Christmas
Discover the magic of Christmas in Welwyn Garden City town centre.
Join us as we kick-start the festive season in Welwyn Garden City town centre with our Christmas Lights Event on Saturday 16th November from 12 noon - 6:00 pm.
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A fun filled festive day for the whole family to enjoy. ​
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Our Christmas Lights Event is funded by the businesses of Welwyn Garden City town centre with additional sponsorship from Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council.
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Download our letter to santa and colouring competition sheet below. ​
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A visit from
Father Christmas
Father Christmas will be taking some time out of his busy schedule to join us for our festive celebrations.
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Story time with Santa in The Howard Centre
1:00 pm and 3:30 pm.
Please note this is a free activity and no booking required.
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The Rotary Satellite Club of Welwyn Garden City will be joining us in The Howard Centre, with Santa's sleigh.
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Father Christmas will be available for photos throughout the day.
Fun for everyone
We have some fantastic activities and entertainment available throughout the day.
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Magical Fairies
Stilt Walkers
Face painting
Santa's Elves
Elf car
Mascots & Characters
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Make sure you bring your camera, as we have lots of wonderful festive photo opportunities for you. ​​​
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There will be something magical happening everywhere you look in Wonderful Welwyn Garden City town centre.
Christmas Trail
Discover the magic of Christmas with our business funded Christmas light installations.
Locate all 11 installations which include: ​
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The Christmas Bear
Wilfred The Christmas Dog
The Tunnel of Lights
and many more.
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Have your photo taken with one of our giant installations and upload it to social media using
#WGCXmasLights for your chance to WIN some incredible prizes.
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Snap It | Share it | Win
Festive Fun Fair
Returning for 2024 is our ever popular fun fair.
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This year the fair will feature rides for smaller children as well as the thrill seeker favourites.
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Friday 15/11/2024
5pm - 9:00pm
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Saturday 16/11/2024
12noon - 7:00pm
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Cash and card payments accepted for all rides.
Ride prices start from £3.00.
Food and drink
A range of delicious food and drink will be available. ​
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Dotty's Sweet Bus
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German Sausage
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Waffle Wands
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Churros
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Festive refreshments
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Don't forget to check out some of the festive
hot beverages from our town centre cafes and coffee shops.
Market
A range local traders will be joining us for a festive market on Stonehills Square.
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Browse the market for great christmas ideas for friends, family and fur babies.
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For all the 2024 Christmas market days in Welwyn Garden City town centre
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​A full list of traders will be available soon.
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Entertainment
We have a full lineup of local talent for you to enjoy throughout the day.
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12 noon - Warriorz performing arts academy
12:30 pm - LAR performing arts & Talent agency
1:00 pm - StageCoach performing arts
2:00 pm - DH Dance Academy
2:30 - Elara, 12 year old westend singer
3:00 pm - The Thalian Theatre
4:15 pm - KT's Dance Academy of performing arts
4:45 pm - Immi Davis, Britain's Got Talent semi-finalist and local singing sensation.
5:30 pm - FORMZ
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FORMZ 5:30pm
Hertfordshire-born rapper, songwriter and singer FORMZ will be taking time out of creating hits and viral 'This week in the Premier League' online content to join us for our Christmas Lights Event in Welwyn Garden City town centre on Saturday, 16th November.
In 2024, Formz performed in front of 60,000 at Silverstone and has recently appeared on Sky Sports alongside Gareth Bale for his 3-word rap challenge.
Formz has a massive worldwide online following and has racked up 1.5 million streams on Spotify with over 20,000 monthly listeners and over 1.2 million followers across all social platforms.
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Event FAQs
What time will the lights be switched on? ​
The business-funded Christmas lights trail will be illuminated all day for everyone to enjoy and take photos. At 6:00 pm the tree and the lights on Howardsgate will be lit to mark the start of the festive shopping season in Welwyn Garden City town centre.
Who will be switching the lights on Howardsgate on?
TBC - We will update the page when we have confirmed this information.
Letters to Santa and Colouring competition
You can download the template from the top of this page or here.
You can also collect a copy from Kutchenhaus Welwyn Garden City, 64 Howardsgate.
Letters and coluring competition entries must be posted no later than the 17th December. Postal box inside Kutchenhaus.
Is there event parking?
Paid parking is available in The Howard Centre, Hunters Bridge, Campus West, Sainsburys. There ae a number of disabled parking spaces located on Howardsgate.
How much is the face painting?
The face painting is as much as you want it to be! We have some lovely volunteers from Willow Foundation joining us, a charity that provides special days and memories for seriously il young adults. You can make a donation of your choice on the day.
Face painting will be from 12 noon - 5pm, please note that the queue may close earlier to ensure that everyone who is in the queue is seen.
Will the town centre roads be closed?
Fretherne Road and Stonehills road will be closed from midday on Friday 15th November and remain closed until midnight on Saturday 16th November 2024. Howardsgate will be accessible, please note that the town centre will be busy so drive carefully.
Will the taxi rank be moved?
No. The taxi rank will remain in its usual location and will be accessible as normal.
Are there events toilets?
Public toilets are available in The Howard Centre, Sainsburys and a number of local businesses within the town centre.
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The Christmas Lights Event is funded by the businesses of Welwyn Garden City town centre with additional funding and support from the Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council and
The Howard Centre.
