Christmas in Manchester 2023: What’s on

Enjoy festive fun every Sunday from this weekend right through to December 17th  with holiday happiness guaranteed with free family fun Sundays in Manchester City Centre during the festive season.

From a Christmas parade to a giant snow globe, enchanting artic fox puppets and even walking trees designed to delight youngsters and keep them entertained while you shop or enjoy the markets.

There’s street theatre, brass bands and even a toy procession plus a chance to dress up and in join in the fun.

It’s organised by Manchester City Centre BID in partnership with Manchester City Council and Manchester Markets.

Greater Manchester’s very own winter wonderland, ‘Tinsel Town’ has returned to the Trafford Centre this festive season.

Open until January 1,  outside the Great Hall, families can enjoy a full festive day out complete with a huge shimmering ice rink, festive fairground rides, SNOWSTORM spectacular ice show, magical Christmas Tree bar and other festive fayre. For prices and dates, check out the TC website.

Win £1,500 at Manchester Printworks

Manchester’s Printworks is ready to party this season as the popular entertainment destination launches Christmas with an exclusive Printworks competition.

It’s all to celebrate Printworks’ 23^rd birthday and the iconic building’s 150^th birthday, giving one lucky person the chance to win the ultimate party experience, with £1500 ready to spend across Printworks’ eateries and entertainment venues.

The winner gets to choose their top three restaurant, bar, and leisure venues, and enjoy £500 to spend in each, making this prize package perfect for any occasion from an office gathering, birthday celebration or a festive get-together. This includes £500 to spend on food at either Wagamama, Nando’s, Chiquito, Frankie & Benny’s or Hard Rock Cafe, £500 for plenty of play at Bingo Balls, Boom Battle Bar, Treetop Adventure Golf, Tenpin or Vue Cinema and £500 for drinks and partying the night away at one of Printworks’ popular bars Bierkeller, Cargo, Floripa, O’Neill’s, Walkabout or Wetherspoons.

Hurry as the comp ends Thursday, November 30 and you just need to head over to Printworks’ Facebook or Instagram page, like the competition post and tag everyone you’d like to invite.

The Midland has launched The Midland Pre-Theatre Package, where visitors can make their theatre trip extra special with a one-night stay, breakfast, and £30 food and drink credit per person for Mount Street Dining Room & Bar. Available on bookings until November 30.

Decent wine for under a tenner? VIVA will drink to that!

Black Tower Club Edition is dubbed the perfect stocking filler as this Decanter award winning wine is priced under £10.It  is the perfect wine to enjoy with friends, whether at a party, dinner with friends or an indulgent bubble bath for a newly elevated ‘good times’ Black Tower drinking experience. The 100% vegan range offers consumers the chance to experience luxury at an affordable price for any occasion.

Currently priced at £8 exclusively at ASDA. VIVA had a sample or three and found it wonderfully quaffable.

A new delivery service by Zouk has been launched by Bez from the Happy Mondays.

Zouk is his favourite restaurant in Manchester, he happily stepped up to learn how to ride the e-trike and deliver some tiffins across Manchester. VIVA says Hallelujah to that. (Alright it’s not Christmassy but what’s not to love).

Diecast release phase 2 – Winterhood ‘Christmas in the creative neighbourhood’

After the roaring success of their first bar, restaurant and party destination ‘Leno Ex Machina’, the team have announced their full ‘Christmassification’ which includes Manchester’s largest Brooklyn inspired Beer Hall and the opening of candle-lit dining in The Warehouse Kitchen.

Taking over the main factory floor is the ‘Brooklyn Beer Hall’  dubbed ‘The Fairytale of NYC’ serving steins, brats, bagels, alongside an Italian Prosecco and Black Martini bar, all around a new Beer Hall Band Stand.  The team are making use of every nook and cranny with a Karaoke Corner-shop and a classic NYC Bodega serving fresh bagels. The Christmas festival continues outside into the Winter Trailer Park, which transforms the legendary rum caravans into a haven for Christmas parties with campfires, donuts, marshmallow toasting, winter garden, a dance floor and sparkling lights. It’s pretty much all you need to winter in Manchester’s new creative neighbourhood. Winterhood is coming…

Call us Old Fahioned …

VIVA is definitely entering into the festive spirit and this  Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon is a winner on every level. It’s now available to buy online and in 141 Waitrose stores across the UK, perfect for making old fashions and wonderful as a Christmas gift.

Elijah Craig Small Batch is the signature Bourbon bearing the name of Reverend Elijah Craig, who founded his distillery in 1789 along Elkhorn Creek in present day Georgetown, Kentucky.

He is credited with being the first distiller to age his whiskey in charred oak barrels, earning his place in history as the Father of Bourbon. Long before the term Small Batch existed, Heaven Hill’s Master Distillers were hand-selecting just the right number of barrels to make Elijah Craig. This expertise and attention to detail give Elijah Craig Small Batch the right balance of rich flavour and full body for a warm spice and subtle smoke flavour which complements the sweetness and spiciness of an Old Fashioned.

VIVA verdict? We love everything about this tipple!