The Trafford Centre has transformed into Tinsel Town for Christmas, bringing the ‘longest toboggan slide in the UK’ to Manchester as part of the festivities.
At 37 metres long, the ‘sky raising’ slide is just one of the attractions popping up outside The Orient for this year’s winter fair.
Alongside the epic toboggan slide, there are also twenty different festive fairground rides, an ice rink, ice skating show, mobile bungee, a grotto, Christmas street food and a big wheel to discover – making it a must for families this season.
Image: The Trafford Centre
Food-wise, think Bavarian bratwurst, burgers, pizza and more – with traditional german sausage huts stationed alongside local traders Old School Dogs, Oh My Glaze, The Thai Food Van, Epic Pizza, Kingdown of Sweets and Bouji Baker.
Running until 3 January, the winter wonderland will have Father Christmas in his grotto waiting to meet children who’ve been nice (and naughty) this year and hear their present requests ready for the big day.
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Each child will receive a special gift from the main man himself, as well as getting a photo with him and his elves.
There’ll also be fun rides like Santa’s Train, the Tinsel Town coaster, Rock Rage, Sky Flyer and the Reverse Bungee to check out, plus a spectacular ice-skating Snowstorm show in the Big Top tent featuring some world-class skaters and circus artists.
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Image: The Trafford Centre
How much is it?
Price-wise, it’s free to enter if you’re enjoying food, on route to see Father Christmas in his grotto or watching the Snowstorm ice skating show.
Grotto visits are priced at £5 per adult and £8 per child (not including booking fees), whilst general admission to TInsel Town is £3.50 (or £3 if booked online)>
Rides at the fairground are accessed via a token system. Tokens are £1, and it will cost you between one and three tokens per ride. Tokens can also be purchased in advance, with a block of 25 sold for £20
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Ice skating is £12 for adults at peak time, and £8 for children – with a saving available if you visit at off-peak times.
To find out more and book, visit the Tinsel Town website here.
Feature image – The Trafford Centre
Christmas
Elf the Musical is coming to Manchester for a massive Christmas arena show – promising affordable tickets for families
Daisy Jackson
Elf the Musical has announced a huge arena tour of the UK this Christmas, including THREE massive shows in Manchester.
The musical, based on the festive favourite film, will be stopping off at the AO Arena just before Christmas, before heading on to arenas in Leeds, Newcastle and Brighton.
The blockbuster film stars Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf, a human raised by Santa Claus and his elves, who travels to New York City to find his real father – with hilarious and heartwarming consequences.
The Hollywood hit was turned into Elf the Musical, a supersized live arena spectacular with a mobile stage that travels the auditorium and a massive main stage with film backdrops on a huge LED screen.
Audiences can expect everything from an audience snowball fight to an indoor snowstorm, as well as witnessing Santa’s flying sleigh, following a giant candy cane journey from the North Pole.
Aerial cirque artists will bring all of the action to life as part of a huge cast of performers.
A still from Elf the movie. Credit: Warner Brothers
Elf the Musical promises to be the biggest live Christmas show in the UK when it tours this winter.
West End star Steven Serlin will be stepping into the lead role of Buddy the Elf, with other cast members including Birds of a Feather actor Charlie Quirke (as Buddy’s NYC pal), Charlotte Hall (as love interest Jovie), and Barry Bloxham (as Buddy’s dad).
The original score has been written by Matt Sklar and Chad Beguelin and has already delighted audiences on Broadway and the West End.
Producer and director Jon Conway says: “This is the fourth year we have presented this epic version of the Broadway and Hollywood hit as part of the World’s Biggest Pantomime brand.
🆕 // JUST ANNOUNCED
🧝 #ELF, the hit Hollywood blockbuster movie has been supersized into a live arena spectacular for this Christmas!
🎫 Tickets will be available from Friday 21 April at 10am.
“Elf is always one of the most popular Christmas films and ‘Buddy The Elf’ a truly iconic character. We are returning to some venues and have made the show even bigger and better with new features to make it a really thrilling experience.
“We are keenly aware of the economic climate and are one of the few shows to have reduced our prices from Elf’s last visit for an affordable family outing!
“One of the best sights is the audiences dressing up for the show, especially the dads in elf Christmas sweaters! This is an unmissable Xmas treat.”
Elf the Musical will be at the AO Arena with two shows on 23 December (12pm and 4pm) and another on 24 December at 10am. Tickets are on pre-sale now at Ticketmaster.
Featured image: Publicity picture
Christmas
Manchester City Council confirm New Year’s Eve party at Piccadilly Gardens – but there’ll be no fireworks
Daisy Jackson
Manchester WILL have a New Year’s Eve countdown party, but rising costs will mean there’s no fireworks again this year.
Manchester City Council has today confirmed its plans for New Year’s Eve in the city centre.
The platform splits into two areas, a bar space and a family-friendly, zero-alcohol viewing platform.
The evening will consist of DJ sets and a countdown to midnight displayed on a big screen.
In previous years, the Council has arranged a huge fireworks display, previously at the Town Hall but in more recent years at the Cathedral.
Piccadilly Gardens will host the New Year’s Eve celebrations – pictured here when it was home to the Manchester Christmas Markets. Credit: The Manc Group
But this year they say they ‘simply cannot justify’ the expense when budgets are stretched so thin.
Instead, the council plans to use its limited resources for free community events year-round, like the recent Christmas Parade.
Cllr Pat Karney, Manchester’s Christmas spokesperson, said: “We know that New Year’s Eve is a special night – one that everyone looks forward to – and we are all disappointed that we can’t go ahead with our usual fireworks this year.
“Unfortunately, we simply cannot justify the increasing costs of putting on a big display while also worrying about funding essential Council services.
“We believe that we should use the limited funding we have to put on free events in communities throughout the year and we look forward to seeing more of this in the coming months.
“But we couldn’t let New Year’s Eve go by without a true Mancunian countdown. So join us before midnight in Piccadilly Gardens and help us bring in 2023 in style.”
Both spaces will be limited capacity and will be closed once they are full.
Georgina Pellant -
25th November 2021 
