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!

Theatre booked for a ghostly thriller - early December

2nd weekend- cottage booked at NT property which includes carols by candlelight(which is deeply moving and spiritual for us)

nine lessons and carols at local cathedral

hoping we can get tickets for Messiah at local cathedral- but they are not out yet

waiting for local choral society concert to be advertised so we can book

love! love!! love!!! advent and all the activities associated with the preparation for Christmas

I've booked a santa steam train ride on Christmas Eve and we're thinking of a Christmas shopping trip to London at some point too. Last year we did breakfast with santa at our local Toby carvery and will probably do that again!

I've got tickets for Christmas at Kew carried over from last year when dd1 tested positive for covid day before & I've booked The Nutcracker.
Need to book to see santa somewhere but can't decide what/where....

we did a light walk at leeds last year- it was fabulous and we went round the stately home and gardens next day- then into the city for a lovely meal before coming home, thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and will definitely do it again, but not this year- maybe next or the year after, to keep it fresh and novel (unless the cost of living crisis bites too hard)

we went to a theatre production of Christmas Carol last year= this year the offering is

Christmas Gothic-

Christmas: a time to remember the past, celebrate the present, and look to the future; a time of feasts and festivities; of holly and mistletoe; a time of visits and visitations. A time of ghosts.

Come in from the cold and enter into the Christmas spirit as a dark and spectral woman tells haunting tales of the festive season, lighting a candle to the frailties of human nature and illuminating the cold and chilling depths of the bleak, wintry dark…

Following the international touring success that was Female Gothic, Dyad Productions resurrects a Victorian tradition by presenting three seasonal tales of terror to scintillate the gooseflesh for dark Christmas nights.

We have a grotto and festive afternoon tea booked.
That weekend we will also go to the Christmas tree farm and choose our wreath.

The next weekend we are going to the theatre with friends.

Weekend after that we are going to a 'ball' with Elsa / afternoon tea.

That's all I've booked so far!

I'd like to do the panto this year too so will likely book that soon!

Polar Bear Express and good old panto.

Oh and winter wonderland. I wish you could edit posts!!

We've thought about legoland but not sure we have the time to fit in it.

Did Lapland U.K. last year.

We've booked a Christmas lights evening walk at local bay trust which we do every year. Paid for in June. Plus a panto on Xmas Eve, bought in January. Again, do it every year. We're members of local zoo so will walk round when they have twinkling lights for free.

We've booked Polar Express and pantomime - panto was about £120 I think as was PE.

I will book Santa tickets to a local grotto we love, that will be about £30. Also ice skating for 27th Dec - that'll be about £40.

That'll be it, we did do more last year like light trails.

Free or cheap stuff - we are having a small party on 23rd, taking the kids up to the City centre on Christmas eve and we will go to a local lights switch on. Also Christmas light safari where we drive around looking at lights with Christmas music and hot chocolate

Booked a Christmas lights walk in our nearest city. Will do the town light switch on and if I can, get tickets for the local panto.

Lapland Uk , we are staying over in the LEGOLAND hotel when we go as park is shut so prices more reasonable .

pantomime on Xmas eve

Awww that all sounds lovely 💕

Doing Lapland UK with our 3 primary aged children, will do ice skating too and maybe a pantomime. Will see the Xmas lights switch on but that’s free.

We've booked tickets for the Santa Special Epping Ongar railway this year. DH and I are taking our 2 DDs (will be 14 months and 2 years 9 months) and my parents. It wasn't cheap but I'm really looking forward to it.

Will probably then just go to our town Christmas Fayre to soak up the atmosphere.

We have booked a pantomime and Chester Zoo lanterns, which we do every year. Total cost about £160, but we save all year for these.
other than that the kids will see Santa at the school Christmas fete, I will make my own wreath and we will make some other decorations together.
kids will enjoy hot choc, Christmas films and advent calendars.

we enjoyed longest last year!!

I've booked Disney on Ice for Xmas eve and a panto for early December so far... I need to decide where they'll see Santa this year as they usually see him at Center parks but we're not going this year

We always do a tree lit walk at a local pinetum which became a tradition after Father Christmas was outgrown, and London lights, but it would be nice to get some more ideas!

I think Lapland UK is so over hyped and not worth the money, personally.

I would totally agree with you on the day itself - until dd2 aged 7 got her teddy menton with her stocking on Christmas Day and she looked at the sky and whispered thank you santa. That was the magic....and worth every horrifically expensive penny

I booked panto tickets earlier this year so we have that on Xmas Eve and I'm waiting for grotto tickets to go on sale for the place we usually go. We're close to Edinburgh so lots of free things there with the markets, we're quite lucky. I've taken the kids to various light shows over the years but no-one has been wow-ed. They just complain of the cold!

Better for adults I think, they're lovely. Even better with a mulled wine.