As the big day approaches, you can always count on the North’s theatres and concert halls to pull out all the festive stops. With the choice being as long as Santa’s list, we’re playing the little-helper role and rounding up the best of the bunch here, from award-winning theatre that will hit you right in the festive feels to Christmas concerts that don’t do subtle.
Christmas comes to Chadderton Town Hall this December as the Oldham Coliseum presents a brand new immersive play A Christmas Fair.
The Hallé has a bumper Christmas season in store, decking the (Bridgewater) hall with festive pop, cinematic magic and roaring-twenties glamour.
Merry Manarchy welcomes holiday heartthrobs for a festive drag king cabaret – expect a ridiculously fabulous camped-out search for what Christmas is all about.
Are you ready to help save Christmas? Mrs Claus needs your help with a festive Bake-Off like no other at The Octagon Theatre in Bolton this Christmas season.
Unity Theatre is once again hosting their anything but ordinary, outright bonkers festive production, Unity Christmas Cabaret.
A mother and daughter switching bodies might sound like a nightmare, but in Freaky Friday, it’s the perfect recipe for festive fun.
A heartwarming festive treat for all ages, this brand-new musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol brings Bolton’s stage to life with music, magic and Dickensian spirit.
Wake up, look outside and… snow everywhere! This winter, families are invited into a world blanketed in wonder and discovery with the production of The Snowy Day.
This Christmas, Liverpool Playhouse welcomes the UK tour of Young Frankenstein – Mel Brooks’ monstrously funny musical comedy – as its seasonal showstopper.
One of Disney’s most iconic villains gets the star treatment at Lowry this festive season as Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch returns to the stage.
This Christmas, the Royal Exchange Theatre bring a true classic to the stage with Singin’ in the Rain – a dazzling, tap-dancing celebration of Hollywood’s golden age.
This Christmas, A Christmas Carol gets a spine-tingling makeover at HOME Manchester. Adam Z. Robinson’s solo show with The Book of Darkness & Light turns Dickens’ familiar festive tale into something thrillingly new, blending gothic chills with heart-warming holiday spirit.
Presenting the best walking tours in Manchester for history buffs, culture enthusiasts, and those looking to scratch beneath the surface of the city.
Take me there
Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.
Step away from the usual. Tours and activities that spark curiosity, inspire creativity and offer something refreshingly different.
Winter brings a huge haul of seasonal shows, as well as productions that resolutely veer away from the fairy lights.
Manchester’s closing out the year – and looking to the new one – with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports.
This season, exhibitions across the North West feel attuned to the world beneath the world – the forces and stories shaping how we see, feel and imagine.
There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.
Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.
