The Royal Exchange will be throwing a luxury Christmas shopping event this week – with free cupcakes to fuel your browsing.
The historic landmark in Manchester, which is home to shops, cafes and restaurants, will dial up the festivities this weekend.
Its luxury Christmas shopping event will run on Saturday, with special offers and lots of surprises in store.
Shoppers will be serenaded by the amazing Victorian Carol Singers, who will walk around the building treating passers-by to Christmas carols.
The Northern String Quartet will also be performing festive tunes inside the Christmas Tree-lined arcade.
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For the early birds, The Royal Exchange will be handing out free cupcakes inside the arcade while stocks last.
Visitors to French Connection will be welcomed by an in-store Christmas event, with its own music, competitions, goody bags (for the first 20 purchasing customers), festive drinks and mince pies.
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You can ease all those pre-Christmas stresses at Amaranth Health & Beauty, which will offer a free 10-minute taster massage, Pukka herbal tea tasting, and Raw vegan chocolate tasting.
It’s also throwing in a free goody bag when you spend £30 or more, and has special offers on NEOM Organics.
The freebies continue at L’Occitane, where anyone who spends more than £45 will be able to select a free beauty bauble of their choice.
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It’s 15% off at the Yards Store for anyone who signs up to their newsletter in store on Saturday, and there’s 10% off all purchases in store at Diamond Heaven, as well as free jewellery engraving for items bought on the day.
The Royal Exchange’s Luxury Christmas Shopping Event will take place on Saturday December 4, between 1pm and 4pm.
Featured image: Supplied
Shopping
A major Manchester attraction is now offering 50% off kids tickets all autumn
Emily Sergeant
A major Manchester attraction is now offering 50% off kids tickets all autumn.
Autumn in Greater Manchester may be a thing of beauty, but if one thing’s for certain, the weather to get out there and appreciate the season it isn’t always the most reliable. That’s why many parents, guardians, and carers are often on the lookout for indoor activities to take the kids to when the heavens open – even better if the don’t break the bank too much.
Luckily, families looking for an affordable day out over the next couple of weeks can make the most of a new offer from a popular attraction, with 50% off child one-day tickets when purchased alongside a full-price adult ticket.
The offer gives families the chance to enjoy an underwater adventure for less at either SEA LIFE Manchester inside Trafford Palazzo, or a tad further afield SEA LIFE Blackpool.
At SEA LIFE Manchester, families can explore more than 30 display tanks and discover over 5,000 sea creatures – from sharks and rays in the immersive Ocean Tunnel, to colourful jellyfish and inquisitive sea turtles at Turtle Beach.
Meanwhile, over at SEA LIFE Blackpool, there’s a newly transformed ocean tank – which reopened early this summer following a £1.4 million refurbishment.
The 500,000-litre Jurassic-themed habitat is home to more than 50 creatures, including blacktip reef sharks, nurse sharks, stingrays, and green sea turtles.
Fancy it then? The half-price offer is currently live and runs up until 15 October 2026, with up to three discounted child tickets per booking.
The offer can only be redeemed when you book tickets online here.
Featured Image – Supplied
Shopping
Aldi confirms ‘special’ 62-hour closure of all its 1,000+ stores across UK
Emily Sergeant
Aldi has announced that it’ll, once again, be closing the doors of all of its stores across the UK for 62 hours this year.
Christmas is always known to be one of the busiest periods of the year for the retail industry, and Boxing Day has a reputation for being the ultimate day for shopping deals and discounts in the UK – but this year, just like it has done on several years in the past, Aldi has made the decision to close all of its stores nationwide on this bank holiday.
The supermarket retailer says it wants to thank its colleagues ‘for all their hard work’ throughout the year by giving them some extra time to spend with their families.
This means that all Aldi stores will be closed on both 25 and 26 December.
That’s not all though, as stores will also be closed on New Year’s Day, and will reopen once again on Saturday 2 January 2027.
Aldi has announced a ‘special’ 62-hour closure of all its UK stores / Credit: Aldi UK
Opening hours at different Aldi stores across the UK will vary in the lead-up to Christmas, so it’s important to check the times for your local store, but the retailer has confirmed that most branches will be operating extended hours to ‘ensure customers can stock up ahead of the big day’
In the interim period between Christmas and New Year, stores will reopen as usual on Sunday 27 through to Wednesday 30 December, with reduced hours also likely on Sunday and New Year’s Eve.
Speaking on the decision to shut up shop for a full 62-hour period this festive season, Rachel Geary, who is the Communications Director at Aldi UK, said: “Christmas is a special time for our customers, but it is also one of the busiest periods of the year for our teams.
“Our colleagues work incredibly hard to ensure customers can pick up everything they need ahead of the big day.
“We never take that effort for granted. Closing our stores on Boxing Day is one way of saying thank you and giving colleagues a proper chance to rest, switch off and spend more time with the people closest to them.”
Daisy Jackson -
2nd December 2021 
