Christmas events in Liverpool for 2025

Christmas comes but once a year – even if it does seem to get earlier and earlier with festive treats and decorations popping up in shops as soon as the August Bank Holiday had finished.

But now we’re through Halloween and Bonfire Night, and with the weather turning noticeably colder, it’s definitely time to break out the mulled wine, mince pies, spiced hot chocolate and the tinsel.

It’s all seasonal systems go in Liverpool this year with a host of festive fun and yuletide jollity promised both indoors and outdoors.

Here’s a look at just some of what is on in the run up to the big day itself.

Liverpool Christmas Market at St George's Plateau

Until December 24

Liverpool’s annual Christmas Market has returned to St George’s Plateau and St Johns Gardens, with dozens of stalls offering tempting treats and Christmas gifts.

The market, which runs from 11am to 10pm daily, also has several bars and food outlets along with seasonal fairground rides including a Ferris wheel, vintage carousel and snow slide.

Liverpool Winter Festival at the Pier Head

November 22 to January 4

Liverpool Winter Festival takes over the Pier Head for the festive season and into the New Year, offering festive activities for all the family.   

The festival site features an 18m x 30m (60ft x 100ft) ice rink, meet-and-greets and story times with Santa, an elf village, children’s rides, thrill experiences, adventure golf, and a snow globe photo opportunity.

There will also be  a range of food and drink concessions.

The Light Before Christmas: The Gift at Liverpool Cathedral

November 28 to December 6

A visit by Luxmuralis has become a much-anticipated part of the Christmas programme at Liverpool Cathedral.

This year artist Peter Walker and composer David Harper’s giant son et lumiere, which fills the interior of the Grade I listed landmark, is titled The Gift. The theme has been chosen to reflect different kinds of ‘gift’ - peace, Christmas, and how the cathedral was gifted to the city by the people who built it.

New for this year, the entrance will feature festive works of art created by youngsters from more than 30 Liverpool schools as part of a city region-wide project initiated by the cathedral.

And there will also be a city-wide treasure hunt inviting the public to discover hidden gifts across several Liverpool’s most famous locations. Clues will be shared on Liverpool Cathedral’s social media channels and prizes include vouchers and tickets to Light Before Christmas.

More details and booking HERE

Liverpool Santa Dash

December 7

Thousands of runners of all ages are expected to take part in the annual Liverpool Santa Dash on Sunday, December 7, raising much-needed funds for charity.

The festive event consists of a main 5k fun run, which starts from Canada Boulevard at 9.30am and winds its way up and down the Strand and through the business district.

A separate 1k ‘mini dash’ sets off from Castle Street at 11am and is open to youngsters aged up to 12 (parents/guardians can run with their children).

The £26 entry fee includes a red Santas suit. Blue suits are sold out, while the mini-dash fee is £15. All runners get a medal and finishers’ goody bag.

More details and entry HERE

Woolton Picture House 12 Days of Christmas

December 12-24

Woolton Picture House is set to host a ’12 Days of Christmas’ in the run up to the big day next month.

The special season of festive film favourites is the first major event at the historic 1927 venue, which is being reborn as a community cinema after being closed since the pandemic.

Tickets are on sale now, although you’ll have to be quick because many of the carefully curated cinematic treats are already sold out.

The 12 Days of Christmas opens on December 12 with the classic 1954 heart-warmer White Christmas and concludes on Christmas Eve with It’s a Wonderful Life.

The programme also includes How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Holiday, Home Alone, Love Actually, Scrooge, Bad Santa, Die Hard and Meet Me in St Louis among others.

The 12 Days of Christmas runs at Woolton Picture House from December 12-24. Full programme details, current ticket availability and booking HERE

St George's Hall

While the Liverpool Christmas Market surrounds the hall on the outside, inside the Grade I listed Lime Street landmark there is also plenty of festive cheer.

Scrooge Live on December 2 matches a screening of the 1951 classic film, starring Alastair Sim, with a newly orchestrated score performed live by the three-piece FB Pocket Orchestra.

Carols by Lantern Light in the Great Hall on December 3 and 10 includes Ian Tracey playing the mighty Willis Organ, singer Danielle Thomas and a classical choir performing much-loved seasonal tunes.

The Princesses Christmas Wish on December 20 promises heart-warming magic with Belle, Elsa, Rapunzel and Cinderella.

And also on December 20, GINIFICENT returns to St George’s to perform Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in the Great Hall.

More details and booking HERE

Christmas at Calderstones

Christmas comes to the Calderstones Mansion House this winter courtesy of The Reader.

The programme of events between now and the big day includes a Christmas Quiz Fundraiser, Christmas Story Trail, Christmas parties, A Brontë Christmas Afternoon and Brunch with Mrs Claus.

The venue is also hosting a special Christmas Cinema series in the Mansion House Garden (under a heated canopy) including Die Hard, Home Alone, Love Actually, Elf, The Muppet Christmas Carol, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and It’s A Wonderful Life.

Meanwhile The Gruffalo’s Child and Stick Man will be screened in the Theatre Room.

More information and booking HERE

The Bluecoat

There’s plenty of seasonal good cheer on offer at the Bluecoat between now and the big day.

The events and attractions include Festive Wreath Making on November 23 and Festive Cyanotype (a type of printmaking process) Baubles on November 29.

Collage your Christmas Cards after work on December 2.

And from November 29 to December 23, there is Father Christmas Storytelling at the School Lane venue, with Santa bringing a sackful of stories with him to enchant and entertain young visitors – and the young at heart. The run will include several relaxed performances.

In addition, there is an opportunity to look for gifts with a difference in the Bluecoat Display Centre and the independent shops on site.

Find out more HERE

National Museums Liverpool

The Blackers’ Father Christmas is going up in the atrium to bring a touch of nostalgia to the Museum of Liverpool for all those who remember the giant Santa taking pride of place in the late Liverpool department store.

The installation of the figure on November 18 signals the start of a series of seasonal activities at National Museums Liverpool sites which are currently open to the public (rather than being under scaffolding and sheeting).

They include a pair of events at Sudley House in Mossley Hill.

First up is a Handmade Winter Market on November 22, where artisan makers from Liverpool and beyond will offer a wide range of lovely and unusual gift ideas.

Then over the weekend of December 6-7, pop in to enjoy A Sudley Victorian Christmas including Christmas Carols, children’s crafts and seasonal storytelling.

More details HERE

M&S Bank Arena

Step into Christmas at the M&S Bank Arena over November and December with plenty of seasonal events to choose from.

The fun kicks off on November 23 when James Partridge brings his Big Christmas Assembly 2025 to the banks of the Mersey. Get ready for a night packed with festive spirit, singalong tunes, and the nostalgia of Christmases gone by.

A Fairytale for Christmas on November 30 is billed as the ultimate Irish Christmas Concert.

From the producers of Seven Drunken Nights - The Story of The Dubliners, immerse yourself in the spirit of Christmas as talented singers, musicians and dancers perform dashing renditions of Yuletide favourites including Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town, O Holy Night and The Fairytale of New York.

Jordan Conway plays Buddy in Elf the Musical on December 6-7.

Festive magic includes Santa’s flying sleigh, an interactive snowball fight with the audience, and a giant candy cane journey from the North Pole, all set against video-film backdrops on a massive LED screen.

Meanwhile Step into Christmas on December 6 is described as a ‘feelgood Christmas concert spectacular’.

And last but not least, next door in Exhibition Centre Liverpool there’s a chance to enjoy some festive fun at the Liverpool Indoor Funfair Christmas.

It is open between December 20 to January 3. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

More details and booking HERE

Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall

Love is all around this festive season at the Philharmonic Hall.

And to prove it, December kicks off on the 1^st with Love Actually in Concert, although if you haven’t yet got a ticket you may need to act fast.

A Feeling of Christmas with Rebecca Ferguson comes to Hope Street on December 6, while Rob Brydon and Band are guaranteeing A Festive Night of Songs and Laughter on December 11.

Live at Christmas includes a quartet of funny men and women - Simon Amstell, Lucy Beaumont, Phil Wang and Sarah Keyworth – on one bill on December 17, and Horrible Histories promises a Horrible Christmas on December 18.

Then it wouldn’t be Christmas without a screening of It’s a Wonderful Life, this year taking place on December 21 and 24, and there’s an added Christmas Eve bonus this year with The Muppets Christmas Carol also programmed for the big screen.

More information and booking HERE

Tung Auditorium

The busy Christmas programme at the Tung Auditorium gets off to a magical start on November 29 courtesy of the Manchester Collective and vocal ensemble The Marian Consort who present Wintering.

The concert will include a new piece from composer Samantha Fernando, inspired by Katherine May’s bestselling book Wintering, which asks us to cherish nature’s fallow period and draw on its power for healing.

The concert is followed on November 30 by Eliza Carthy and John Boden’s Wassail, taking audiences back to some of the oldest songs in the English canon, telling Christmas tales, spreading good cheer and lighting up the darkest days of the year, ahead of Christmas Day itself on a stage decorated for the occasion.

Lunchtime concerts Wolcome Yole! on December 3 (featuring the Liverpool Cathedral Girls’ Choir and University of Liverpool Chamber Choir) and A Merry Musical Christmas on December 10 are already sold out, as is Brad Kella on December 6.

But there are plenty of other opportunities to mark the festive season including the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Brass Band’s Festive Fanfare on December 3 and the LUMS (Liverpool University Musical Society) Winter Concert on December 12.

The Liverpool Welsh Choral Festive Fanfare takes place on December 13, and on December 14 there’s the Choir with no Name Big Christmas Singalong.

More details and booking HERE

Pantomimes and Christmas Shows

'Tis the season to be jolly silly and there are a wide range of pantomimes and Christmas shows being staged at Liverpool venues to send festive audiences of all ages home with a big smile on their faces.

From all-singing, all-dancing fairytale favourites to Roald Dahl's mischievous Matilda to enchanting storytelling - and a monster musical comedy, there's no excuse not to get swept up in the festive spirit.

Check out the full run-down of what is being staged where in Liverpool and beyond this Christmas HERE.

Other Theatre Shows

While venues in the city are generally being taken over by pantomimes and Christmas productions, there are some additional shows and events to get theatregoers in the mood for the big day.

Downstairs in the Royal Court Studio, It’s a Wonderful Life returns after entertaining audiences last year. It runs until November 22.

A Christmas Carol comes to the Epstein Theatre on November 25, while the Hanover Street venue also hosts Irish Annie’s Christmas Party on November 29 and Crissy Rock’s Christmas Cracker on December 19.

Meanwhile the irrepressible Nana Funk is hosting a Christmas Party at the Liverpool Everyman on December 6.

And the Unity Theatre also has a special season of yuletide treats, kicking off with To Be Near a Shooting Star on December 6.

For details and booking see individual theatre websites.