Blackpool at Christmas: what is on and how to do it

December is Blackpool at its most underrated. The summer crowds are gone, the seafront is dramatic rather than busy, hotel rates are at their lowest of the year, and the town puts on a proper winter season: pantomime, an ice rink, a Christmas market, carol concerts in the Winter Gardens and the sea front lit up after dark.

The shape of a Blackpool December

• Late November to mid-December is the sweet spot: everything is open, the market is running, pantomime previews start, and the town is busy but not full.
• The two weekends before Christmas are the busiest. Book restaurants and shows.
• Christmas Eve to Boxing Day is very quiet. Most attractions close on Christmas Day; several close Christmas Eve afternoon and reopen on Boxing Day. Assume nothing is open on 25 December except your hotel and the beach.
• Between Christmas and New Year the town wakes back up: pantomime runs daily, the ice rink is at its busiest, and the New Year build-up starts.

What to do

• Pantomime at the Grand Theatre. Blackpool's Victorian playhouse does a full-scale panto every year and it is the best single reason to come in December. Book early for weekend evening performances.
• The Winter Gardens season. Concerts, carol services, tribute shows and comedy in the Empress Ballroom and Opera House through the month — see the live listings below.
• The ice rink and Christmas attractions on the Promenade. Blackpool usually runs a seasonal ice rink and family attractions in the town centre through December. Skate slots sell out at weekends.
• The Blackpool Tower Ballroom in winter, with a tea dance and the Wurlitzer, is a genuinely lovely hour and largely free of queues.
• The winter beach. Low tide on a bright December morning between North Pier and Bispham is one of the best walks on the north-west coast, and it costs nothing.
• Shopping. Houndshill for the usual names, plus the independents around Church Street and Birley Street for anything more interesting.

Two nights in December

Evening one: arrive, walk the lit Promenade between the Tower and North Pier, eat early, then pantomime or a Winter Gardens show.

Day two, morning: the beach at low tide, or Showtown and the Grundy if it is wet. Coffee somewhere warm.

Day two, afternoon: Christmas market and the ice rink, then the Tower Ballroom tea dance.

Day two, evening: dinner, then the Tower Eye after dark — the lights along the coast from 380 feet up on a clear winter night are the best view of the trip.

Day three: Stanley Park and the Italian gardens, or a tram to Fleetwood market before heading home.

What to know before you book

• Check opening dates, not just opening hours. Several attractions run reduced winter timetables and close on certain weekdays in December. The Pleasure Beach runs only selected winter dates.
• Weather is the real variable. December on this coast means wind and horizontal rain as often as crisp sunshine. Build your plan around two indoor options you would be happy to use.
• Trams run all winter along the seafront and are the easiest way to get up and down the coast in bad weather.
• Parking is easy in December compared with summer — this is the one time of year driving into the centre is pleasant.
• Rooms are cheap midweek. A December Tuesday is the cheapest night of the Blackpool year.

Christmas Day and Boxing Day

If you are staying over Christmas itself, plan it deliberately. On Christmas Day expect no attractions, no trams in the usual pattern, limited buses and almost no shops — but an empty beach, a quiet promenade and a very peaceful town. Boxing Day brings the sales, the pantomime matinee and the ice rink back.

Where to stay

Our hotels sit a few streets behind the Winter Gardens and the Grand Theatre — a five to ten minute walk from both, which is exactly what you want when you are coming out of a show at 10.30pm in December rain. Book the room before the show tickets; theatre weekends fill the town.