Hallé Family Christmas Concert at The Bridgewater Hall

Johnny James, Managing Editor

Book now

Hallé Family Christmas Concert

The Bridgewater Hall, City Centre
1 December 2024

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

Image courtesy of The Hallé
Book now

Is it that time of year already? An annual festive favourite is back with a bang as the Hallé take to The Bridgewater Hall for their family Christmas concert.

Join the Hallé elves and their presenter Pippa the Christmas Bat (known, the rest of the year, as Lucy Tuck) for a festive journey through family film scores, tinsel clad classics and seasonal orchestral favourites.

Not many people know that Santa has a special team of highly trained bats that guide him and his reindeer through the night sky on Christmas Eve. Pippa longs to join the ranks, but she needs some help to pass Santa’s test and make it onto the Special Bat Service!

With a helping hand from the audience, Pippa will bring the programme to life as the Hallé and the Hallé Youth Training Choir whirl through the standout musical moments of films like Frozen, Elf and The Snowman, plus festive has-do-be-dones like ‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’ and ‘Carol of the Bells’. And would it really be Christmas without the ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker?

Along the way, there’ll be bat-flying, waltzing and even some cartwheels, as Santa and his reindeer whizz through the night sky on Christmas Eve.

The concert starts at 11.30am, so it’s perfect for little ones, plus if you head over early (from 10am), you can join in all the reindeer games in The Bridgewater Hall foyer. Write your own Christmas carol, take an ‘Elfie’ in a photo booth with festive props, meet members of the orchestra and scoff a Santa-approved mince pie – all before heading into the auditorium for one of the festive concerts of the year. What’s not to like?

What's on at The Bridgewater Hall

Manchester Music Walkabout Tour Press Images
Until
ActivityCity Centre
The Manchester Music Walkabout

Manchester’s famous musical legacy comes to life in this walking tour around the city, which will take you from the 1960s to the present day.

From £25.00
A crowd holding up their hands in heart shapes, with the words LOVE IS IN THE AIR overlaid in yellow.
MusicCity Centre
New Year’s Eve: Love is in the Air

Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall will be once again putting on their annual New Year’s Eve celebration. The theme this year? Love is in the Air.

From £40.00

Where to go near Hallé Family Christmas Concert at The Bridgewater Hall

Manchester
Restaurant
Midland Tea Room

Dating back to 1903, Manchester’s stately Midland Hotel now has its own dedicated tea room. Expect traditional offerings in elegant surroundings.

City Centre
Hotel
The Midland Hotel

With 312 luxurious bedrooms, the Grade II-listed Midland Hotel occupies one of the most beautiful and storied buildings in Manchester.

Society Manchester
City Centre
Society Manchester

Society Manchester is a glorious indoor and outdoor space in the very heart of the city, with five street food vendors to choose from and a range of high-quality drinks.

Manchester
Restaurant
Friska

Latest branch of Friska, the independent healthy fast food chain.

Manchester
Restaurant
Don Giovanni

Traditional Italian restaurant, serving everything from pizza to steak. All this in a large modern venue with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Haunt MCR
Manchester
Bar or Pub
Haunt MCR

Haunt MCR is a speciality coffee shop and wine bar located on Manchester’s bustling Peter Street.

Manchester
Restaurant
Exhibition

Exhibition hosts three of the city’s most celebrated independent kitchens: Osma, Baratxuri, and Jaan by Another Hand.

City Centre
Restaurant
ONDA Pasta Bar

ONDA is a treat for the tastebuds. Long dark wood tables are shared by eager diners, as tapas-style plates of fresh pasta and other Italian dishes are ferried around the restaurant.

Manchester
Restaurant
Jaan

Serving up exceptional Persian cuisine, this new food concept from the team behind Another Hand is a must-try.

City Centre
Restaurant
Nudo Sushi Box

Nudo Sushi Box on Manchester’s Oxford Road specialises in freshly-prepared boxes of – you guessed it – sushi.

What's on: Families

Until
FamiliesCity Centre
Manchester Christmas Markets

The Manchester Christmas Markets are back for 2025, with many dozens of stalls in front of the town hall, and hundreds of traders spread across city-centre squares.

Free entry
Two young visitors looking up at a banner in a case, holding pencils and an activity sheet.
Until
ActivityManchester
2025 Banner Bingo at PHM

Explore the People’s History Museum with your banner bingo card in hand as you navigate their galleries through the lens of craftivism.

Free entry
A performer in a bright red costume sits on a snowy stage set, holding a large snowball between their legs with a surprised expression. The colourful winter backdrop features snowflakes, hills, a snowman, and a traffic light with glowing lights.
FamiliesManchester
The Snowy Day

This winter, families with little ones are invited into a shimmering world of snow and discovery with the new production of The Snowy Day.

From £10.00

Culture Guides

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

It's busy month across the cinemas of the north as Halloween programming leads into two of the region's biggest film festivals.

A white mattress is burning in a black rocky landscape.
Exhibitions in the North

In galleries around the North this autumn, you'll find tactile sculptures, Treasures with a capital 'T' and plant magic.

Music in the North

From New York’s experimental underground to the most exciting sounds coming from local scenes, we're lining up a noisy autumn of gigs.

Hofesh Shechter - Theatre of Dreams at Lowry
Theatre in the North

Picks this month include bold visual art, wondrous opera and cinematic dance - plus a touch of ghostly storytelling for the Halloween season.

Poet Helen Mort.
Literature Events in the North

One to add to your TBR pile, our latest round-up is a bumper edition and features some amazing events in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and beyond...