Your Ultimate Guide to Christmas in Reading 2026: Lights, Markets, and Festive Events

Now that Halloween is out of the way, there's plenty going on in and around Reading in the build-up to Christmas. Here's our round-up. Details and booking information can be found at the bottom of the page.

Winter Wonderland opened its gates at Hills Meadow on Saturday 7th November, drawing the first skaters of the year onto the ice and getting Reading's seasonal calendar quietly underway. The riverside site features an undercover real ice rink that keeps skaters dry in wet weather, a funfair with dodgems and roller coasters, food stalls, and its own Santa's grotto. For families planning a longer visit, four-hour unlimited ride wristbands are available for £24, making it a reliable option for an active outdoor afternoon during the school holidays.

Yet for most of us who live and work here, the festive season really begins when the town centre lights up. That official launch arrives this coming Saturday, 14th November, with an afternoon of street entertainment, the unveiling of an expanded market, and the annual lights switch-on along Broad Street.

Gathering outside Marks & Spencer from midday, the switch-on programme offers a full afternoon of free live music before the lights go on. The Reading All Steel Percussion Orchestra (RASPO) will bring their energetic rhythms to the street, sharing the bill with sets from acoustic duo Pete Doyle & Dionne and local singer Danny Mountain. The entertainment runs throughout the afternoon, building towards the main countdown at 5:00 pm, when players from Reading FC Women will step up to press the button and illuminate the pedestrian corridor from one end of town to the other.

The moment the switch is thrown, the Broad Street Christmas Market will light up alongside the overhead canopies. In 2023, town centre businesses voted through the Reading Business Improvement District (BID) initiative, committing £600,000 of levy funding across five years from 2024 to 2029 to build and maintain the Christmas lights. The result is an installation of more than 800,000 LED bulbs designed around Reading's own history and daily quirks. Look above the shopfronts and you will see bespoke illuminated motifs celebrating Huntley & Palmers biscuits, King Henry I - who founded and was buried at Reading Abbey—playwright Oscar Wilde, and even Reading Buses' familiar purple Number 17 double-decker. 

Broad Street serves as the central spine for this year's seasonal trail, connecting The Oracle at one end with Broad Street Mall at the other. The outdoor Christmas market has grown again for 2026, comprising more than 20 wooden chalets stocked with seasonal gifts, regional food, and handmade crafts. Four new stalls have been added to the row this winter, alongside a dedicated bar at the western end of the street serving hot drinks and mulled wine, providing a welcoming outdoor meeting spot for cold December evenings.

Reading Town Hall hosts its own one-day Christmas Market on Saturday 21st November, running from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. Staged within the Victorian civic building, it features local craftspeople and independent makers selling jewellery, ceramics, prints, and specialty foodstuffs, offering an ideal opportunity to find gifts you will not spot on the standard high street shelves.

Starting on Thursday 26th November, the Reading Snow Window Trail will brighten shopfronts across the town centre with intricate winter scenes hand-painted by specialist snow artist Tom Baker. Tracking down the painted windows turns an ordinary shopping trip into a free treasure hunt across the pedestrian streets.

Father Christmas will also be making regular appearances without requiring complicated booking schemes. Broad Street Mall opens its Santa's Grotto in Central Square on Saturday 21st November, offering drop-in visits for £6.50 per child right up until Christmas Eve, with no advance booking necessary. In addition, the BID has arranged for Father Christmas, his elf, and a cast of walkabout characters to wander Broad Street on Sunday 6th, Saturday 12th, Saturday 19th, and Sunday 20th December, greeting families and posing for photographs free of charge.

There is uncertainty around the Illuminate lighting up of Forbury Gardens that was such a hit last year - despite being promoted on their website, as of writing, tickets are still not on sale and dates have not been announced.

On 5th December Reading Young Business Showcase will be giving young entrepreneusrs aged 7-17 the chance to pitch their wares, services and crafts to you at Broad St West from 9am.

Christmas On Stage

Reading's cultural venues are providing two distinct theatrical experiences this winter, both demonstrating an admirable commitment to staging work that everyone in our community can enjoy. At Reading Rep Theatre on Kings Road, the season is anchored by an ambitious world premiere adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, running for seven weeks from 21st November through to 3rd January, following initial previews from Thursday 19th November.

The production is co-produced with Ramps on the Moon, the pioneering initiative dedicated to putting deaf and disabled artists and audiences at the centre of regional theatre. Rather than scheduling a separate signed performance, the creative team has integrated British Sign Language, creative audio description, and captioning directly into the fabric of every performance. 

Over at The Hexagon, seasonal tradition takes a noisier, glitter-strewn form with Imagine Theatre's production of Aladdin, opening on Saturday 5 December and running through to 3 January. The production reunites Reading's resident pantomime double-act, children's television favourite Justin Fletcher and seasoned dame Paul Morse. Running for roughly two hours, including a 20-minute interval, the show sticks firmly to the beloved formula of slapstick routines, local gags, and flying carpets. Crucially, The Hexagon is also staging dedicated relaxed and BSL-interpreted performances across the run, ensuring that children who find intense lighting and sound overwhelming can still experience the magic of live theatre.

As you explore the displays and stalls across Reading over the coming weeks, there is also an opportunity to leave your own mark on the town's winter traditions. The BID has opened its 'Design Reading's Next Christmas Light' competition, inviting entries across three age categories. Winning sketches will be turned into full-scale illuminated motifs by professional manufacturers and added to the 800,000 bulbs above our streets for Christmas 2027. It is a fitting reminder of why Reading's festive offering works: it is built by the town, shaped by the people who live here, and ready for everyone to enjoy.

Christmas Events in Reading 2026 Details

Here are the main events, with dates and venues.

1. Major Christmas Attractions

Reading Christmas Market
14th November – 3rd January
Broad Street, town centre.More than 20 festive stalls, German food, bratwurst, waffles, mulled wine, Christmas gifts and decorations. Open daily, with varying Sunday hours.
Event details

2. Christmas Markets

3. Theatre, pantomime and Christmas shows

4. Christmas concerts and music

There are also several other musical events, including John Otway's Christmas Knees Up on 3rd December and a Christmas comedy programme at Just the Tonic on 5th, 12th and 19th December.

5. Other interesting events

Here are further lists of activities in Reading and in Wokingham. Let us know if you'd like to add your event to the list.