The festive spectacular will take place on Saturday, November 20. Father Christmas will be landing in North Square, near Superdrug, for the official festive countdown at 2pm, as the mall comes to life with entertainers, Christmas characters and plenty of festive fun for all the family to enjoy.
On the same day, his Elves will be there to celebrate the grand opening of the centre’s Magical Grotto, giving little ones a chance to meet Santa himself and find out which list they’re on this year.
With the shopping centre in full yuletide swing, customers can look forward to a three-day festival just two weeks later, beginning on Friday 3 December in Westgate Arcade.
Selected independent shops and businesses within the arcade will be running their own in-store activities and exclusive discounts for this weekend only. More details will be revealed on the centre’s website and social media channels soon.
Queensgate’s Christmas Giving Tree will be back for another season too, this year proudly supporting Barnardo’s Children’s Charity. Visitors can pick up a tag from the tree, before buying a gift for a child in need and dropping it off at the customer service desk. Barnardo’s will visit the centre weekly to collect the gifts before wrapping and delivering them to families in need this Christmas.
Late night shopping will also return this year, to enable everyone to pick up those essential Christmas bits.
Mark Broadhead, Centre Director at Queensgate, said: “We are really looking forward to welcoming the people of Peterborough and beyond to Queensgate in the run up to Christmas. With our calendar of fun-filled festive activities, shopping experiences and displays, our centre will be a hub for Christmas cheer and sharing bags of Christmas spirit with our local community.”
The Grotto opening hours are as follows:
20 November – 1 December (open Thursday – Sunday only)
Thursday, Friday and Saturday: 10am – 6pm
Sunday: 10.30am – 4.30pm
2nd – 24th December (open daily)
Monday to Saturday: 10am – 6pm
Sunday: 10.30am – 4.30pm
Christmas Eve (24 December): 9am – 4.30pm
The Christmas late night shopping hours for the centre are as follows:
November
Monday to Wednesday: 9am to 5.30pm
Thursday and Friday: 9am to 8pm
Saturday: 9am to 6pm
Sunday: 10.30am to 4.30pm
December/January
Monday to Friday: 9am to 8pm
Saturday: 9am to 7pm
Sunday: 10.30am to 4.30pm
Christmas Eve (24 December): 8am to 5pm
Christmas Day (25 December): closed
Boxing Day (26 December): 10.30am to 4.30pm
27 and 28 December: 9am to 5pm
29 December: 9am to 5.30pm
30 December: 9am to 8pm
New Year’s Eve (31 December): 9am to 4.30pm
New Year’s Day (1 January): closed
*Normal trading hours resume from 2 January.
