Christmas in Stretford town centre

The December Stretford Socials will be a local and independent Christmas shopping special, courtesy of local makers and traders selling seasonal cakes, bakes and gifts. Full of festive cheer, the event will see the Longford Community Choir carol singing by the piano and fundraising for Mind at 1.00pm and Father Christmas will be making a very special appearance too.  

Letters to Father Christmas will be launching with stationery provided with the letters posted in the specially sign posted letterbox. 

Festive crafting will be provided throughout the day in the SQ and everyone is invited to create their very own Christmas decoration for the Community Tree. Plus Beatties Bakery will be hosting decorate your own Christmas biscuit workshops. Crafting for younger children will be provided by Trafford Council Family Information Service who will be on hand to talk about their services.  

The Common Room (the former Bon Marche unit) has been transformed into a deep dark wood themed space and will be hosting Cirkl Studios who will be giving taster sessions on music production for young people and Yoga Cat will also be hosting drop in sessions for all the family, both from 1.00-3.00pm.

There will also be a big focus on seasonal fundraising for local organisations. Stretford Scouts will be taking the pressure off Christmas prep by running a wrapping station with donations going towards fixing their leaky Scout Hut roof.

There will be a pre-loved Christmas jumper, dress and partywear sale in aid of the Little Green Sock Project. 

Longford Park Pets Corner, Stretford Food Bank and Stretford in Bloom will also be popping up with the opportunity to donate to their important work in the community. 

The FREE Family Christmas Fun Day on 16th December will keep families entertained and is a great way to start the Christmas holidays. Crafting includes a festive Macrame Session hosted by Positive Vibes. Places for the 3.30pm session have to be booked and it’s priced at £8.00 per person. 

There will be a bumper range of local traders and makers on hand from 12.00-4.00pm selling Christmas gifts and bakes.

Resident cafe, Uplift, are hosting a festive breakfast featuring a visit from Father Christmas. There’s no need to book, just take a table and order the festive breakfast.

Breakfast with Santa will be followed by a screening of festive favourite, The Gruffalo’s Child at 12:30pm 1:30pm and 2:30pm (no need to book, just drop in) in The Common Room. Meanwhile, the Gruffalo himself will be paying a visit for photos.

All the retailers in the Mall will be open throughout December for Christmas shopping. All the opening hours for the festive period can be found here.