Gunwharf Quays to welcome back its exciting Christmas village after fantastic debut season in 2021

The Village will open Saturday, November 12 in the Plaza and run until Monday, January 2. The Christmas Village will follow a traditional European style again, with unique artisan craft and gift traders in wooden chalets selling Christmas gifts. Following the success of last year’s attraction, the shopping centre has doubled the number of artisan traders, with chalets lining the canal along the way to the Christmas Village.

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The highlight of the festive attraction will be the 22-metre-high Giant Observation Wheel, providing guests with spectacular views of Portsmouth’s harbour. At night, the Observation Wheel will be illuminated by over 10,000 LED lights creating a captivating light display.

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Accompanying the Observation Wheel will be a full-size traditional carousel, a flying balloon ride and festive games of skill. The games of skill are new for 2022 and will give guests the opportunity to win traditional fairground prizes. Surrounding the Christmas village will be rows of snow-covered Christmas trees along with selfie spots using ‘Instagram-able’ decorations.

For those guests that are looking for some much-needed relaxation and refreshments after their Christmas shopping, they can head to the festive ‘Alpine Lodge Bar’, which will boast a brand-new double deck indoor seating area to shelter guests from any rain or snow. The bar will be serving warm spiced mulled wine as well as beers and lagers from local and imported breweries. To compliment the seasonal beverages, there will also be a ‘Christmas Tree Swing Grill’ serving traditional, high quality, German Bratwurst.

Yvonne Clay, centre director at Gunwharf Quays, said: ‘We are delighted to welcome back the “Gunwharf Quays Christmas Village” after a successful debut in 2021, with some new features for our guests to enjoy. Being able to offer our guests a fun and festive experience following a busy day of shopping is a great pleasure and we can’t wait to share the Christmas spirit with our community and beyond.’

Gunwharf Quays Christmas Village will be open seven days a week 10am-8pm. From Thursday – Saturday, the attractions and food/beverage stalls will stay open later, until 9.45pm.