We’ve gathered some of Norfolk’s best Christmas events happening this year to get you in the Christmas spirit
Please check with venues before travelling to ensure the event is still taking place.
December 3 - January 10
Thursford’s Enchanted Journey Of Light includes an indoor Wonderland Trail of fairy-tale characters and an immersive light and and sound experience plus beautiful steam engines, leading into Santa’s Magical Journey (although Santa himself is ice-olating and not able to attend.) Watch his penguins, polar bears and giant teddy bears, and see how the elves are making and wrapping presents and loading Santa’s sleigh. Meet characters including a snowball-thowing snowman family and then walk out into the four acre Lantern Light Extravaganza: a beautiful, festival of luminous sculptures including a fantasy forest of jungle animals and a North Pole scene.
December 3-20
A magical mile-long festive trail of illuminated trees through the forest at Sandringham promises mesmerising lighting effects set to music - plus a warming fire-pit and festive food and drink. The hour-plus outside experience at the royal estate’s Country Park must be pre-booked. Tickets from £14 adults, £10 children, £44 families.
• CHRISTMAS ON CROMER PIER
December 4 to January 1
Strictly Christmas at the Pavilion Theatre brings some of the finest variety entertainers together for a festive show hosted by Norfolk funny man Olly Day right through to New Year’s Day.
And the Father Christmas Experience will be running from December 5-23 with an on-stage grotto where Santa will be waiting to meet the whole family.
Tickets for Strictly Christmas and the Santa Grotto (£15 per child) from the mobile box office on 07818 130678 or cromerpier.co.uk
• HO HO HOLKHAM
December 5-6, 12-13, 19-20. 10am-4pm
A festive food, drink and gift market will include beautiful stalls spread across the Lady Elizabeth Wing and courtyard. Christmas is always special at Holkham and although some of the traditional events have had to be scaled back this year the programme will include guided tours - and the chance to buy your own Holkham Christmas tree. The weekend festive markets run from 10am-4pm and tours on a number of different days include wild walks, tractor trailer tours including a Christmas tipple, an audience with bestselling aristocratic author Lady Glenconner, creative workshops for adults and bushcrafts for children.
• ARTS AND CRAFTS
December 5-6 and 12-13
North Norfolk Arts and Crafts is holding two winter markets in the gardens festooned with fairy lights at Back to the Garden, Letheringsett, near Holt, with a slightly different selection of makers each weekend.
• FESTIVE CRAFTS AND GIFTS
December 5, 12 and 19
The Netherton Steakhouse in The Street, Long Stratton, began running an autumn Saturday market in October to support local businesses and will be transforming that into a Christmas market complete with stalls selling crafts, gifts, mulled wine, mince pies and more from 9am-4pm.
• NORWICH PUB XMAS MARKET
Weekends December 5-20
The Gibraltar Gardens on Heigham Street, Norwich, hopes to host a series of Christmas markets with stalls under cover and outside, and food from the pub.
01603 667766 or see its Facebook page.
• CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR
December 12 - January 10
The traditional winter show at Great Yarmouth’s historic Hippodrome Circus will be wowing socially distanced audiences with amazing acrobatics and circus performances, clowning, comedy and the world-famous water show.
• RAPUNZEL - THE LOCKDOWN PANTO
December 15-24
The fairytale of Rapunzel - a girl kept captive in her own lockdown tower while her hair grows ever longer - will be retold as a pantomime at Sheringham Little Theatre and St George’s Theatre, Great Yarmouth. The 50-minute panto runs in Yarmouth from Decem ber 15-19 and Sheringham from December 22-24.
sheringhamlittletheatre.com / stgeorgestheatre.com
• A THEATRE ROYAL CHRISTMAS
December 16-24
See three special festive shows at Norwich Theatre Royal this month. A Right Royal Christmas is made up of Panto in a Pickle! starring the theatre’s regular panto dame and writer Richard Gauntlett, A Circus Carol with Lost in Translation Circus, and Karl Minns with She Go does It Under The Christmas Tree...with friends. The shows will each run from 60 to 90 minutes without an interval.
• PRINCESS PANTOMIME
December 19 - January 1
Mother Goose is this year’s panto at the Princess Theatre, Hunstanton. The socially-distanced fun tells the story of the goose who lays golden eggs and includes plenty traditional panto laughs (and a baddie to boo) in a 90 minute show without an interval.
01485 532252 princesshunstanton.co.uk
• THE MAGIC OF PANTO
December 19-24
See a mash-up of lots of your favourite pantos, plus plenty of magic too, at Diss Corn Hall
• MY FIRST ONLINE PANTO
From December 4
The talented team who put together immersive plays and pantos for tinies will present My First Panto: Goldilocks and The Three Bears
Head to the Wild West where Mummy Bear, Daddy Bear and Baby Bear live quite happily until Goldilocks the bandit arrives. What will she eat? What will she break? The production will be filmed at The Garage by Norwich’s Lambda Films and then available via Vimeo with two rental options.
Tickets can be pre-ordered from thegarage.org.uk
