not a believer (though brought up C of E) but it's culturally relevant to know about the story of Christmas and Christmas music is lovely. I enjoy singing carols! I often get involved in singing in the street or to groups with my choir at Christmas and it's very rewarding and puts me in the Christmas mood.

To be fair I think 99% of the problem is our weather.

Wandering around one of the lights trails or winter wonderland or whatever if its dry can be fine, yes it might be a bit expensive for what it is but can generally be enjoyable to some extent - lights are pretty, rides can be fun, you can enjoy people showing off and then splatting on the ice....and ultimately all the other add on crap like overpriced food and drink is completely optional - if you know you're going to be disappointed or little Jimmy will drop his overpriced light sabre as soon as he gets it don't bother buying them!

However as soon as you introduce sleeting rain to the equation it becomes a miserable mud bath that you can't appreciate cowering under a brolly that you rush to get through as soon as possible.

Celebrating on Christmas eve, the day before Christmas, is just a no no.

I'm aware it's done in parts of Europe but it does seem very strange.

Too expensive and too many people

Presumably you need to pay if you want to buy / eat / drink anything or use the rides.

We looked at the light trail at our local EH, we are members but it's is still £80 before you get to the fairground / mulled wine / food at the end.

And don't get me started on Hyde Park, I went the first year it was on and it was great, now it has metamorphosed into something entirely different.

No they shut at 4 and family time is a dinner not two days of life stopping and everyone being shut at home. Quite a difference.

More fool anyone who forks out money for all this crap. I remember the happy childhood of the past before it was all commercialised. The excitement of making Christmas decorations, making Christmas cards at school. Organised Carol singers, helping mum decorate the Xmas cake. Never needed or could afford all these events

Well, I quite like spending time with family and relax for 2 days. :-)

Suppose it depends where you go, everyone has different tastes too. My Mum really enjoys garish activities so when older DC were young she used to take them to a big expensive event. One year I decided to go with them and it was bloody awful… Just not my thing at all, lots of fairground rides, performances by people dressed up as stormtroopers and the Frozen characters and a Santa grotto obvs. Hated it yet it cost more than anything I’ve ever taken them to.

Things I’ve taken them to over the years have cost less but been much better quality imo. Every year we go to a national trust place and Santa reads them a story, he then invites each child to sit with him at the front and have a chat and photos. It’s really cute. There’s also local events like illuminations/lantern parades which feel festive and are generally free or quite cheap. Also a local adventure playground that usually has a nice Christmas event that’s £5 per child and that includes a gift from Santa. None of it has fallen flat and it never breaks the bank.

Oh and I also remember the time I took older DC on a local steam train where Santa came aboard and gave them a gift. It cost me around £100 and this was a decade ago so it’s probably even more now. It was a huge letdown, Santa was there for all of 2 mins and you couldn’t even get a pic with him. Never did that again.

Of course but I got a mulled wine last year for £2 which I think is very fair. The light up trail is free. Father Christmas is free and children get a gift, but you can give a donation. Fair rides cost the same as always.

Yes there are some crazy over expensive events, but we just don’t go to them.

I love this part of Christmas though, the shops shutting etc so everyone can be with their families. I’ll have ten days off work which I can’t wait for. If they don’t shut then surely some people are having to work, and missing out on family time? Only shutting at 4 and being open on the 25th sounds a bit sad to me.

We did 2 Christmas type events- they weren't too expensive.

One was ok in a muddy farm park sort of way!
For the other, I actually got a refund. It was with snooze, they offered 1 hour sledging and a santa visit for DC. Though that sounds lovely.... yeah, santa was a bearly 18 year old lad who just chugged a the present at DC he really said:"catch!"
And the sledging was dreadful. At the edge of the sky slope where they piled up the surplus snow... DC & sled got stuck at the top ... not a chance in hell that they would move!

There is no way I'd complain about people being able to have a couple of days at home with the people they love. Nobody needs to be out and about every single day.

I've been to Chester , Harrogate , Glasgow , York , Lincoln & Manchester Christmas markets -
all crap so don't bother now.

I don't like doing the X-mas markets or grottos but I do enjoy light shows. Chester Zoo lanterns are excellent and Dunham Massey lights are lovely.

I guess it depends on what you're looking for.

Almost all Christmas events I’ve been to have been lovely.

One or two light shows over the years have been a bit crap. Lightopia was extremely expensive for what it was and I wouldn’t go again. Definitely the exception rather than the rule though.

Never had a cold hot chocolate. Not sure what the issue with mud is though. If I went to a wood to get my Christmas tree or a Father Christmas experience I would fully expect mud.

The Orkney Ba is a traditional festive event in the UK. Not many pretty lights or reindeer of course, just a lot of sweaty men.

And yes, no other country does panto.

I honestly think children prefer the more simple things to feel festive, making biscuits/mince pies helping with the Christmas cake (if you make one) decorating the house, making Christmas cards or gift tags, watching films with a hot chocolate and festive snack, a Christmas Carol service followed by a local Christmas tree light up. My favourite as a child was my dad driving us around looking at all the lights and decorations in those really done up streets. He wanted to take my son for his first Christmas light drive this year, unfortunately he passed this summer. Parents are too caught up in the ‘big moment’ elf on the shelf, Christmas Eve boxes, big let down Lapland type places. Time for people to pare back and enjoy the simpler things in life instead of getting stressed out.

It does take us back to the point of people not wanting to work that much over Christmas, though. And in the current job market, more of us are in a position to enforce that. I very much doubt it would actually be possible to open everything as normal for that much of the festive period.

I am originally from Northern Europe I agree but I think its british weather, you cant make mud and rain really feel christmassy,all the ads paint a picture of snow when you turn up its a spray can snow on some random trees :D

withour snow its going to be blah

If it’s shoved in a stall with kids gawking at it all day instead of in the wild in it’s natural habitat then it’s sad.