With one of the most talked about times of the year fast approaching, lots of people are wondering what is there going on for Christmas in Crawley this year? Well it’s easy to say that there is actually a whole range of festive activities, fairs, markets and music festivals on the calendar leading up to Christmas.

Crawley borough council have become a huge part in organizing different events this year in line with Christmas in Crawley, making Crawley town center definitely the place to be and the destination for shopping this Christmas 2011. Alongside the late night shopping until 9pm from December 12^th leading right up until Christmas Eve in Crawley, there is also a selection of fantastic events that should definitely not be missed. 

Late night shopping until 9pm starts in Crawley county mall from the 12^th right up until the 23^rd December. 

Opening times for Crawley county mall Christmas shopping are as follows:

12-18^th December:

Mon 9am-9pm

Tues 9am-9pm

Weds 9am-9pm

Thurs 9am-9pm

Fri 9am-9pm

Sat 8.30-9pm

Sun 11am-5pm

19^th-24^th December:

Mon 9am-9pm

Tues 9am-9pm

Weds 9am-9pm

Thurs 9am-9pm

Fri 9am-9pm

Christmas Eve 9am-5pm

Christmas day CLOSED

As said by Councilor Claire Denman, the cabinet member for planning and economic development “Yet again we’ve got another jam-packed six weeks of events leading up to Christmas. This year shop in Crawley, support your local businesses and enjoy our fantastic range of events in the run up to the big day.” 

Nothing more truly starts the official countdown to Christmas than turning on the Christmas lights. This is a huge annual event to take place for Christmas in Crawley. Every year a celebrity will come along to Crawley to turn on the CRAWLEY Christmas lights, however this year is a MYSTERY, so who could it be? 

As usual the secret was not kept for to long as a little bird let leak and told the Crawley Observer that Eastenders heart-throb Jack Branning will be doing the honor this year! Jack, who is more commonly known as actor Scott Maslen, will be coming along to the County Mall on November 17^th for the official turn on at 7pm. 

However, this will not be the only festive entertainment to take place on this day as there will be a Peter Pan theme which will start at 5pm, with Tinkerbell, Captain hook, face painters and a special visit from the one and only Father Christmas, who will be here to meet and greet all the good little boys and girls of West Sussex! Then moving on, from about 6pm DJ Chris Oxlade of local Heart FM radio will be doing what he does best on the wheels of steel, playing all the Christmas classics, along with offering out prizes, store discounts and Christmas giveaways to really get everyone in the festive mood. 

At 6.40pm, Chris will then be interviewing Father Christmas, before the arrival, which all the SOAP fans have been waiting for; Jack Branning to turn on the long awaited Christmas tree lights, officially launching Christmas! 

All the money that will be raised from this and all other Christmas events will this year go The Springboard Project, Age UK and The Army Benevolent Fund.

If you are interested in what different types of events, that are being held this Christmas in Crawley and which ones you think you may like to attend then the full list of festive activities occurring in Crawley this Christmas is as follows: 

November 17^th: come along on this particularly special day and be a part of the start and official countdown to Christmas in Crawley, with the annual lights switch on of the huge Christmas tree in the county mall. This is to be held by a mystery celebrity guest, which celebrity guest? Who knows? 

November 17^th-20^th: The continental Christmas market will run over three days in the Queens Square. This is a great opportunity to come along and pick up some superb festive delights especially for the ultimate family feast on Christmas day, so why not come along…

November 20^th: “Santa’s on the run” this festive event will take place in the memorial gardens (just outside the county mall). Anyone can take place in this event whereby people dress up as Father Christmas himself and run around the town center (starting at 9.30am). This is a fundraising event to raise money for Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice. 

December 1^st: Surprise Christmas event, just like the title of this event says it’s a surprise Christmas event that will take place in Queens Square. Spread the word and get everyone to come along and see what surprises are in store. This will take place from 4-6pm. 

December 3^rd: Christmas craft fair. This fair is idyllic for you to go along and grab some much decent stocking fillers, something for everyone. This will also be held in Queens Square. 

December 4^th: The Christmas Medley. Why not pop down to the bandstand, where you will be able to listen and sing along to some classic festive songs. This will take place at 11am at the bandstand and will be followed by the Crawley Operatic Society.

December 8^th: The Christmas Bus and Jazz Band. This Christmas themed bus will be travelling all around the town center from around 4pm, with live Christmas music being played by the Tim Bolwell Trio jazz band. So make sure you keep an eye out and your ears open, as this is definitely something not to miss.

December 10^th: London Soul, the massively popular London Soul band will be here in Crawley, making a special appearance at the bandstand from 10.30am. This too is definitely something not to miss! 

December 11^th: Christmas Farmers Market. Come along to this market, where you will be able to pick up some delicious fresh produce, especially for that Christmas feast of yours! 

December 15^th: New City Jazzmen, come on down to the bandstand in Queens Square where from around 4pm the traditional jazz band New City Jazzmen will be playing their VERY last performance back at where they started (they were the first band to play the newly-erected bandstand). So come along where along as supporting them, you too will be able to wish them a warm farewell.

December 17^th: Salvation Army Band, from 10am come on down to the bandstand in Queens Square where you can get in the real Christmas spirit by watching some traditional Christmas hymns by the Salvation Army.

Christmas is a time of the year where a substantial number of companies will want to employ a lot of additional staff mainly because everywhere is a lot more busier then usual and so therefore a lot more work is created because of this. especially in Crawley.  If you currently do not work then this maybe the time to start looking as there are a lot of opportunities out there not for you to miss. This may also apply if you are just looking for a additional job to make up hours. 

If you are looking for a job this Christmas then there are many different places where you will be able to search. Why not go along to the job Centre in Crawley where you will be able to look as well as receive help and advice from staff working there.  You may also want to look online on the Friday-ad website; local to the Crawley area where you will be able to see of any jobs available that suit your arrangements. This is useful as it is regularly updated.

Thinking about where you can get rid of your Christmas tree this year? Well residents of Green Crawley are able to make good use of their Christmas trees this year by ‘tree-recycling’ them. To do this all residents will be asked to do is to take their trees to one of the ‘tree-recycling’ sites between January 4^th-15^th where here they will be chipped to make a useful mulch for the town’s parks. Trees can also be taken to the West Sussex County Council Civic Amenity site at Metcalf Way.