Discover Halifax at Christmas

Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor

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Discover Halifax at Christmas

23 November-24 December 2019

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Discover Halifax at Christmas
Bruce Fitzgerald
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Visit the historic minster town of Halifax this Christmas for what promises to be a fun-packed selection box of yuletide delights. With special events, family-friendly activities and more decorations than you can shake a candy cane at, we think Halifax is well worth a visit this Christmas.

Home to Quality Street chocolate, Halifax’s Christmas lights will take on a chocolate theme this year. Kindly supported by Quality Street (who will be producing in excess of 10 million sweets every day in the run up to Christmas), there will be dazzling displays of Christmas lights across the town, especially on Market Street, Northgate and George Street.

With special events, family-friendly activities and more decorations than you can shake a candy cane at.

In addition to the Christmas Lights Switch On, there will be fabulous window displays, boutique shopping, festive stalls and galleries. With plenty of gift ideas and plenty of food outlets, Halifax’s Borough Market will be lively and fun.

Head to the Old Market and visit the Magical Gift-Wrapping Workshop which is completely free and open every weekend from 30 November right up until Christmas. With free gift-wrapping, competitions, entertainment, giveaways and a super animatronics elf workshop, there’s more than enough to keep those kiddies entertained.

Halifax really has got Christmas all wrapped up this year.

Christmas is the perfect time for charity and this year the market will host a special ‘Gifting Tree’ where you can leave a present for a child to open on Christmas Day. Just select a tag, buy a suitable present, wrap it up and leave it under the ‘Gifting Tree’ at Albany Arcade. And fear not, if wrapping presents isn’t your forte, the handy gang of elves based in the Old Market will gift-wrap all your presents for free. Hurrah.

With plenty for all ages in Halifax this Christmas, be sure to check out the Christmas Tree Festival; Halifax Minster will be filled with the wonderful scent of over 30 Christmas trees for this popular event. And little ones will be able to post their letters to Father Christmas into the special interactive animatronic postbox at Albany Square in Borough Market. Be sure to post your letter before 10 December for a magical reply from the big guy.

We can’t think of a better time of year to discover this Northern town. With plenty of fabulous gift ideas and a flurry of festive activity, Halifax really has got Christmas all wrapped up this year.

Where to go near Discover Halifax at Christmas

City Centre
Restaurant
GiGi Gusto Griglia

GiGi is a lavish Italian restaurant just off Deansgate, with 1950s décor and a menu that sticks to the classics.

Blackburn
Restaurant
Northcote

Northcote’s Michelin-starred restaurant is the jewel in the crown of the Ribble Valley. We get a first look at the new autumnal menu.

Cumbria
Restaurant
Pentonbridge Inn

Pentonbridge Inn is a Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms in north Cumbria. Eight courses of bunkum-free fine dining from head chef Chris Archer.

Manchester
Restaurant
Dahlia Stereo

Dahlia Stereo is a Latin American-inspired open-fire kitchen and bar off the Northern Quarter’s Stevenson Square, with a pitch perfect soundsystem.

Balance Taproom
Manchester
Restaurant
Balance Taproom

Manchester has a glut of taprooms, and Balance Brewing’s is far and away the best. Drinks, decor, service – all a cut above.

Richard Hards ‘Strangeways’
Manchester
Gallery
Moon Grove

A Georgian front room in Rusholme houses Moon Grove, an independent gallery with an unusually ambitious international programme.

In Focus: Chinese Contemporary Art.
Manchester
Gallery
New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery

New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery opened in 2016, providing a permanent space to showcase the University of Salford Art Collection within the New Adelphi School of Arts and Media.

Cumbria
Restaurant
1863 Restaurant

1863 offers a seven-course Lake District tasting menu that overdelivers at every turn. Cumbrian ingredients, clever ideas and classical cooking techniques.

City Centre
Bar or Pub
Schofield’s Bar

Schofield’s could be Manchester’s most grown-up bar. Very precise drinks in an upmarket city centre venue. It’s not cheap, hey, but true class costs.

Manchester
Restaurant
Sampa

Sampa’s underground space is the perfect place to learn about both her new mind-expanding dishes and vintage sherries, reimagined for the late 2020s.

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