With just over a week to go until Christmas, parks across Manchester are hosting free Christmas-themed trails and craft sessions throughout December for the whole family to enjoy. The park trails are a great for families who want to enjoy the outdoors over the holidays, comprised of either Christmas Tree and Candy Cane themed woodland trails taking over local Manchester parks from December 16 until January 2.
Journeying through the trails, little explorers will be encouraged to uncover hidden letters in the woodland, using both their problem-solving skills and literacy skills to navigate the trail and spell the special word at the end.
For budding creatives, there will be free Christmas Arts and Craft sessions taking place across many parks in the city, which are open to all residents and will be hosted by local park rangers and stakeholders. From wreathmaking to bauble painting and Christmas card making– there’s a wide range of creative activities for artists of all abilities in Manchester’s local parks this holiday season.
Christmas Tree Trail (December 16 to January 2)
- St Mary’s Park
- Barracks Street Park
- West Point Gardens
- Wonderland Park
- Gartside Gardens
- Platt Fields Park
Candy Cane Trail (December 16 to January 2)
- Birchfields Park
- Moss Side Millenium Green
- Rosebery Street
- Ardwick Green Park
- West Gorton Community Park
Christmas Arts and Craft Sessions
- Annie Lee’s Playing Fields
- Brookdale Park
- Crowcroft Park
- Crumpsall Park
- Clayton Hall
- Whitworth Park
- Wythenshawe Park
Manchester City Council hope to encourage residents to channel their creative juices this holiday season and enjoy an afternoon of making festive decorations in their local parks. The craft workshops and woodland activities form part of Manchester’s Parks’ packed holiday schedule- designed to get residents in the festive spirit this Christmas.
In addition to the events in local parks, Heaton Park in North Manchester will be joining in the festivities with visits from Santa himself, Christmas film screenings and Festive markets. Other trails include Love Exploring App Fairy Trail at Heaton Park, Broad Oak Hearts Trail at Fletcher Moss Park (December 16 to January 9), The Christmas Parakeet Hunt at Alexandra Park (December 17-29), National Literacy Trust Story Trail at Wythenshawe Park and a Christmas trail as part of the Christmas Fun Day at Brookdale Park (December 17, 12pm-3pm).
For more information on holiday events around the city, head here.