Christmas in Wirral 2026: Hoylake's Lights, Aladdin and Winter Wonderland in Birkenhead Park

Christmas in Wirral 2026 starts on Saturday 21 November, when Hoylake and Meols switch on their lights and West Kirby Grammar School holds its free Winter Wonderland fair. The Floral Pavilion’s pantomime, Aladdin, opens in New Brighton on Saturday 5 December, and Winter Wonderland Wirral fills Birkenhead Park with a market, a light trail and a fairground from Wednesday 9 to Sunday 13 December.

The dates to know

• Saturday 21 November: Christmas lights in Hoylake and Meols, and the West Kirby Christmas fair at West Kirby Grammar School, 10am to 3pm, free.
• Saturday 28 November: Gordale’s charity Santa’s grotto opens at Burton, £8.50 a child, with every ticket going to the Hospice of the Good Shepherd (Gordale).
• Sunday 29 November: Heswall’s Christmas lights switch-on around Heswall Hall, 1.30pm to 5.30pm.
• Saturday 5 December: Aladdin opens at the Floral Pavilion, and Birkenhead Market holds its free Christmas craft market.
• Wednesday 9 to Sunday 13 December: Winter Wonderland Wirral in Birkenhead Park, £6 plus a £1 booking fee for a day (Ticket Tailor).

Last checked 14 November 2026.

See

• Wirral Christmas lights switch-on: Hoylake on 21 November and Heswall on 29 November; West Kirby, New Brighton and Birkenhead still to announce.
• Port Sunlight’s Christmas Late, Wednesday 2 December, 5pm to 8pm: late-night shopping with discounts and tastings in the museum gift shop, the Worker’s Cottage dressed for an Edwardian Christmas, short talks and a sing-along round the tree. The shop is free to enter; normal admission applies to the museum and cottage (Port Sunlight Village Trust).
• Ness Botanic Gardens: a family Christmas trail runs from Saturday 21 November to Monday 14 December, included in garden admission, and the Making Maestros Choir sings in the visitor centre on Sunday 13 December at 12.30pm (Ness Botanic Gardens).

Do

• Santa’s grotto on the Wirral: six visits from 21 November to Christmas Eve, from £8.50 at Gordale to £22 at the Floral Pavilion.
• Gordale’s charity Santa’s grotto: the hand-built grotto at Burton, its Quiet Time dates and where the money goes.
• Floral Pavilion panto: Aladdin, 5 December to 3 January, every performance and the £15 seats.
• Winter Wonderland Wirral: the five days in Birkenhead Park, opening hours, tickets and the separate grotto.
• Ice skating near the Wirral: no rink on the peninsula this year; the nearest are across the river in Liverpool and at Deeside.
• Boxing Day walks on the Wirral: 11 walks, from the Hoylake tug o’war to Bidston Hill.

Eat

• Christmas dinner on the Wirral: 11 menus with prices, deposits and booking rules.
• Pubs open on Christmas Day on the Wirral: 11 places for lunch or a pint on 25 December.

Shop

• Wirral Christmas markets: West Kirby on 21 November, Birkenhead Market on 5 and 12 December, and the Alpine Market Village in Birkenhead Park.
• Christmas shopping on the Wirral: 15 independent shops from Hoylake to Ness.
• Where to buy a Christmas tree near the Wirral: Church Farm’s forest at Thurstaston, Gordale and two more.

Travel and bins

• Wirral Christmas trains: last year’s final Merseyrail trains on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and when the 2026 times are due.
• Wirral bin collection days: only Friday rounds move at Christmas, and the brown bin pause.

Not announced yet

On 14 November nothing had been announced on the Wirral for New Year’s Eve 2026, by the council or by any venue. West Kirby, New Brighton and Birkenhead had not set their Christmas lights dates, and Port Sunlight had not listed a December village market.