If you’re looking to get a head-start on your Christmas shopping with the festive season just around the corner, then there’s arguably no better place in the north west than Cheshire Oaks.
Based in Ellesmere Port and just less than an hour’s drive from Manchester city centre, Cheshire Oaks is the largest Designer Outlet in the UK, and is home to over 400,000 square feet of retail space, with more than 150 boutiques, restaurants, and cafés to choose from.
Living up to its name, there’s up to 60% off the RRP in all of the brands on site, all year round.
No matter what it is you’re looking for, there’s something to suit everyone’s taste, with athletic labels, including Nike and Adidas, and high-street favourites such as Marks & Spencer and Next, to a selection of iconic fashion brands like Burberry, Polo Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Hugo Boss, Mulberry, Coach, Kate Spade, and so many more – so it’s not wonder it’s a brilliant destination to grab presents for all your loved ones this Christmas.
If all that shopping’s got you hungry, then you can even dig into Lebanese delights at Comptoir Libanais, ‘healthy’ street food at Leon, or make your way through Asian dishes at Yo! Sushi and wagamama – the list of restaurants on site is endless.
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But even though Christmas shopping is probably at the front of your mind right now, that’s not all you could be getting up to at the outlet over these next few weeks and throughout December.
Here’s everything happening at Cheshire Oaks this festive season.
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Winter Village
Winter Village / Credit: Cheshire Oaks
If you’re in need of a break from all of your gift shopping and you’re looking to grab a bite and properly get into the festive spirit, then the bookable snug huts at Cheshire Oaks’ Winter Village are the perfect place to stop, unwind, and soak up everything the season has to offer with loved ones after a buys day.
You can enjoy some traditional German bratwurst from the swing grill, or warm up with mulled wine at the bar, all under the twinkly lights of the UK’s largest Christmas tree.
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It’s important to note that the huts only be booked three days in advance.
Each bookable hut accommodates up to six people and can be pre-booked for one hour for a £10 deposit, with a £25 minimum spend per group.
No festive visit to Cheshire Oaks is complete without a visit to see the big man himself, and this year is certainly no different – but this time, you can help make all your little ones’ festive wishes come true with a morning they’ll never forget by grabbing breakfast with Santa at Carluccio’s.
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All kids eat free when two adult breakfasts are ordered from the main breakfast menu.
Breakfast With Santa at Carluccio’s is available to book every Saturday and Sunday between 9am-11am, from Saturday 4 December right through to Sunday 19 December.
For those with a creative edge, wreath making workshops are undeniably one of the best ways to get yourself feeling festive.
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So you can head on down to Cheshire Oaks throughout November and December to take part in one of the dedicated wreath making workshops, where Cheshire-based floral designer Heather will guide you through creating your very own Christmas wreath using a variety locally sourced and seasonal decorations and foliage.
There’s a range of classes on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays throughout November and December, with tickets priced £68.32.
If you’re unfamiliar with this popular festive feature at the Designer Outlet, then it’s simple – if you’re big into your shopping, or you’ve just got lots of gifts to buy this Christmas, then all you’ve got to do is spend over £200 on site and you can receive your very-own personalised bauble to hang on your Christmas tree at home.
You can find out more about Bauble Bar at Cheshire Oaks here.
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#ShareTheMagic
#ShareTheMagic / Credit: Cheshire Oaks
It’s time to #ShareTheMagic
If you do end up taking a trip to Cheshire Oaks throughout November and December, then make sure you snap a festive selfie with your nearest and dearest, and the outlet will donate £1 to its nominated charity – Passion for Learning – for every selfie it receives.
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Find the most Instagrammable spot for the ultimate seasonal selfie, as from giant red baubles, to a 110ft Christmas tree, magical winter village, and so many more, you’ll have your feed sorted for at least the next year – so get snapping, and don’t forget to use hashtag #ShareTheMagic on Instagram.
Aldi launches mystery hot cross buns and you can win £1,000 if you guess the flavours
Emily Sergeant
Aldi is launching a range of mystery hot cross buns, and there’s a cash prize up for grabs if you correctly guess the flavours.
Easter may be more than a month away at this point, but chocolate eggs, themed sweet treats, and, of course, hot cross buns are already stacked on supermarket shelves nationwide – with loads of different varieties to choose from.
Long gone are the days when the traditional current spiced hot cross buns are all you could find, as now there’s everything from chocolate orange and coffee, to lemon, blueberry, and even chilli cheese to try out.
But would you be brave enough to try a mystery hot cross bun?
In what is thought to be the first taste challenge of its kind by a supermarket, Aldi is giving shoppers the chance to win £1,000 worth of shopping vouchers if they manage to correctly guess the secret flavour of its three limited-edition hot cross buns.
Aldi launches mystery hot cross buns and you can win £1,000 if you guess the flavours / Credit: Sarah Horrigan
Launching in Aldi stores every Thursday for three weeks starting this Thursday (20 March), the mystery hot cross buns will come in eye-catching colourful packaging to tempt daring shoppers to put their taste buds to the test.
To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is pick up a pack of mystery hot cross buns, at just 99p for a two-pack, then spend some time tasting, smelling, and pondering over what the flavour may be, before submitting your guesses to [email protected].
You must be over 18 to enter, and can only enter once per flavour of hot cross bun.
There’ll be three winners in total, one for each mystery flavour, who’ll be chosen at random from correct entries.
Shoppers have until just before midnight on 6 April to get their entries in.
Featured Image – Freeimageslive
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Leaked ‘Knebworth 2026’ teaser has Oasis fans losing their minds
Danny Jones
The Oasis reunion still feels beyond surreal but Britpop fans are preparing to lose their minds all over again as the Live ’25 comeback tour looks like it could be followed by Knebworth 2026.
We really don’t want to get ahead of ourselves only to be disappointed but we can’t help it, we’re absolutely getting carried away at the mere thought of it.
You can’t trust everything on social media, we all know that, but after a seemingly legit but premature post from the official Knebworth House X account appeared online, you’ll forgive us for thinking this just might be real.
Sharing nothing more than the iconic picture of the Knebworth crowd from back in 1996 (the same one that features on the Time Flies… 1994–2009 singles compilation) with the caption, “This is history” and the date August 2026, it looks like the Hertfordshire estate could be set to host Oasis for a second time.
Oasis (Definitely Maybe) returning to Knebworth in August 2026. This post was taken down as quickly as it went up but some of the beady eyed faithful spotted it – dare to dream? pic.twitter.com/uJ6Jv4pgCJ
As shared by Clash Magazine, the post was deleted almost immediately. The question is was it a technical error, a mistake on the admin’s part or just a very clever way of teasing the masses?
Either, it’s succeeded in sending Oasis fans into a frenzy – ourselves very much included.
There has obviously been no update from the band themselves nor the Gallagher brothers themselves; we wouldn’t put it past Liam to comment on it as a way of toying with his followers but, sadly, there’s been nothing yet.
Burnage’s finest are set to play over 40 dates on the world tour and there was some speculation that their reunion could spill over into Glastonbury, but with the lineup now announced we can confirm that was far too much wishful thinking for one comeback cycle.
That being, Knebworth 2.0 was very much filed under our pie-in-the-sky daydreams up until we saw that deleted post but now we have, we can’t think about anything else over than another quarter of a million Oasis fans, if not more, descending upon the parish and its Tudor gardens for another biblical festival.
It’s up their with Woodstock as one of the most iconic festivals ever. (Credit: Mewerlackvia Wikimedia Commons)
Put it this way, if it does indeed happen and Oasis return to Knebworth is confirmed for August 2026 or any date for that matter, it’s single-handedly the only piece of music news that could possibly outweigh the gravity of their reunion tour this summer.
Plus, if it does, there’ll be one very big closing act to round off that upcoming documentary which will capture these highly-anticipated shows on film.