From Edinburgh's giant wheel to Aberdeen's harbour lights, everything festive happening across Scotland this Christmas.
Scotland's Christmas season runs from mid-November to early January. Edinburgh's East Princes Street Gardens hosts one of Europe's largest Christmas markets, Glasgow lights up George Square with the country's biggest tree and free ice skating, and every city and town from Aberdeen to Ayr runs its own light switch-on, market and pantomime run.
This page collects every Christmas-tagged event currently listed with Nearby Events. Markets, pantomimes, carol concerts, Santa experiences and New Year celebrations are all in one place.
No Christmas events currently listed. Check back from November for the full festive programme.
Edinburgh Christmas Market (East Princes Street Gardens, mid-Nov to early Jan) is the giant. Glasgow's George Square market and Style Mile ice rink run alongside the city's tree. Aberdeen's harbour Christmas Village and Inverness's Victorian Market runs are the north's flagship events. See our dedicated Christmas markets guide for the full walkthrough.
Every major Scottish theatre runs a pantomime from late November to early January — the King's in Edinburgh, the SEC and Pavilion in Glasgow, His Majesty's in Aberdeen and the Rep in Dundee are the flagship shows. Cathedral carol concerts at St Giles' (Edinburgh) and Glasgow Cathedral are unmissable — book early, they sell out weeks in advance.
Christmas markets and light switch-ons begin in mid-November, with the full programme running through to Twelfth Night in early January. Hogmanay (31 December) is Scotland's biggest single-night event.
Entry to Edinburgh's market is free — you pay for rides, food and drink at the stalls. Weekend evenings are the busiest; go on a weekday morning for the shortest queues.
Edinburgh's Hogmanay is Scotland's flagship, with the Torchlight Procession on 30 December and the Street Party and Concert in the Gardens on 31 December. Every major city and town runs its own Hogmanay events — see the listings below closer to the date.