Where to go for days out at Christmas in Manchester

The Chill Factore is an indoor snow park in Trafford. Sledging, skiing, snowboarding and sliding are all available. You can have ski and snowboard lessons, enjoy family activities or just get a lift pass and go up and down the UK’s longest real snow slope. You can rent equipment while you’re here too. It’s a fantastically cheaper alternative to going to the Alps! As if that wasn’t enough, there is more Christmas fun to be had for kids. Santa’s grotto will return from 27th November to 24th December. Every kid will get a special Christmas present when they visit. Meanwhile, parents can cosy up in the warm café over a nice cup of coffee.

The home of Parklife Festival, Prestwich’s very own Heaton Park also hosts the impressive Lightopia Festival. This Christmas lights festival is award-winning for a reason. From water shows, interactive lanterns, bright lasers and beautiful decorations, Lightopia will certainly impress you and your pals. This year’s theme is fantasy with new installations and routes. Some sub-themes include local heroes, astronomy, the musical city, a Christmas showcase and discovery. As you can tell, a wide range of festive, educational and Mancunian topics will be explored through this unique light show. Lightopia will focus your senses on the movement, form and nature of light and colours. In addition, there will be a large food cart to keep you well fed and hydrated. Lightopia Festival is running from 19th November to 3rd January. Tickets are available on their website.

Up until January 3rd, Skate Manchester is back! It’s true to say that these days the Christmas fun starts right after Halloween and Bonfire Night. The excitement returns to Cathedral Gardens where the ring will be double the size than ever before! This means more people will be allowed to skate at once and you’ll be able to bring more family members and friends with you. The rink will have a roof so you can skate no matter the weather, which is certainly necessary in rainy old Manchester. Tickets are available from £13 for adults and £11 for children. Discounts are available too if you are a family.

Something is always going on in MediaCity. The home of the BBC and ITV will also be the place for a festive day out surrounded by wonderful Christmas trees. Despite the possible national shortage of Christmas trees rumoured, there will indeed be Christmas trees available outside MediaCity’s shopping mall. Local groups, individuals and large organisations will decorate all the trees and then you will be able to bid on the them! The person with the highest bid will be able to take the Christmas tree to their lovely home. Some of the groups involved include Manchester United, Liam Livingstone LCC and Nandos. They’ll donate items like signed baubles, mini cricket bats and iPads. Each tree comes with lights too for an added bonus! The event started on 30th October and ends on 5th December. All the money from bids goes to the Francis House Children’s Hospice, so it’s all for a very worthy cause. There are plenty of other things to do too, from browsing their Christmas shop (opened till 12th December) to entering their raffle.

After all your festive activities, you may just want to have a day out in the Northern Quarter and have some scrumptious festive food. Look no further than Anthony Fielden’s cooking. One of the best places for lunch in the Northern Quarter, TNQ will have a Christmas menu offering mains from Roasted Breast of Goosnargh Bronze Turkey to Wild Mushroom Kale and Chestnut Strudel. They use the best locally sourced ingredients and search to find the great seasonal tastes. It’s easy to see why they’ve been applauded by newspapers likes of The Observer and The Sunday Times, who said TNQ was ‘one of the best British restaurants’. From award-winning Sunday roasts to their express menu, they know how to do lunch extremely well. This is the place for fabulous Christmas food in Manchester this season. Afterwards, you could then visit the nearby Christmas Markets in Piccadilly Gardens.