Christmas: Things to do in Sale
Everything4 Presents Christmas
Everything4 is going big for Christmas, hosting a range of events to help you create memories with your little ones. Activities include a Scout Elf Disco Party, a magical Santa's Grotto and Christmas Teepee Sleepover Tents. You can even hire Santa himself with his helpers to attend your workplace Christmas party or event!
Ashton on Mersey Village Christmas Light Switch On
Saturday 18 November, 11am-5pm.
Always a lovely community event, expect stalls, entertainment, Santa on his sleigh plus - of course - the switch on itself!
Illuminated Boats Cruise 2023
Saturday 25 November from 5pm
The annual festive boat cruise from Sale Cruising Club is back for 2023. Starting at The Bridge Inn, festively-decorated boats will glide up the Bridgewater Canal past Sale Town Hall. Always a popular, busy event, so please be careful if you’re standing next to the canal!
Christmas at the vintage retro and pre-loved warehouse
Late night shopping
Thursdays, 12-8pm
Touchwood Designs is hosting late-night Christmas shopping evenings every Thursday in December until 8pm. Includes mulled wine and music. If your child hasn’t posted their letter to Santa yet, they can do so in Touchwood’s festive postbox. Children can receive a message from Santa written on vintage scrolled paper tied with red ribbon (£4).
📍 51-53 Chapel Road, Sale M33 7FD
The Belmore Christmas Light Switch On
Thursday 30 November from 5pm
Choir will be singing all your favourite Christmas carols. Plus, The Abberettes will be performing some of the biggest ABBA hits.
Lights will be switched on around 7pm.
📍The Belmore, 143 Brooklands Road, Sale M33 3QN
Emporium M33 © Life in Sale
Christmas Shopping Nights @ Emporium M33
30 November and 21 December
Open until 9pm
Emporium M33 is hosting two late-night Christmas shopping nights. You can enjoy a glass of fizz while shopping around for some inspiring gift ideas.
📍 Emporium M33, 3-7 Tatton Road, Sale M33 7EB
The Snow Queen
Waterside, 1 Waterside, Sale, M33 7ZF
29 November- 30 December | 11am, 2pm, 6pm
Tickets £7-£16
Promising a ‘theatrical treat for ages 4-104’, Wrongsemble’s The Snow Queen brings a month of festive family fun to Sale’s Waterside with a vibrant musical reimagination of the classic Christmas fairytale from Wednesday 29 November – Saturday 30 December.
Christmas Tree Festival
St Martin's Church, M33 5QQ
Thursday 30 November | Friday 01 December | Saturday 02 December - 10am-4pm and 6-8pm | Sunday 03 December, 12-4pm
Free entry, seasonal refreshments available.
Walkden Gardens’ dovecote © Life in Sale
Carols Around the Dovecote
Walkden Gardens
Saturday 02 December, 12.30-3.45pm
Friends of Walkden Gardens’ annual event returns for 2023, with local school choirs performing across the afternoon. Includes stalls, German beers, sausages and mulled wine. Free admission.
Christmas Lantern Parade
Stanley Square and Waterside
Saturday 02 December
Stanley Square and Waterside are partnering this year to bring you a Christmas Lantern Parade.
Festivities start from 2.30pm, including free lantern workshops from Our Kids Social. The parade itself is set to start at 4.30pm at Waterside Plaza and it will finish in Stanley Square. It will be led by travelling discoteque Compact Disco and performers from Hula Hula Circus with a giant star lantern leading the way.
The Bridge Inn Christmas Market
The Bridge Inn, Dane Road, Sale M33 7QH
Thursday 07 December from 5pm
The Bridge Inn is hosting its first Christmas market this year. Will includes plenty of stalls to help you tick off your Christmas gift list.
Walton Park © Life in Sale
Walton Park Train ‘Santa Special’
Saturday 09 December, 11am-1pm and 1pm-3pm
Tickets £4 (includes small gift), train ride for adults 30p
Walton Park Trains is hosting its ‘Santa Special’ rides. Only 250 tickets in total are available and are sure to sell-out quickly. If you’d like to take a ride, you can buy tickets from neighbouring Walton Perk (who will also be open on the day to serve the grown-ups mulled wine and hot cider!)
Booster Cushion Theatre for Children present… A Christmas Carol
Saturday 09 December, 2pm at Sale Library - FREE
Booster Cushion Theatre brings the classic story to life in a comical extravaganza for the whole family.
With the help of a large 60cm tall pop-up book and lots of humbugs, this very entertaining version of the Dickens’ classic tale takes the audience back to Victorian England using mime, voice and a couple of suitcases loaded full of ghosts!
An old Dickensian narrator arrives to tell us the news, fresh from London town about the story he has heard of Scrooge. He opens his Big Book but as he does he starts transforming into the different characters!
The audience watches as he turns into a grumpy Scrooge, a very goofy Marley and the Three Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Future.
The show runs for approximately 50 mins and is suitable for ages 5 years olds plus.
Santa's Grotto
St Paul's Church, M33 7YA
09 and 16 December 2023
St Paul’s Santa's Grotto has been running for decades in Sale and is a very popular event in the festive calendar.
Each child will not only get to meet Santa, but they will also receive a Christmas craft pack and a gift.
A Christmas party extravaganza night
Ashton on Mersey Golf Club, M33 5QQ
Friday 08 December from 7.30pm.
An evening of live entertainment from Tom Morrison and disco.
Friday 08 December from 7.30pm. Food served 8.45-9.45pm.
Tickets: £25 - available from behind the bar or email barmanageraomgc@gmail.com.
Brooklands Health Club Christmas Market
Whitehall Road, Sale M33 3NL
10 December 2023, 12-4pm
Expect a range of stalls, live music and perhaps even the chance to meet Santa (if he's not too busy!)
📍 Brooklands Health Club, Whitehall Road, Sale M33 3NL
Little Penguin's First Christmas
Waterside, M33 7ZF
12 - 15 December 2023
Tickets £16 (one adult + one baby), £8 per additional adult or baby
An immersive, festive experience for babies aged 0-36 months and their grown-ups! Filled with puppetry, original music and sensory delights to stimulate and captivate, this show is a perfect first theatrical experience for your little one.
Join Little Penguin in her winter wonderland as she discovers the magic of her first Christmas.
Breakfast with Santa
Kings Ransom, Britannia Road, Sale M33 2AA
16 and 17 December, 9-11am
Tickets: £15 per child. Please note: this event is in conjunction with Grip Adventure (see below). Children can enjoy breakfast, and then visit Santa on his floating grotto.
Tickets are limited: to book, call 0161 969 6006.
Floating Santa's Grotto
Grip Adventure, M33 2AA
16, 17, 21, 22 and 23 December - 11am-6pm each day
Tickets: £15 child (includes gift) or family ticket £25 (up to three children, adults free).
This magical floating Santa's Grotto returns to Sale this year, located on the Bridgewater Canal next to the Kings Ransom (car park free to pub customers).
Sale Sings Choir Christmas Performance
Stanley Square
19 December at 8pm
Local choirs Chorlton Sings and Sale Sings will be performing together at Stanley Square. The performance is free to attend and will bring some festive cheer to shoppers.
Follow Sale Sings on Instagram.
Walkden Gardens, Sale © Life in Sale
Christmas walks
If you’re going to eat your body weight in mince pies, you might as well try to walk some of them off! Sale is lucky to have some fantastic green spaces to stroll around. Which one will you choose?
Wander around Worthington Park (M33 2DQ) and take in its natural beauty. The park has some lovely features including the JP Joule memorial, the sunken garden and a playground. Extreme Coffee is usually parked up to deliver a caffeine hit too!
You probably don’t want to walk the entire 65km route along The Bridgewater Way, but why not take in some fresh air on part of the route? Pop to Walton Perk for a pick-me-up while you’re there!
Walkden Gardens (M33 3EL) looks great whatever the season, it’s a tranquil beauty spot on hand to help you escape from festive stresses this year!
Explore Sale Water Park(M33 2LX); it has a lake, woodland, meadows and the River Mersey.
Christmas shopping
Sale has loads of great independent shops for you to choose from this festive season. Highlights include…
If you like to do all your Christmas shopping at once, head over to Emporium M33, Sale’s ‘shop small’ destination. There you’ll find a wide selection of local, independent businesses, including Shine, Flair Boutique and Off Ye'r Rocker.
Krafthaus Studio and Store, located on Hope Road. Owned and run by designer Holly Ramsay, not only does she sell her own prints in-store, she champions other local makers. You’re bound to find some unique gifts in time for Christmas.
If you want to buy a beautiful gift for someone, you can’t go wrong with something from Sale-based designers, The Sculpts – a new arrival in Sale’s Stanley Square this year. This independent company design and make exquisite hand-illustrated gifts that include decorative alphabet tiles, bone china mugs, stunning art prints and gorgeous tote bags.
Alongside their Northern Alphabet range, The Sculpts have now launched some exciting new designs and handmade homewares (as seen above), just in time for Christmas.
Images © The Sculpts
Treats for the grown-ups
You should have no shortage of festive food and drink options in Sale this Christmas.
Treat yourself to dinner at one of Sale’s best restaurants: The Perfect Match on Cross Street. After all, it is the season to eat well and be merry.
Looking for a gift for a beer lover? Hops & Boogie have you covered, with a wide selection of takeaway ales available.
Christmas stressing you out? Prepare yourself with a self-care treat at The B Company on Washway Road.
If you don’t fancy cooking Christmas dinner this year, let Egginton’s do the heavy lifting. A delicious festive feast will arrive on Christmas Eve, fully prepared with heating instructions. What more could you ask for?!
Email hello@eggintons.co or call 07850 919 728 to pre-order your Christmas dinner.
ComedySportz Improvised Adult Panto
Waterside, M33 7ZF
15 & 16 December 2023
Tickets £9.50 (16+)
Bored of the same pantomimes every year? ComedySportz is back this Christmas for more totally improvised pantomimes! Heroes, villains, songs and silliness are guaranteed as the gang create brand-new pantomime adventures using audience suggestions... and a sprinkling of fairy dust. Oh yes they do!
