35 things to see and do in Thanet, December 3-4

chwestgate1 — Westgate Christmas event (2021) Photo Carl Hudson

Westgate light switch on

The big light switch on takes place on December 4th with family fun from 11am to 5pm in Station Road. There will be music, stalls, fun fair, food and Santa.

FNKHAUS will be the headlining band this year. They will be on stage 2 between 4pm and 5pm and will be counting in the light switch on at 4.30pm

Father Christmas in person (located in train station reception)

Live on-stage entertainment throughout the day across two stages including – Coastal Choir, MOS Cast of Dick Whittington, Treble Bass, Off the Hook Productions, FNK Haus

Fun Fair

Christmas Market

Craft Stalls

Food and drink stalls

12.30pm-12.45pm Santa Parade

4.30pm Lights switch-on

Oval Bandstand Cliftonville

Get in the festive spirit with mulled wine, great shopping, food, and free live music at The Oval Bandstand & Lawns on December 3 from noon until 5pm.

Bring your family and friends and join a fabulously festive afternoon of great shopping, delicious food, and live music!

As well as the usual range of alcoholic drinks and cocktails, The Oval Bar will be offering mulled wine to warm you up, and The Oval Kiosk will be serving up hot chocolate and festive treats.

Santa Claus will join the fun and tickets will be available to meet him in his grotto!

Event organisers GRASS will also be lighting up the bandstand with Christmas lights.

Free but tickets need reserving here

Birchington Christmas fun

Christmas fun in Birchington takes place on Saturday, December 3.

There will be activities including a Christmas trail, face painting, Santa’s Grotto, stalls and more.

9am-3pm Craft and Food Fair on Dog Acre (Opposite Library)

Christmas Trail

10am-4pm Santa’s Grotto at Baptist Church hall (Tickets £2 booked at Your World Financial Services)

Face Painting and glitter tattoos

Kids activities in participating shops

2pm Morris Dancing and Mulled Wine at Christies Wine Bar & Bistro

3pm Light Switch On

Organised by Birchington Traders and Together

Cliffsend Village Hall

The switch-on takes place on December 3 at 6pm. There will be mulled wine and hot chocolate with a free mince pie for every drink bought.

There will be performance from Star Dance Academy.

The organisers are raising funds for Rainbow Ward at QEQM Hospital with donations going to the ward’s Amazon wishlist.

Ramsgate Tunnels

Saturday 3rd December – Keep the Home fires Burning – A talk by Isaac Naylor

This Christmas special will investigate the consequences of the Battle of the Atlantic on the people of Ramsgate in 1940 facing a Christmas of scattered families, rationing, and improvisation. It will also explore the stories of the Dig for Victory Campaign, the British Restaurants, the National Salvage Campaign and the various Warships Weeks and Spitfire Drives, when residents dug deep into their waste and wallets to play their part in keeping the home fires burning!

Sunday 4th December – Christmas Fun 10am to 4pm

There will be 1940’s Christmas cookery demonstrations throughout the day from our good friend and 1940’s reenactor, Judith Knight. There will also be free Christmas decoration making and rock painting, a 1940’s vintage clothing stall, a vintage collectables stall, unusual gifts from the gift shop, a Teddy bear tombola run by the local brownies, and fundraising stalls for the local RNLI and the St Lawrence Clock Restoration Appeal.

The cafe will be selling festive Mulled Wine, Hot Chocolate and cake.

Entry to the event and museum is free but tours of the tunnels will run as normal throughout the day.

Father Christmas at the Caves

Margate Caves, December 3-23

Weekends from Saturday 3rd December 11am to 4.30pm and then Monday to Friday 11am to 4.30pm from Monday 19th to Friday 23rd December.

The Margate Caves are being transformed into a sparkly subterranean snow-land this Christmas as the great man flies in from the North Pole and sets up his magical and merry wonderland, hidden far below the hustle and bustle of Northdown Road.

The jolly elves will welcome you to the Caves and invite you to explore the subterranean Winter Wonderland, with seasonal selfie points, festive trails and activities. Hark! The Chief Elf will call when it’s time for your visit! You’ll enjoy some time with Father Christmas and the children will receive a special gift. There’ll be a chance to create a Christmas craft to take home, as well as enjoying our subterranean wonderland.
The café will be serving seasonal specials along with sweet treats, and there is range of gifts for all the family available in the shop.

Children will be able to meet the man in red, receive a gift and explore the festively-themed Caves, with the shop and café open for festive themed treats and gift buying!

Tickets are £10 per child including entry to the Caves, a visit to Father Christmas, a craft activity and gift to take away

Up to 2 adults per booking are FREE and no ticket required

Additional adults charged at £4 and will require to pre-book

https://www.margatecaves.co.uk/

Father Christmas at Crampton Tower

Crampton Tower, Broadstairs, December 3-18

Journey up the Crampton Tower, through the elves workshop, to visit Father Christmas in his grotto.

1pm-4:30pm Every Saturday and Sunday (3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, 17th and 18th December)

Kids of all ages enjoy the model railway layouts and, if the weather allows, they’ll love to ride on the 5-inch gauge miniature railway!

Price £10 per child includes: Visit to Santa’s Grotto, a carefully chosen gift, entry to the museum and one free train ride per paying child (weather permitting)

Accompanying parents and guardians (maximum of 2 per group) gain free entry.

No pre-booking but please come early to avoid disappointment.

Pay desk opens at 12:30pm (Cash Only)

Last admission 4pm or when maximum numbers have checked in,

Hot drinks and children’s play area in the warm waiting room in our main hall.

Tickets and Pricing

£10 per child https://www.cramptontower.co.uk/

RETURN TO DUST (PG)

Palace Cinema, Broadstairs

A gorgeous, deeply heartfelt and gentle story about finding love in unexpected places. Humble, unassuming Chinese farmers Ma and timid Cao, virtual strangers, find themselves forced into an arranged marriage. But faced with overwhelming adversity, an unexpected bond begins to blossom, as both Ma and Cao, uniting with Earth’s cycles, create a haven for themselves in which love can thrive.

Saturday 3 December to Tuesday 6 December

Booking details here

The Total Stone Roses at Ramsgate Music Hall

Doors Open: 7:30pm

Entry Requirements: 14+ (under 18s must be accompanied by an adult)

£20 + Booking Fee Book now

Indie Amnesty: Margate Christmas Special

December 3, The Albion Rooms, Cliftonville, 8pm start

Indie, Britpop and rock’n’roll bangers. For one night only, pretend it’s 2007 again and spray your jeans on, cut a fringe in and dance until late

General Admission £7.00 + Booking fee Book now

Festive beer Christmas Cracker

December 3, open noon – 5pm, Gadds Tap Room, 7 Hornet Close (Pysons Road industrial estate)

Celebrate the annual release of the festive beer Christmas Cracker.

12.30pm Ceremonial tapping of the cask

2pm-4pm Live music from Gaddzukes

Tasty food from URBAN GRiLLAZ

Christmas gifts shopping

Takeaway beer collections

Mulled wine

Margate W.I Christmas Fayre

December 3, open 11am-4pm, Dreamland Roller Room

Stalls from local makers and creatives plus a live performance from the Margate WI Fiddlers

Free entry

Dickens House Museum dressed for Christmas

December 3-4, 1pm-4.30pm (last entry at 4pm)

Dickens House Museum celebrates Charles Dickens’ long connection with Broadstairs (1837-1851). It is housed in the cottage that was Charles Dickens’ inspiration for the home of Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield. According to the reminiscences of Charles Dickens son Charley, they regularly had tea there with Miss Mary Pearson Strong, and her belief of her right to stop the passage of donkeys in front of her cottage became the donkey incident for the character of Betsey Trotwood.

The museum will be open for tours. There is also children’s crafts available including decoration making, to hang on your own tree at home. The gift shop will also be open for browsing including children’s books, classic books gift sets, Christmas candles, homewares, puzzles, cards, gifts and stationary.

Adult- £3.50

Child- £1.50

Family (2 Adults & 2 Children) £8.50

Holy Trinity Church Margate Christmas fair

Watch the fabulous Rock choir and also dancers perform at the Holy Trinity Church Margate Christmas fair on Saturday, December 3.

Performances are from 11am and 1.30pm, admission is free.

Christmas Cracker Wonderland Manston

With RAF Manston History Museum at Hanger 3, Spitfire Way, Manston

December 3-4, open 10am-4pm

Enjoy a Christmas Cracker Wonderland weekend extravaganza for all the family with the team from RAF Manston History Museum

Visit Santa in his Airwolf helicopter Grotto (£5pp including a gift)
Tank and Fire Engine Rides
1940’s Photo Booth
Snowball Fights
Browse the craft market
Sample the food stalls
Bouncy Castle, inflatables and face painting for the children
Enjoy entertainment and much more

Free entry, additional cost for rides applies)

Academy FM Thanet Christmas fair

December 3, 2pm-5pm, Royal Harbour Academy upper site, Marlowe Way, Ramsgate

Christmas stalls, music and carols from the RHA choir.

Ramsgate’s Living Advent Calendar

A different venue every evening in December up to Christmas, 6.30pm-8pm

Raising money for Thanet Shelter and Support

December 3 at 13-16 Spencer Square, Ramsgate

December 4 at 27 Grange Road and Mill Cottages gate, Ramsgate

Holy Trinity Church Ramsgate Christmas fair

December 3, 1pm-3pm, Church is in Bellvue Road

Books, pre-loved clothes, cakes, refreshments, toys, children’s activities, games, raffle

Holy Trinity Broadstairs Christmas fair

December 3, 10am-2pm (Nelson Place, Broadstairs)

Stalls, books, raffle, tombola, lunches, refreshments

Roald Dahls Matilda the Musical (PG)

Matilda Wormwood is a little girl with big curiosity, a sharp mind and a vivid imagination — and the worst parents in the world. While her parents content themselves with trashy TV and dodgy money-making schemes, she loves to lose herself in the pages of her beloved books. On meeting an inspirational teacher, Matilda is encouraged and begins conjuring her own fantastical tales.

December 2-8. Booking details here

The Baby Ronnie Foundation Christmas fun day

December 4, 1pm to 4pm, Garlinge Methodist Church

Giant Christmas craft and gift fair

December 3, 10am-3pm at Hartsdown Academy, Margate

Free admission, free Santa’s Grotto with small treat for every child

Winter Open Days: Christmas Decoration

December 3-4, Powell Cotton Museum, Quex Park, Birchington, 11am – 3pm

Dust off those winter coats and have a grand day out with your family.

Your ticket includes a visit to the Museum, a guided tour of Quex House and entrance to Quex Gardens.

Activities include:

* Create and take home your own festive decoration for your Christmas tree

* Get arty by making your own festive wrapping paper design

* Immerse yourself in the Christmas spirit by enjoying the wonderful voices of Rhythm Express Performing Arts, performing some of your festive favourites in Quex House at 12pm and 1:30pm. (Each performance is approx. 30 minutes)

£2.50 per person, all ages. Additional donations towards the cost of craft activities or generally to support our work are gratefully accepted.

The Elf Express

December 3-24, Quex Park, Birchington

Open 3rd & 4th, 10th & 11th, 17th – 24th December from 10am

All the good boys and girls are invited to board the Elf Express and depart to the Magical Elf Forest where the elves are eagerly awaiting your arrival.

The elves need your help to prepare for the big day and may even reward you with a sweet treat or two.

Enjoy the spectacular Christmas lights whilst heading all the way to the Elf Tower for an interactive theatrical spectacular!

Marvel at the Elves before journeying down Candy Cane Lane all the way to the Magical Elf Kingdom where Santa and his real life Reindeer will be eagerly awaiting your arrival.

Finish off your tour in Santa’s Toyshop where you will be able to select your gift, but only if you’ve been good this year!

Adult £12.70-£14.70 / Child £21.70 – £24.70 plus booking fee https://www.theelfexpress.com/

Storytime with Mrs Claus – Kitchen Edition

December 3-24, Quex Park, Birchington

Open 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, 17th -24th December 10.30am -6.30pm

Join Mrs Claus in her kitchen at Quex Park, Birchington, this Christmas for a festive story spectacular. Suitable for children of all ages, Mrs Claus will be telling an immersive story with singing, special effects, and Christmas Cheer. The perfect addition to the Elf Express or an individual experience, Mrs Claus Story Time is a Christmas outing not to be missed

StoryTime with Mrs Claus, Kitchen Edition, is a separate experience to The Elf Express and does not include The Elf Express trails or tractor ride. Santa is not present for StoryTime with Mrs Claus, Kitchen Edition, and this experience does not include meeting the Reindeer.

£8 per person https://www.theelfexpress.com/mrsclausstorytime

St John’s Church Margate

Saturday 3rd December – 10am to 4pm – Christmas Tree Festival

Free entry / refreshments available / ”nearly new” stalls for bargain gifts including toys and books plus Christmas decorations and handcrafted items

Sunday 4th December– 10.30am – Christingle Service

https://en-gb.facebook.com/groups/553173564873500/

Bon Volks Christmas art market

Friday 2nd December 6pm-8pm opening Night

6pm – 7.30pm – Workshop

Make your own Christmas decorations from felt and recycled materials with artist/illustrator Rebecca Strickson. All materials supplied. £10

Saturday 3rd December

12 – 5pm – Arts Market. Free entry.

A perfect opportunity to discover the wide range of practices at Bon Volks Studios and find a unique Christmas present.

5pm – 7pm Workshop – Create an embossed votive with artist/metalsmith Billie M Vigne.

In this two hour workshop you will deconstruct an empty drinks can and emboss a design onto it to create a votive that can be hung or mounted. All materials supplied (or feel free to bring your own empty can – non crushed!) £12

Sunday 4th December

11am – 12.30pm Workshop

Make your own Christmas decorations from felt and recycled materials with artist/illustrator Rebecca Strickson. All materials supplied. £10

12 – 5pm Arts Market

5pm Musical performance with Arctic Circle in association with Lost Map, Daylight Music and Bon Volks, intimate solo show with Fell, the musical alias of Nicolas Burrows – creator of sun-kissed psychedelic pop dreaminess.

All profits go directly to the artists..Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.

More details https://www.bonvolks.com/bon-volks-margate-events

Bon Volks, 12 Park Lane, Margate