Paid Christmas activities - what are you doing?

[Flackattack]

I’m interested in what paid Christmas activities people are doing this year and how much they are?

I love doing lots but think we will cut down this year.
we have booked a polar express experience at £30 each and hoping for a light walk but wondering what prices will be like with everything going up.

Lapland uk which would be over £500 for a weekend in December for a family of 4 - 3 hour visit / is already sold out!

So far, we've only booked the theatre as I found tickets at a really good price. Can't justify the cost of a lot of the activities especially when they only last a couple of hours. Will book a couple more things if I find anything at a good price. Otherwise, we'll make do with free and cheap activities like walks or looking round the shops. Santa's sleigh usually comes down our road before Christmas, so that's a nice thing for the kids to look forward to.

Booked a show and a lights walk and no plans to book anything else that costs. TBF have chosen a local show over a west end one (which we would normally do) so save on travel costs too. Also looking to buy less and plan food better

We had planned to go to Winter Wonderland this year, but think we will leave it.

m thankfully mine are now all too old for visiting grottos so think we will stick with going to the cinema for family film and lights walks etc (assuming the street near us that has all the lights still does it this year).

We're going to Butlins for a Christmas break when school breaks up, will go to Panto and the local NT light festival.

Also looking at The London Horse show and Elf the musical but not both!

I'll book something at the theatre - it always used t be panto or Nutcracker when the DC were small, now it could be anything)

Other than that, we never really did much - everything had ramped prices because Xmas - but have had a couple of treats courtesy of GPs (eg Santa Express steam train) and I can see the attraction.

We are doing a light show and a train in enchanted woods to see Santa. We normally go skating, but I am not booking that as I will be too pregnant/will have a newborn. We will go to Edinburgh for the Christmas market and do free things like going to see Christmas decorations, our village carol service etc. I normally try and do something every weekend, but am cutting back both to save money and because of the baby.

I remember when a garden centre was a cheap magical visit! Ours haven’t done a grotto since Covid.

mine are young so love doing all these things - but know I get carried away! Definitely limiting what we are doing this year. We used to always go to longleat and the Santa train but it was awful last year and this year it’s over £200 for a family of 4. I think new things are better than trying to keep recreating a previously good experience.

Our baby will be 10m old so the only thing I'm planning is one of the walk through light things as I think she might enjoy that

Oh yes I'm sure we will go to a garden centre atleast once to look at the lights etc but not planning a visit to Santa this year unless there is a cheap one at a fair etc

We have annual passes for a theme park so have just paid the add on to see Santa there
wont be able to afford anything ekae

Dobbies garden centre breakfast with Santa. £7 per adult including a full English breakfast and drink and £13 per child, including breakfast, drink and toy. That's it.

I've cut right back this year. Apart from a 4 night Lapland holiday, carols at the royal Albert hall, Xmas at Kew, the Santa express, a visit to Santa at the garden centre and the panto at Birmingham hippodrome we're not doing anything else.

Thinking wookey hole this year for grotto (eldest 11 soon so no longer a believer but hoping a few more years for 5 yo)
I wanted to go edinburgh xmas market but dh rightly has said no due to cost

We will go to see Santa somewhere. If there’s an accessible panto we might try that - we did a normal one last year and only made it as far as the interval.

One of the local garden centres has a beautiful show garden and does a lights display at Christmas, which is free. So we’ll go to that as long as they still do it. And probably go to the lights switch on in the nearest town, and do a few rides as they usually have a little funfair.

We tend not to do the big expensive things because a lot of the time DS finds them overwhelming, plus we can’t really afford them.

Christmas panto for the six of us will be the only payable activity we will do. May do the Santa visit at the farm as that was very good and reasonably priced. The Local
shopping place puts a winter wonderland light walk with tickets costing very little and they donate that to a designated charity, hoping it’s on again this year as the NT is too expensive.

We did one of these with my godson years ago- not Dobbies though, it was brilliant. Really good value for money we felt, looking forward to be able to do one with my daughter- maybe next year

We are going to see The Snowman in London, got a early deal so paid £20 a ticket which I was really pleased with. We are near the front too. That's it, not even due to the money although that is a factor but ds2 is autistic and with starting school this year, I don't think he will cope with Christmas events. We will see father Christmas but we do that with an attraction we have annual passes for.

😂

😂Love it!!😂

We'll go and see Father Christmas, then maybe a local Xmas show/panto, in a town hall or similar, rather than a big theatre so not too pricey.
That's it I think, they'll have Xmas stuff at school and clubs, we'll see some local lights and go to the carol service.
We might go to a Xmas market, but they're usually overpriced tat that you can get anywhere and the kids aren't that interested!

I have always found the christmas activities that are free are the best, after years forking out for dreadful plastic lapland lookalikes.
Carols by candlelight in a local church is my favourite and most magical
Salvation army concerts in the town
Christmas walk to see all of the houses decorated and hot chocolate at home
Making Christmas decorations with the children with a mulled wine and Christmas music
The school nativity - hankies at the ready
Christmas film at home with blankets
Christmas baking
At push I will visit a Christmas market
Thats it!

This year we may go iceskating as we have teenagers.

I think the price of tickets for children a shows in general is extortionate! I never understand why they charge full whack for adults to go and see Hey Duggee, Mr Tumble etc.

The only paid for thing we do is the theatre - a panto or a West End show. I was fairly put out last year when we went to a farm to cut our own tree and bought a hot chocolate after and they were £5/each (from a wooden hut thing - not even a sit down cafe). I just felt it put a bit of a dampener on the day for me feeling completely ripped off.

We've booked a winter wonderland on the 23rd with a Santa grotto and a big fun fair/Christmas market.

And on the 18th a big winter wonderland at a soft play called adventure valley in the north east. It's amazing.

I'm going to book a Christmas disco, breakfast with Santa and that's me done x

We've booked Lapland U.K.
Birmingham hippodrome pantomime
Christmas wreath workshop
Local playcentre's ' breakfast with Santa'
Train ride

I save all year as I'm a Christmas nut, but it'll be scaled back significantly next year!