Market Place, Bolton is set to help customers’ Christmas preparations go with a swing with a calendar of fabulous family activities and extended shopping hours in the run up to Christmas.
Families can look forward to a host of free creative activities at the Little Rascals Kids’ club, every weekend from 24th November until Christmas.
On 24th & 25th November kids will have the chance to decorate a chocolate Santa, on 1st & 2nd December they’ll create their own unique Glassy Gardens mini Christmas tree - complete with hand decorated pot, on 8th & 9th December they can enjoy some Mary Poppins themed fun and storytelling, and on 15th & 16th December, they can learn how to be one of Santa’s little helpers at the centre’s Elf School.
Then on 22nd & 23rd December they’ll be able to take a virtual reality sleigh ride. The Little Rascals Kids’ Club offers parents the opportunity to let their children be creative, without the need to clear up after them – light relief in the busy Christmas period.
Children aged 3-8 years old can also enjoy the chance to eat breakfast or tea with Santa on selected dates in December. Tickets are just £6 and include breakfast or tea, a gift from Santa and entertainment from a magician.
Santa will be taking breakfast in Costa from 9.30am – 10.30am on Sundays 16th and 23rd December and tea at Debenhams from 5pm – 6pm on Thursdays 13thand 20th December. Tickets are available from the Centre Management Suite on the third floor of the Centre.
Visitors can also benefit from shopping until 8pm every Thursday from 22nd November until Christmas and 7pm every day from Tuesday 18th December until Saturday 22nd December.
These extended shopping hours from the usual 6pm close mean that customers have extra time to shop in the variety of popular stores found at the centre, including Zara, Topshop/Topman, JD Sports, H&M, Next, New Look, The Entertainer, Pandora, Debenhams and many more.
Customers can also get their gifts wrapped by volunteers from Fortalice, in exchange for a donation to their cause, from 24thNovember until Christmas.
In addition to the great shopping on offer, customers can also enjoy festive food and drink in the centre’s unique dining venue, ‘The Vaults’ until late every night. It’s home to a great selection of local bars, including The Cave and Great Ale, plus a great choice of eateries such as high-street favourites, Nando’s and Prezzo and local independents Baltic Cellar, The Bank and Bolton Bangers.
The Light Cinema offers families, friends and couples the opportunity to take a break from the festivities and enjoy the latest movie releases in cinematic luxury. With comfortable seats and lots of legroom as standard, it’s a home-from-home feel with the added benefit of the latest audio visual technology and fully licenced screens – meaning that visitors can take drinks from the on-site bar into the film.
With a whole hour of free parking on every visit, plus free parking after 5pm, and very competitive parking prices in the centre’s car park, customers can take their time over their shopping without the added worry of parking costs.
Nikki Wilson-Cook, Centre Manager, Market Place said: “Christmas can be a busy and somewhat stressful time of year, but by providing customers with everything they need, in one place, as well as offering a great range of entertainment for the whole family, we hope to make the festive season just that bit easier and more enjoyable.”