FROM visiting Santa’s grotto to seeing the panto, making Christmas magical for kids can come with a big price tag.
But there are ways to do it on the cheap. From £5 festive trains (which can cost £65 each!) to free Santa grotto trips – and even £2.50 theatre tickets. We’ve found an amazing 36 activities to help the whole family get in the Xmas spirit.
There are hundreds of activities to do, plus there are freebies YOU can get exclusively as a Sun Club member.
Here’s our pick of the best…
See Santa for free
A trip to see Santa can feel more like a cash grab than a festive treat – some venues are charging £70 to £100 for the privilege.
But you can see the big man without paying a penny at free events.
Try Livat in Hammersmith, or Merchants Square in Paddington for a London-based meet, or Lion Yard in Cambridge – children will also get a free present.
Meet Santa and the Grinch – which locals call the ‘Trinch’ – at Trinity Walk shopping centre in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, for free every Saturday and Sunday during the festive period – visits run from now until December 21.
If none of these are nearby check your local Facebook pages for school fairs, churches and scout groups which often offer cheap or very free grottos.
Meet Santa’s elves for FREE
If Santa’s too busy, you could take the kids to meet the next best thing – his elves.
You can meet them in Andover, Hampshire, at the Chantry Centre and send Santa a letter – Santa’s post office there is free to visit.
It opened on November 21. No need to book. More information on it’s website.
See amazing Christmas lights on festive trails
The free light trail on the South Bank is running from now until January 18, and you can find a map of the 11 outdoor artworks here.
While you’re in the city, visit the Ever After Garden in Chelsea. An impressive 30,000 illuminated white roses have been set up as a beautiful installation, where families can go to remember their loved ones this Christmas.
Torquay, in Devon, hosts a free Bay of Lights trail from November 26 to January 2. Or visit the free Lightwaves festival in Salford for an early Christmas treat from December 4-7.
Go on a sculpture hunt
The kids will love to see Christmas sculptures – and the organisation Wild in Art are hosting free events around the country.
In Staines, visit the Penguin Parade where you can see penguins dressed up in snazzy Christmas outfits.
Or you can see The Snowman in the city of Doncaster, in Baddlesley Clinton in Solihull, and Anglesey Abbey in Cambridge.
You can collect a map of sculptures from Two Rivers Christmas Market Stalls, Staines.
Visit the Wild in Art website to find out more.
Be wowed by amazing winter window art
Snow Windows is an organisation that creates incredible scenes on shop windows which look like they are created out of snow.
See 20 incredible displays in Southampton as part of a free Christmas trail called Snow Windows Trail.
Find the downloadable map online.
See a Christmas show
Watch ballet performances, listen to live music and see a gorgeous Christmas lantern display at Covent Garden’s newest shopping area, The Yards.
The Lantern Light Nights are totally free and run across three Thursdays from November 27 to December 11 from 5pm to 8pm.
A Nutcracker-inspired dance from Pineapple Dance Studios will take place along with a harpist on December 4, and live Celtic music will happen on the 11th.
Meanwhile in Manchester, join the city‘s Christmas Parade on December 7 for troupes of dancers, a giant sugarplum castle and a snow queen.
Don’t pay through the nose for tickets to a musical at the West End, which could easily set you back hundreds of pounds for the whole family.
Instead, pay just £5 for adults and £2.50 for children to stand and watch the Pinocchio musical at The Globe theatre, a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe, on London‘s South Bank.
We do Christmas on a shoestring but we’re not total Scrooges – these are my top no-cost ideas
RUTH Watson feels a pang of pressure when she hears mums at the school gate discussing £300 advent calendars and matching Christmas pyjamas.
But the mum-of-four, 38, from Stockton-on-Tees, says she manages to host 25 days of fun for her kids on a shoestring budget every festive season – and it leaves them just as happy.
Ruth, whose children are aged between five months and eight years old, plans a low or no-cost activity for the family for every day of Advent.
One of her top no-cost festive activities is a Christmas music ‘Caroloake’ using YouTube Christmas songs.
The family also take trips to the library for Christmas books and go to their local light switch-on.
“We just went this weekend to the garden centre and looked around and took photographs and saw what was there. And we’ll have a little crafting room at home to make salt dough decorations,” she says.
“We really do try not to spend money,” she says.
“We’re not like Ebenezer Scrooges or anything and we have a gorgeous time, but we don’t buy into all the unnecessary waffle that some people think they have to have.”
Ruth runs a mobile ecological refill shop, Ecologico, and says that she’s motivated by ensuring the Christmas treats the family does have are both good for the planet and embedded in the community.
She’s also a fan of sourcing clothes and toys secondhand via local marketplaces, and recently found a full set of matching Christmas pyjamas to fit the whole family on Facebook Marketplace.
“I think you can do it by being a little bit savvy and looking around online and in your local community and seeing what’s out there, and not being swayed by what Instagram is telling you or what the deals are telling you on TV,” she says.
Ruth says there’s a lot of pressure on parents at Christmas.
“Compare and despair is a real thing. You hear the mums at the school gate talking or on Instagram, and you think, ‘Oh, we don’t have, you know, like, these incredible £300 advent calendars and Elf on the Shelf and matching pyjamas and all of that’,” she says.
“And some of that is lovely, but there’s actually cheaper ways that you can do it as well, or do it without spending money and still have that feeling.”
Ride a festive train for £5 instead of £65
Most ‘Polar Express’ train rides are really expensive – the Euston Polar Express costs nearly £65 per person.
But there are much cheaper options out there.
South Downs Light Railway, a steam railway in Pulborough, West Sussex, offers a festive ride for a fiver.
That buys you a nine-minute train ride through a festive ‘North Pole’ station where Santa will wish everyone season’s greetings.
Pre-booked tickets are now sold out, but limited on-the-day tickets are available.
The Copsewood miniature railway in Coventry, West Midlands, has a similar deal priced at £7.50, which includes a gift for the children and a mince pie and hot drink for the adults.
Sing carols with an orchestra or band
There’s nothing better than belting out a Christmas banger – so join a free event near you.
All Souls Langham Place in London promises a live orchestra and choir, free mince pies and a hot drink.
Services last an hour and the church is so popular it is holding them 15 times over the holiday period.
You can find out more here: https://carolservice.com/
Reserve a spot at the Salvation Army’s free concert in Regent’s Hall, Oxford Street on December 19 for traditional carols with a brass band.
Drop the kids off for a free morning of carol singing at St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh on December 6 at 9:30am.
All children between six and 12 are welcome, parents need not stay and can return for a concert at 11.30am – a perfect opportunity to get your Christmas shopping done.
Spaces are limited so sign up here.
See a free Christmas film inside…
Take a trip to Ikea where you can catch a festive film for free – but only at selected Ikea stores.
The retailer is offering two hours of film fun for kids while you shop, or simply relax, with showings including the Grinch, Elf and Home Alone.
Book online at the Ikea website, first clicking on the page for your local store then clicking the ‘What’s on In Store?’ button.
You’ll need an Ikea Family membership to sign up, but this is free and immediate to create.
…and outdoors too
Head to Folkestone’s Festive Marketplace for its free Christmas cinema programme, showing classics from Frozen to the Holiday on outdoor screens.
Wrap up warm as temperatures dip.
Book a free spot to watch Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker at the Creative Kids centre in Bournemouth on November 29 and a second festive screening (film yet to be revealed) on December 6.
You’ll need to create a ‘Magic Booking Account’ on the Creative Kids website to get hold of tickets.
Make Christmas crafts for free
Make Victorian-style Christmas decorations on December 13 at the Guildhall Art Gallery in the City of London.
Decorate and take home a Christmas decoration in Durham at the Oriental Museum in Durham University for free on December 20 at 1pm.
Sign up at Ikea for free workshops including gingerbread decorating and Christmas Eve box making on December 6 and 7 in Wembley, and on December 5, 12 and 19 in Greenwich.
Check the website for dates for your local store as similar activities run across the country.
Availability varies depending on store location, but advance booking is essential.
Visit the Sunderland Glass centre on Saturdays in December for free craft activities and a bauble trail (there’s also a £12 fused glass workshop for older children).
Find the Xmas Coca-Cola truck
Climb into the branches of Charlie the Interactive Christmas tree at Wembley Park in London and light him up with your wishes.
Find the Christmas Coca Cola Truck for free drinks and selfies – locations only revealed a day or two in advance, so follow @cocacolagbi on Instagram to find locations.
Join Julia Donaldson’s Stick Man for a free Christmas trail run by Forestry England in many of England’s forests to make the most of the wintry weather.
Parking charges apply, and a ‘trail pack’ is available for £4 to make the activity more exciting.
Keep the Santa magic alive
Keep the Christmas magic going at home too with fun free activities.
Follow Santa’s trip round the world on Christmas Eve with the NORAD Santa Tracker (https://www.noradsanta.org/en/), which will tell you just when he’s delivering the presents to the UK – and help you to get the kids into bed.
Get a free customised video message from Santa via the Portable North Pole app.
If you’d prefer a physical message, send a letter to Santa by Royal Mail by December 10 to receive a free letter back in the post.
Santa can reply in English, Welsh or Braille.
He’ll reply to letters from now. Find the address at https://www.postoffice.co.uk/write-to-santa.
Feed the kids from £1 and see Santa
Book ‘Breakfast with Santa’ at a low-cost pub chain, where Santa comes free with the meal.
Harvester offers breakfast, a Santa visit, a goody bag and chocolate for £11.99 (£12.99 on Christmas Eve).
Greene King pubs offer a similar deal for just £8.
Ikea also offers a breakfast with Santa experience in selected stores which is free (you’ll have to buy the breakfast, but it’s £1 at weekends) and you can book online.
Use Sun Club offers to get more
Sun Club members can add to the festive fun with a free pizza from Frankie & Benny’s when they buy a drink, as well as cheap theatre tickets and family race days over the Christmas period.
Find out more here: https://club.thesun.co.uk/sun-club/offers/
Win a HarperCollins Christmas book bundle
You could get the whole family reading by winning a Christmas book bundle from Harper Collins.
The bundle is worth over £150 and there will be five lucky winners.
The book selection includes Rose in Chains by Julie Soto, Weird! But True 2026 by National Geographic, Don’t Believe a Word by Susan Lewis and Into the Storm by Cecilia Ahern.
Win a Mattel Christmas toy bundle worth £1,000
One lucky Sun Club member will win the ultimate Mattel toy bundle worth more than £1,000.
The incredible bundle includes Barbie Dream Camper Vehicle Playset, UNO Zero, Polly Pocket Ice Cream House Playset and Hot Wheels T-Rex Blaze Battle.
Get cheap theatre tickets
London Theatre Direct is bringing you unbeatable deals on the biggest and best West End shows.
And exclusively for Sun Club members, you will get an EXTRA 10% off their Black Friday prices, meaning you could save up to 70% on tickets!
Tickets start from just £11 and include shows like Back to the Future, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, SIX The Musical and The Devil Wears Prada, to timeless classics such as Hamilton, Les Misérables, Oliver!, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and The Mousetrap.
Win tickets to a family race day
We have 20 tickets up for grabs, offering you and your loved ones the chance to drive the iconic Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit at Silverstone.
That’s all whilst experiencing a festive light and laser show.
Each ticket allows you to take one car around the track. And you can fill your car with as many people as there are seats, so it is perfect night out for friends and families.
Silverstone’s Lap of Lights returns by popular demand, running from Friday, December 12 to Saturday, January 3.
