Your area is bulging at the seams more than Santa’s sack with events and activities over the weekend. So check out our guide to 20 things to do and places to go across the Worksop, Retford, Mansfield, Ashfield and wider Nottinghamshire area.
As we approach the final week of November, it’s all about the big Christmas lights switch-ons in our towns, with Worksop, Retford, Mansfield and Sutton all set to launch their festive celebrations. Rap legend Tinchy Stryder presses the button in Mansfield.
Christmas markets are everywhere you look – from Clumber Park to Sutton Library. As are Santa’s Grottos – from Rufford Abbey to Robin Hood’s Wheelgate Park. There are plenty of chances too for the kids to meet Santa himself. You can even have breakfast with him!
Panto season has kicked into gear, with the launch of the annual shindig at Mansfield’s Palace Theatre, starring Dani Harmer, aka Tracy Beaker, no less! And the big names don’t stop there as the singing troupe, G4, one-time stars of ‘The X Factor’, arrive at Southwell Minster for a Christmas show.
With Newstead Abbey turning into Narnia, Rufford hosting a festive afternoon tea and Retford’s Majestic Theatre rockin’ all over the world, there’s every excuse to get out and about over the next few days.
Before you set off, please check the websites of your chosen destination for admission prices and opening times. Have a great weekend!
1. All-day festive fun to switch on Worksop's lights
A packed day of festive fun is guaranteed in Worksop on Saturday (12 midday to 6.30 pm) for a free family event to mark the switching on of Worksop's Christmas lights. You can visit Santa in the Lion Hotel, watch street entertainment, do some Christmas shopping from a range of stalls, tuck in to delicious festive food, take part in a lantern-making workshop and join an elf trail. There's live entertainment from Elton John tribute band, Eltonesque, and also a fireworks display as the lights go on. Photo: Submitted
2. Breakfast with Santa in Victorian kitchen
Join Santa for a delicious, freshly cooked breakfast in the cosy Victorian kitchen restaurant at Rufford Abbey from this Saturday until Saturday, December 23. You can book places at Savill's Restaurant for £13.95 each, which includes a festive gift for children, handed over by the man himself next to the fireplace after your meal. Photo: Submitted
3. Lighting up Retford town centre with market and switch-on
It's time to light up Retford town centre to launch the Christmas season on Sunday (10 am to 6 pm). A free event will feature a superb Christmas market, made up of more than 150 stalls and pitches, plus live entertainment on a special stage and a craft market in the town hall. Street food and entertainment will add to the seasonal atmosphere, and many shops, bars and restaurants will be open for business. The Christmas lights will be switched on at 5 pm. Photo: Submitted
4. Christmas market at Clumber Park
Explore the stalls and have fun on the fairground rides at a Christmas market being held at Clumber Park this Saturday and Sunday and also over the weekend of December 2 and 3 (10 am to 4 pm). The market, which is free to attend, will be situated throughout the Lincoln Stables, the Turning Yard and the Laundry Yard and on the Parsonage Lawn. Pick up a festive bargain. Photo: Submitted