Dig out your scarves, grab a hot chocolate and head out with us to explore Cheltenham at Christmas with Visit Cheltenham (AD: hosted trip). This Regency town is a great place to spend the festive season, whether you live locally like us or are visiting for the weekend. So if you’re looking for inspiration this winter, here’s our guide to Cheltenham at Christmas 2025, featuring 10 great things to do, from light trails to pantos, candlelight carols to boutique shopping… with plenty of sparkle.
Things to do at Christmas in Cheltenham
1. Visit the Christmas markets
With their cosy wooden cabins, twinkling lights and the delicious smell of mulled wine, we can never resist a trip to a Christmas market. And the Cheltenham Christmas markets are back this winter for two different events, both taking place along the Promenade and Long Gardens.
First there’s a Christmas Gift Market from 20–23 November 2025, with stalls selling Christmas gifts, homewares and decorations, as well as food and drink stalls so you can pick up hot chocolates, crêpes or German sausages while you browse. Then there’s a traditional Arts and Crafts Christmas Market from 11–23 December 2025, selling candles, glassware, jewellery and art prints.
2. Get your skates on at the ice rink
You can also take a spin on the ice at the Cheltenham Ice Rink. The rink is located in Imperial Gardens, the site of Cheltenham’s original winter gardens and roller skating rink in the late 19th century. It’s open from 21 November 2025 to 4 January 2026 (excluding Christmas Day).
This year there will be adults-only Grown-up Glides on Fridays and Saturday nights, Little Gliders for under fives and Relaxed Glides for SEN visitors. There are also themed nights and character sessions with princesses and superheroes for kids. The rink is undercover so you don’t have to worry about the weather, and you can warm up afterwards with a mulled wine or hot chocolate.
3. Spend the night at the panto
A trip to the panto is another Christmas family tradition, and this year’s show at the Everyman Theatre is Robin Hood and His Merry Men from 28 November 2025 to 11 January 2026. It features local favourites Tweedy from Giffords Circus and Kevin Brewis as the dame, as well as an all-singing, all-dancing cast of musical stars, local jokes and the chance to shout ‘It’s behind you!’
The panto isn’t Cheltenham’s only festive show either, you can also see Dick Whittington at the Cheltenham Playhouse from 12 December 2025–3 January 2026. And Operation Moonlight bring their adaptation of A Christmas Carol to the Bacon Theatre on 14 December 2025.
4. Sparkle at the Spectacle of Light
Running since 2016, the Spectacle of Light transforms 15th-century Sudeley Castle just outside Cheltenham into a riot of colour and light. The castle ruins, chapel and grounds are decorated with light beams, lanterns, glitter balls hanging from the trees and sparkling fountains, all set to music. The trail is one of our Cheltenham Christmas traditions and we’ve visited almost every year.
Each year there’s a new design – this year’s theme is The Court of King Arthur, with a quest to find the legendary sword Excalibur. The trail is open on selected evenings from 21 November–30 December 2025 and takes 60–75 minutes, with food and drink stalls on the terrace.
5. Listen to a Christmas concert
The world-famous Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines comes to Cheltenham Town Hall on 3 December 2025. The programme includes seasonal classics, big band hits and the precision skills of the Corps of Drums. You can also hear The Christmas Orchestra (9 December), Swing Into Christmas (14 December), and The Gruffalo and The Snowman in Concert (23 December).
Or if you’d prefer carols by candlelight, you can see the Everyman Theatre Choir at Dunkertons Park (7 December). Christ Church Cheltenham hosts Flowers Brass Band in aid of the charity Maggies (9 December), and there’s festive magic at Cheltenham Ladies College (14 December).
6. Meet Father Christmas
Father Christmas is taking time out of his busy winter schedule to meet kids at his North Pole Grotto on the GWSR’s Santa Express train (22 November–23 December 2025 – though get in quick as it sells out). You can also see him at Christmas lights switch-ons at the Pittville Pump Room and Brewery Quarter (both 22 November), and at The Christmas Meeting (13 December).
The new Santa: The Visit also takes place at the Racecourse from 19–24 December. This immersive family musical adventure, created by Strictly Come Dancing legend Craig Revel Horwood, sees Santa and the elves from the F.I.A. (Festive Intelligence Agency) on a special mission.
7. Have a vintage Christmas at Holst Victorian House
If you want to see how the Victorians celebrated Christmas, head to Holst Victorian House at number 4 Clarence Street, the house where composer Gustav Holst was born in 1874.
Inside is a time capsule taking you back to Victorian times, with recreated rooms showing you how people lived – both the Holst family upstairs and the servants downstairs. Around the house are Holst’s original gramophone, photographs and even the piano he composed The Planets on.
At Christmas the parlour is decorated with a beautiful tree and there are special events (dates for 2025 to be announced) like a Victorian Family Christmas, a recital of In the Bleak Midwinter and the museum is illuminated by candlelight as it would’ve been in Holst’s day.
8. Go Christmas shopping in Montpellier and the Suffolks
Montpellier is our favourite spot for Cheltenham Christmas shopping, with lots of interesting independent stores for unique gifts. Like the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen, which features products from the Guild’s designer-makers, including leatherwork, ceramics and textiles.
At Steeplechase Distillery you can do a tour and tasting as well as buying their gins to take away. Pink Vintage sell quirky homeware, art and jewellery. James of Montpellier stocks high-quality menswear and gifts. And Rossiter Books is an independent bookshop full of literary treasures.
There are also some gems tucked away on Suffolk Street. Wildflower Illustration Co sells beautiful prints, cards and stationery using watercolour drawings. Or Bodega womenswear is a great place for affordable boutique clothing and accessories which you won’t find anywhere else.
9. Get hands on with Christmas crafts
Fancy making your own gifts or decorations this Christmas in Cheltenham? There’s a range of different craft workshops available. At Ellenborough Park you can make your own chocolates, try block printing Christmas cards or learn the art of decorating the perfect Christmas table.
At Elkstone Studios you can create Christmas candles, do some seasonal painting by the fire or make a yuletide wreath to hang on your front door. You can also design your own greeting cards and gift tags using linocut, make ceramic tree decorations and scented candles at Hatchards bookshop. Or why not give Christmas calligraphy or making dried pressed flower decorations a go?
10. Eat, drink and be merry
The Queens Hotel was one of Europe’s first purpose-built hotels when it opened in 1838, and has welcomed guests from Edward Elgar to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It gets extra sparkle in winter too, from the archway of baubles around the doorway to the giant Christmas tree in the lobby.
Victoria’s restaurant makes a great stop off for lunch during Christmas shopping – or you can enjoy a festive afternoon tea in December. And don’t miss a peek at the hotel’s grand staircase, which uses the same wallpaper as the Houses of Parliament, designed by architect Augustus Pugin.
Another of our seasonal favourites is The Nook on Five – Cheltenham’s first rooftop restaurant. It’s the perfect spot for a sparkling cocktail, overlooking Imperial Gardens with Cheltenham stretching out below you. And they’re hosting a New Year’s Eve dinner to welcome 2026 in style.
Where to stay in Cheltenham at Christmas
Ellenborough Park
Five-star Ellenborough Park hotel lies to the north of town, close to the racecourse. It’s bursting with history and character, starting life as a manor house in the 15th-century. It hosted George III and it’s said Oliver Cromwell shot at their front door! Today it’s a luxurious country house hotel, with 61 rooms spread across various different buildings as well as a spa and swimming pool.
At Christmas it’s a cosy place to stay, with Christmas trees and nightcaps by the fire. And even if you’re not staying overnight, you can dine in the wood-panelled splendour of the dining room or the more casual Horse Box Brasserie. They also do Christmas afternoon teas and craft classes.
Neptune Apartments
Or if you’d rather be right in the heart of town to take advantage of all of Cheltenham’s bars and restaurants, Neptune Apartments are right on the Promenade (the perfect location for visiting the Christmas markets). Two neighbouring period buildings have been newly refurbished and converted into 12 one-bedroom apartments which are named after Cotswold towns and villages.
They vary in size but each have kitchens and seating areas, so you can self-cater if you want to. They’ve all been individually designed with velvet fabrics, high-end appliances and stylish décor to give them a deluxe feel, and would be great for a romantic break or girls’ weekend away.
You can also find out more about Christmas in Cheltenham in posts by Visit Cheltenham, Weekend Candy and Danni Meets World, who explored the town with us.
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