The list of expensive things seems never-ending as we near the end of the year, so I've come up with some ideas for free Christmas days out with kids to help us all save money whilst still being able to make magic festive memories.
How much will we spend on Christmas in 2024?
According to VoucherCodes' Shopping for Christmas Report, the average spend per person in the UK during the six-week Christmas period in 2024 is forecast to be £1,328.88, which is £50.19 more than in 2023. That's all retail spending in the six weeks leading up to the big day, and includes gifts, decorations, Christmas travel, and festive food and drink, in addition to the usual things we buy.
If I zoom in on Christmas-specific spending, UK households are forecast to spend an average of £709.83-£977.31 each (with London on the higher end of the scale, and Yorkshire and Humberside at the lower).
The Bank of England found that a typical UK household spends 29% more in December than an average month. So it's clear that we all tend to spend considerably more as we hurtle towards Christmas.
I'm always on the lookout for anything I can do to reduce the Christmas spend, so I've thought about those big ticket Christmas days out that put a massive dent in the bank balance, and figured out low-cost and free alternatives that still give family festive feels.
Read on to discover how to save money on the more expensive options like light trails, pantos, theme parks, wonderlands and Santa's grottoes by visiting neighbourhood Christmas lights, department store window displays, community carol concerts, UK Christmas markets, garden centre Christmas sections, a Santa Bus and the Santa Dash.
1. Switch expensive light trails for free Christmas light displays
There are lots of free options, from town centre lights to local neighbourhood lights and more.
There are plenty of amazing light trails around the country, but these can easily cost £80 for a family of four. To enjoy illuminations for less, you can take a stroll around your town centre's lights instead. Your local newspaper's or council's website will give you plenty of information on what's happening where and when.
Of course, London and other big cities have some of the biggest displays (like Regent Street, pictured above), and the West End lit up on 7 November 2024, but there's plenty of sparkle to enjoy elsewhere around the UK.
Many major Christmas lights get switched on in the middle of November, so your local town centre will probably be gearing up to get aglow. These events are typically free and a fun festive treat, if you don't mind the crowds.
Plymouth's Christmas lights, for example, will be switched on on Thurs 14 Nov 2024. There'll be live entertainment for all the family and a chill out area.
Chester's Christmas Lights switch on is on Fri 15 Nov 2024, and the 12 Days of Christmas Parade will see each street illuminated as the parade passes through on 21 November.
South Lanarkshire's Christmas lights switch on events start on Sat 16 Nov 2024 in Lanark, then on Sun 17 Nov it’s East Kilbride Village, with Hamilton and Rutherglen's events on Sat 23 Nov (Hamilton hosts a market, a visit from Santa and a Christmas Parade too), then Cambuslang on Sun 24 Nov, and Carluke on Sat 30 Nov.
There's also the Christmas Lights Switch On at Pittville Pump Room in Cheltenham on Sat 23 Nov 2024, which is a free event and features music from Tommy Lewis, free children’s entertainment from Party Peeps, and an opportunity to meet Father Christmas and Olaf.
You'll find plenty more events like these around the UK, so have a look into what's happening near you.
You can keep it even closer to home by taking a tour of your local neighbourhood's light displays.
You might know of particular houses nearby that go all out each year (many often raising money for charity), or even whole streets that go big at Christmastime.
Stone Brig Lane in Rothwell, for example, has become known as the best Christmas light road in Leeds, with dozens of houses putting on incredible displays — it's been a feature of the city for around 20 years.
There's also Runton Road in Branksome, Poole, which has been dubbed the "most festive street" in Britain — a tradition that's been going strong for around 50 years.
Some streets also put on advent window displays to spread community cheer, where local residents can find a new decorated window each day in the lead-up to Christmas through December. One of the streets near our home does this, and it's a magical surprise each day. If you want to find out how to create magical advent windows, the Eden Project will show you how — they'll also show you how to get your neighbours involved in making a Living Advent Calendar to unveil a new advent window every night.
2. Swap Christmas pantos for free Christmas concerts
Check out what your local community is offering by way of carol concerts and music performances gratis.
Taking the whole family to a professional Christmas panto can set you back well over £50, but that's not the only festive entertainment available — there are lots of venues putting on performances and music for free.
Churches: Your local church will probably be putting on Christmas services with traditional Christmas hymns and carols that are free to attend, and this is the case for famous places of worship, too.
For example, in London, St Paul's Cathedral's Advent and Christmas services are free of charge, with some requiring you to pre-book (free) tickets. This year, they're operating a free online ticket ballot to distribute tickets more fairly - it closes at 9am on 20 Nov 2024 and successful entrants will be notified by email after the closing date. There are also concerts, some of which are free and unticketed, such as Family Carols at 11am on 21 Dec 2024 — just bear in mind these are incredibly popular, so get there early.
Community centres: Check out what your local community centre is putting on this November and December, as there'll often be a Christmas carol sing-a-long or local amateur group putting on a show for free or for a donation to charity. My daughter has performed in such a show, and it's a great night out for all the family.
Town centres: Free Christmas concerts / music performances often feature as part of town centre Christmas lights switch on events, so take a look at what's happening in your local area.
Shopping areas often host free music performances at this time of year, as do landmarks. For example, Eastbourne Bandstand's Christmas Shows are free, taking place on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day (standing only).
Universities: Choirs and music groups at Univerisities also put on free festive performances that are often open to all, so check out your local higher eduction institutes' websites.
For example, the Manchester University Music Society Festive Sing-along Relaxed Performance is free and open to everybody, taking place on 13 Dec 2024 from 1.10-2pm.
National Trust: If you're a member of the National Trust already, then you get free admission to hundreds of historic homes, gardens, parklands and countryside — and at this festive time of year, you'll also be able to enjoy select Christmas performances for free. We love visiting NT properties in the Kent, Sussex and Surrey areas at this time of year, and making the most of our family membership to get in the festive mood.
Take a look at the National Trust Christmas choirs and concerts webpage to find more than 50 different events across the country taking place on multiple dates throughout November and December — just double check the details to make sure it's free, as a select few charge an additional fee.
3. Exchange pricey theme parks for free garden centres & shop windows
There's free magic to be found in the Christmas sections of garden centres and department stores.
You can get into the Christmas spirit for nothing by heading to your local garden centre. These treasure troves aren't just for the green fingered when November rolls around, as they typically put on fantastic displays of festive fun. We visit three local garden centres as part of our Christmas tradition, and have done for years.
At the very least, you can expect a Christmas department that's full to the brim with colourful decorations, Christmas trees and and twinkling lights. Some will have moving scenes on display, as they show off their goods for sale (we've seen parachuting snowmen and model train sets). Others will have giant inflatables that make for the perfect photo opportunity — you can't beat a bobbing snowman for a fun photo.
Many also host a Santa's Grotto, which can be cheaper than big attractions. These tend to book up fast, so if you're interested look into it quick (we've also got free alternatives for a Father Christmas meet-up below).
You can just browse without buying, making it a free morning/afternoon out, or you can start a tradition that's popular in many families, which is buying one new decoration each year. The kids will probably happily while away a good chunk of time inspecting every decoration on display — just set a price limit, and perhaps let each child pick a decoration, to save arguments.
Another free festive treat for the eyes, department store Christmas window displays are a whole 'nother level of Christmassy Christmasness.
London does tend to take all the plaudits for this, with the likes of Selfridges, Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols and Hamleys going big and putting on a show.
But there are plenty of other places across the UK where you can enjoy the talents of window dressing extraordinaires, such as Fenwick's flagship in Newcastle, the iconic displays at Pizitz in Birmingham, and Harvey Nichols in Manchester, to name but a few.
4. Trade winter wonderlands for free Christmas markets
(Chalet) window shopping is a free way to get the festive feels.
The UK is fortunate to have a whole heap of Christmas markets, some of which bring a German vibe to our shores (Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market, we're looking at you — the largest German Christmas market outside of Germany or Austria). We've loved browsing Bath Christmas Market for free festive feels.
Chances are there'll be one near you. This might be as small as a church hall/community centre affair, or as big as a city streets takeover (Manchester, for example, has more than 300 traders).
The beauty of any of them is that they get you in the festive spirit without actually costing a thing. Of course, you might want to buy something to eat or drink, or go on one of the rides, or purchase some gifts, but these are all optional, and if you take a flask of your hot beverage of choice, a sarnie to snack on, and your smartphone to capture some Christmas-card worthy selfie backdrops, you can visit them for free... in most cases (some, like Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, charge an entry fee on peak dates).
Here's a selection of Christmas markets that have previously taken place in the UK — look up the one you're interested in to check it's running in 2024, and what its times, dates, and potential costs are, before you travel:
Scotland: Aberdeen Christmas Village; Dundee Winter Fest; Edinburgh Christmas Market; Glasgow Christmas Market.
Wales: Cardiff Christmas Market; Hay Markets, Hay-on-Wye; Narbeth Christmas Market, Pembrokeshire; Swansea Christmas Market.
Northern Ireland: Belfast Christmas Market.
South West England: Bath Christmas Market, Somerset; Cirencester Advent Market, Gloucestershire; Exeter Cathedral Christmas Market, Devon; Festive Orchard St Market, Gloucestershire; Padstow Christmas Festival, Cornwall; Plymouth Christmas Market; Salisbury's Christmas on the Square, Wiltshire; Hestercombe Christmas Market, Somerset.
South East England: Blenheim Christmas Market, Oxfordshire; Bournemouth Christmas Market, Hampshire; Canterbury Christmas Market, Kent; Eastbourne Christmas Market, East Sussex; Oxford Christmas Market, Oxfordshire; Rochester Christmas Market, Kent; Southampton Christmas Market; Winchester Christmas Market, Hampshire.
London: Hyde Park Winter Wonderland (entry fee); Kingston Christmas Market; Covent Garden Christmas Village; Leicester Square Christmas Market; Greenwich Christmas Market; Southbank Winter Festival.
East Midlands: Chatsworth Christmas Market, Derbyshire; Christmas in Leicester, Leicestershire; Lincoln Christmas Market; Nottingham Christmas Market.
West Midlands: Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market; Lichfield Christmas Market, Staffordshire; Solihull Christmas Producers' Market; Stratford-upon-Avon Victorian Christmas Market, Warwickshire; Worcester Christmas Fayre, Worcestershire.
North West England: Chester Christmas Market, Cheshire; Grassington Dickensian Festival and Christmas Market, Yorkshire; Leeds Christkindelmarkt; Liverpool Christmas Market; Manchester Christmas Markets; Skipton Yuletide Festival & Christmas Market, Yorkshire; York Christmas Market.
North East England: Durham Christmas Festival; Newcastle Christmas Market.
East England: Deepdale Christmas Market, King's Lynn; Norwich Christmas Markets, Norfolk; Redbourn Christmas Market, Hertfordshire.
5. Substitute Santa's Grotto for a free Santa Bus or Santa Dash
Santa's Grotto is often very expensive (and booked up), but the kids can see Father Christmas for free...
If you're lucky enough to have a Santa Bus near you, it's a great, free alternative to an expensive Santa's Grotto experience. Santa Buses are typically an open-top bus decorated for the festive season with Father Christmas waving to the crowds as it takes a slow route around different areas on different nights. It's free to watch, but its aim is to raise money for charity through donations. We're very lucky to have one in our home town, and we love to wave at Santa as he drives past the end of our road (pictured above). Here are details of a handful:
Brighton & Hove Buses' Santa Bus is going strong after 21 years, and is travelling across 20 routes over 20 nights to raise money for 12 local charities, taking place from 25 Nov to 23 Dec 2024.
Newcastle's Santa Grotto Bus is returning for 2024 from 6-8 and 14-15 Dec 2024. This one's slightly different — rather than driving around, this Santa Bus is stationary. The fully accessible Stagecoach bus is free to visit on a drop-in basis and donations raise money for The Sunshine Fund supporting local disabled children.
Santa on Wheels in Stockton-on-Tees is happening from 12-15 December 2024, with more info on routes and timings coming soon.
Go North East's Santa Bus Tour took place over eight nights in the week before Christmas in 2023, so fingers crossed it'll run again — check their website for details of 2024 plans once they've been announced.
The Go Cornwall Bus Santa Bus toured West Cornwall, then East Cornwall and then Plymouth, in December 2023, so keep your eyes peeled for updates for 2024.
It's also worth keeping an eye out for the Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour updates, as the brand has confirmed it's returning to Great Britain this year, but no details have been released yet. It's free to visit the iconic truck at one of its stops — and have "holidays are coming" stuck in your head.
If the kids would rather see loads of Father Christmases all at once, then a Santa Dash is the one for you. This is when a group of people (which can be thousands!) join an organised fun run to raise money for good causes, dressed as FC. It's quite a sight to behold, and is typically free to watch (if you want to take part, there's an entry fee, and you can support the causes by donating/sponsoring a runner). We watched a Santa Dash on the seafront and it was a wonderful sight to behold! A selection of dashes include:
On Sat 30 Nov 2024 it's Llandudno Santa Dash.
On Sun 1 Dec 2024 there's Liverpool Santa Dash, Blackpool Santa Dash, Wallingford Santa Dash, Saltford Santa Dash, and Orpington Santa Dash.
On Sat 7 Dec 2024 it's Brighton Santa Dash.
On Sun 8 Dec 2024 there's Glasgow Santa Dash and Thames Hospice Santa Dash in Swinley Forest, Bracknell.
On Sun 15 Dec 2024 there's Cranleigh Santa Dash.
Wherever you and your family head out to, we hope you have a fabulously festive time.
