Don’t ask us when it happens, but there’s a point in life where you favourite place on earth becomes a garden centre.
And garden centres don’t come much fancier than Bents Garden Centre, an enormous sprawl of a building filled with the obvious stuff (like, you know, garden plants) but also so much more.
The Warrington favourite is never more popular than at Christmas, when it turns into a twinkling wonderland and people from across the north west make the pilgrimage.
There are colourful decorations spilling out from every corner, from themed baubles to fairy lights to festive soft furnishings.
Bents Garden Centre does not hold back on its decorating – this year alone there are Alpine dining scenes, a life-size car with presents spilling out of the boot, and an arctic landscape with polar bears and igloos.
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That’s on top of a whole display inspired by an ice cream parlour, and others that take inspiration from woodland and The Grinch.
There’s also a winter food market, where wooden lodges sell everything from Yorkshire pudding wraps to bratwurst sausages to beef brisket sandwiches.
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Inside Bents Garden Centre at Christmas. Credit: The Manc Group
In the outside space there are heated dining globes, decorated with plants, blankets and bunting.
Bents garden centre is so popular, it even had a fairly famous visitor a couple of years ago, when Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury popped in for a day out, documenting the whole thing to her (at the time) 1.7m YouTube subscribers.
She proudly showed off a trolley piled high with food-themed baubles, in the shape of cakes, doughnuts, gingerbread men, candy canes, and even a giant pink lollipop.
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She said: “Don’t ask me why we’ve never come here before. It’s SO cosy.”
Molly-Mae added: “This garden centre, Bents, in I think Warrington, it’s unbelievable. I don’t know why we’ve never come here before.
“It’s kind of like a farm shop too, they’ve got food and food stalls. I am so excited to come back here with a baby next year, like it’s so special.
“It is quite expensive I’m not gonna lie, to get all the decorations and things, but we’ll keep them each year and reuse them.”
A big Christmas sing-along concert with Alexander Armstrong and Aled Jones is coming to Manchester
Emily Sergeant
We know it’s only April, but brace yourselves… we’re about to talk about Christmas.
You are reading today’s date correctly, but whether you can believe it or not, this isn’t an April Fool, as it’s time to get ready to lift your voices and celebrate the festive season because The Big Christmas Sing-a-Long starring much-loved performers and presenters, Aled Jones and Alexander Armstrong, is heading out on its debut UK tour later this year.
This heartwarming live experience is promising to be an ‘unforgettable’ evening of music, laughter, and Christmas cheer.
Performing in some of the most beautiful cathedrals and venues across the UK, when the concert arrives in Manchester in late November, it’ll be taking over the stunning Manchester Monastery.
On the night, Aled Jones – who is one of the UK’s most iconic voices – will perform some beloved highlights, including his signature rendition of ‘Walking in the Air’, alongside a selection of classic festive carols, and joining him on stage will be Alexander Armstrong, whose rich vocals and natural charm will bring ‘humour, warmth, and festive sparkle’ to every performance.
It may be Aled and Alexander’s show, but audiences are also being told to expect some special surprises along the way too.
As this is a sing-along event, audiences will be invited to put on their favourite Christmas jumper and join in with a joyful mix of traditional Christmas carols and modern festive favourites.
The Big Christmas Sing-a-Long – UK Tour Dates 2026
Tuesday 24 November – Llandudno Venue Cymru Theatre
Sunday 29 November – Manchester Monastery
Tuesday 1 December – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Wednesday 2 December – Durham Cathedral
Thursday 3 December – Bath Forum
Friday 4 December – Guildford G Live
Wednesday 9 December – Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
Thursday 10 December – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Friday 11 December – York Barbican
Sunday 13 December – Edinburgh Queens Hall
Tuesday 15 December – Birmingham Town Hall
Sunday 20 December – Bexhill De La Warr Pavilion
Monday 21 December – London Union Chapel
The tour kicks off in Llandudno on 24 November and wraps up in London on 21 December – with a stop off here in Manchester on Sunday 29 November.
The Big Christmas Sing-a-Long is coming to Manchester Monastery on Sunday 29 November, and is expected to capture the true spirit of Christmas, offering a magical evening filled of festive cheer and uplifting songs that everyone can join in with.
Tickets go on general sale tomorrow (Thursday 2 April) at 9:30am, and you can get your hands on them when they go live here.
Featured Image – Supplied
Christmas
Massive festive event dubbed the ‘Glastonbury of Christmas’ is returning to the North West
Daisy Jackson
The North West’s most extravagant festive event, with everything from a frozen skating pond to a snow-covered world filled with elves, will return just outside Greater Manchester this winter.
Dubbed the ‘Glastonbury of Christmas’, LaplandUK recreates the home of Father Christmas himself right outside Greater Manchester.
The event was so popular last year, organisers are expecting more than one million people will join the queue for tickets when they go live this week – with tickets expected to sell out in hours.
Families who book tickets for LaplandUK – which range in price from £60 to £195 – will be greeted by hundreds of elves and other performers in a snow-covered landscape.
You’ll be able to visit the Lapland Toy Factory to make a toy for Santa’s sleigh; decorate gingerbead with Mother Christmas in the Lapland Bakery, as well as skating on a frozen pond and travelling through the Whispering Woods.
Every child leaves LaplandUK with a gift from Father Christmas.
The immersive experience takes around four and a half hours from start to finish, but the magic begins way before – ticket-holders are sent personalised invitation boxes (which you can pop in the freezer for extra magic for the kids).
LaplandUK has invested an additional £30m into its Cheshire site, which is the second location after a long-standing residency in Ascot.
Keeping this impressive festive event running are more than 2000 members of staff across the two sites.
It’s drawn in some very high-profile guests, too, with previous visitors including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Sir Elton John, and the Beckhams.
The Lapland experience is based on eight best-selling books, written by founders Mike and Alison Battle.
LaplandUK will run from 7 November to 24 December 2026, with tickets ranging from £60 to £195.
Tickets for LaplandUK Manchester go on sale from 10am on Friday 27 March HERE, with the waiting room open from 9am.
Daisy Jackson -
30th November 2024 
