When do Christmas show tickets go on sale near Manchester?
Christmas show tickets near Manchester usually go on sale between February and May. For a good choice of dates, book by 30 September.
Christmas shows at Manchester's producing theatres go on sale 6 to 15 months ahead: at a spring season launch (Octagon, Royal Exchange, Hallé, HOME in 2024), or straight after the previous Christmas (HOME, Lowry, Hope Mill in December or January). Big theatre runs rarely sell out completely. The first to go are the cheapest seats and the preview and midweek matinee dates, and the lowest price rises as a run sells. Short runs sell out: the Hallé's three carol concerts sold out in 2024, and one of three did in 2025. Why then: the cheapest seats and the popular matinees were already going by mid-September (Royal Exchange 2025), and the short-run carol concerts fill well before December.
From 10 booking launches we dated across 6 outings, 2024 to 2026, 6 to the day or week (earliest December, latest May); the rest show when tickets were already on sale. Research checked Wednesday 28 October; booking states updated Wednesday 28 October.
Christmas shows and concerts: the booking year
| Outing | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas shows and concerts | January: booking opens, on | February: bookable | March: booking opens | April: booking opens | May: booking opens | June: booking opens | July: bookable | August: bookable | September: booking opens | October: bookable | November: bookable, on | December: booking opens, on |
A reminder on Thursday 1 April, just before booking usually opens, and every year after.
Right now
Today, of the 69 we list that need booking, 54 are on sale, 5 selling fast, 1 sold out. The first we saw sell out this season was 'Twas the Night Before Christmas at Croxteth Hall, on Tuesday 27 October.
Selling fast
- Hallé Carol Concert at The Bridgewater Hall The Bridgewater Hall · from Sat 19 Dec · 25 min
- Frozen Jr (NK Theatre Arts junior cast) at Romiley Forum Romiley Forum · from Thu 3 Dec · 30 min
- Nativity! The Musical at Lyceum Theatre Lyceum Theatre · from Wed 25 Nov · 45 min
- Christmas Carol Concerts in Peak Cavern Peak Cavern · from Sat 5 Dec · 55 min
- The Reindeer Who Saved Christmas at Storyhouse Storyhouse (Garret Theatre) · from Mon 14 Dec · 55 min
Sold out
- 'Twas the Night Before Christmas at Croxteth Hall Croxteth Hall · check for returns
Getting the dates you want
- Members and Friends usually get a few days' head start (Lowry: four days, HOME: about a week).
- Next year's show often goes on sale while this year's is still running, so watch in December and January.
- Prices can rise as a run sells: the Royal Exchange's lowest price went from £12 in April to £15 by September 2025.
- One-off and short-run concerts, like the Hallé carols, sell out. A long theatre run usually still has seats in December, though not at the lowest price.
When booking opened, year by year
Each date as exactly as its source shows it. Follow the source to check.
A Christmas Carol: the musical (Hope Mill Theatre at the Lowry) Lowry (Quays Theatre), Salford Quays · 20 min
- 2024 Booking opened Fri 15 Dec 2023. MediaCityUK story of 14 Dec 2023: the show for Christmas 2024 (6 Dec 2024 to 4 Jan 2025) went on general sale on Fri 15 Dec 2023, almost a year ahead. mediacityuk.co.uk
Hallé Carol Concerts The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester · 20 min
- 2025 On sale by 2025. On 11 Sep 2025 all three concerts showed 'Book now'. By the concerts (13 and 14 Dec) the page said one of the three, the Sunday 3pm, was sold out and the other two had limited tickets left.. The Hallé announced its 2025/26 season, carols included, on 1 May 2025 (halle.co.uk news). The carol page was bookable when saved on 18 May 2025. The final saved copy shows one sold-out performance and limited seats at the other two. web.archive.org (saved copy)
- 2024 The Hallé's page later showed all three 2024 carol concerts (14 and 15 Dec) as sold out, asking people to check for returns. The source gives no date for the sell-out.. The Hallé's Christmas listing shows 'Hallé Carol Concerts (Sold Out)' for 14 and 15 Dec 2024. The concert page itself says all three performances were sold out. web.archive.org (saved copy)
HOME Christmas musical (Miracle on 34th Street 2024; Freaky Friday 2025) HOME, First Street, Manchester · 20 min
- 2025 Booking opened Fri 13 Dec 2024. Theatre Weekly (13 Dec 2024) announced Disney's Freaky Friday for HOME in 2025, with tickets on sale from 10am on Fri 13 Dec 2024, while the 2024 Christmas show was still running. theatreweekly.com
- 2024 Booking opened Wed 12 Jun 2024; members from Tue 4 Jun 2024. Theatre Weekly (12 Jun 2024) on HOME's Aug 2024 to Feb 2025 season, which included Miracle on 34th Street (6 to 31 Dec): HOME Friends could book from 4 Jun, Members from 10 Jun and everyone from 12 Jun 2024. theatreweekly.com
Lowry Christmas show (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 2025; The Jolly Christmas Postman 2026) Lowry, Salford Quays · 20 min
- 2026 Booking opened Tue 27 Jan 2026; members from Mon 26 Jan 2026. MediaCityUK news of 26 Jan 2026: The Jolly Christmas Postman (4 Dec 2026 to 3 Jan 2027) went on sale to Lowry members that day and to everyone on Tue 27 Jan. mediacityuk.co.uk
- 2025 Booking opened Fri 13 Sep 2024; members from Mon 9 Sep 2024. Salford Media's announcement (saved 6 Sep 2024) says Lowry members could book from Mon 9 Sep 2024 and the public from Fri 13 Sep 2024, 15 months ahead of the December 2025 run. (The live salford.media address now redirects to a spam site, so use the archived copy.) web.archive.org (saved copy)
Royal Exchange Christmas musical (Singin' in the Rain 2025) Royal Exchange Theatre, St Ann's Square, Manchester · 25 min
- 2026 On sale by September 2025. On 17 Sep 2025 the same page listed A Little Night Music (5 Dec 2026 to 30 Jan 2027) with 'Book now', so the 2026 Christmas show was on sale by then, about 15 months ahead. web.archive.org (saved copy)
- 2025 On sale by April 2025; early bird Lowest price £12 in April 2025, £15 by September 2025 (prices rise as the run sells). By 17 Sep 2025 the previews (29 Nov to 2 Dec) and several midweek matinees showed 'Last few', and the lowest price had risen from £12 to £15. Evening and weekend shows were still bookable.. WhatsOnStage announced the show with the new season on 3 Apr 2025. The theatre's page saved on 27 Apr 2025 already had 'Book now' on every date, so it was on sale some time in April. The copy saved on 17 Sep 2025 shows the 'Last few' marks. web.archive.org (saved copy)
Octagon Christmas show (The Jungle Book 2024; A Christmas Carol 2025) Octagon Theatre, Bolton · 30 min
- 2025 On sale by March 2025. The theatre's page saved on 1 Dec 2025 still had 'Book now' on every performance through to 10 Jan 2026.. The Octagon's page for A Christmas Carol (13 Nov 2025 to 10 Jan 2026) was already bookable when saved on 17 Mar 2025, before the season was publicly announced (Theatre Reviews North, 23 Apr 2025). web.archive.org (saved copy)
- 2024 Booking opened Fri 3 May 2024. Octagon news of 30 Apr 2024 revealed the autumn/winter season, with The Jungle Book (22 Nov 2024 to 4 Jan 2025), and said general sale would start at 9am on Fri 3 May. octagonbolton.co.uk
Several on-sale dates are only brackets from archived pages ('bookable by'), and these are marked as month precision. No source dated a full sell-out for the big theatre runs. Northern Ballet's Nutcracker (Leeds) and The Snowman stage show (London) play outside the area, so they were left out. The Lowry's 2025 sell-out position and Z-arts' Christmas show couldn't be established.
Questions parents ask
When do Christmas show tickets go on sale?
Christmas show tickets near Manchester usually go on sale between February and May. Christmas shows at Manchester's producing theatres go on sale 6 to 15 months ahead: at a spring season launch (Octagon, Royal Exchange, Hallé, HOME in 2024), or straight after the previous Christmas (HOME, Lowry, Hope Mill in December or January). Big theatre runs rarely sell out completely. The first to go are the cheapest seats and the preview and midweek matinee dates, and the lowest price rises as a run sells. Short runs sell out: the Hallé's three carol concerts sold out in 2024, and one of three did in 2025. For a good choice of dates, book by 30 September: the cheapest seats and the popular matinees were already going by mid-September (Royal Exchange 2025), and the short-run carol concerts fill well before December. From 10 booking launches we dated across 6 outings, 2024 to 2026, 6 to the day or week (earliest December, latest May); the rest show when tickets were already on sale.
When do Christmas show tickets sell out?
Christmas shows at Manchester's producing theatres go on sale 6 to 15 months ahead: at a spring season launch (Octagon, Royal Exchange, Hallé, HOME in 2024), or straight after the previous Christmas (HOME, Lowry, Hope Mill in December or January). Big theatre runs rarely sell out completely. The first to go are the cheapest seats and the preview and midweek matinee dates, and the lowest price rises as a run sells. Short runs sell out: the Hallé's three carol concerts sold out in 2024, and one of three did in 2025.
When should I book Christmas show tickets?
By 30 September: the cheapest seats and the popular matinees were already going by mid-September (Royal Exchange 2025), and the short-run carol concerts fill well before December. Members and Friends usually get a few days' head start (Lowry: four days, HOME: about a week).
Is there a pre-sale or early-bird price for Christmas show tickets?
Sometimes. Lowry Christmas show (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 2025; The Jolly Christmas Postman 2026) opened to members first (2025: Mon 9 Sep 2024), Royal Exchange Christmas musical (Singin' in the Rain 2025) had an early-bird price (2025: Lowest price £12 in April 2025, £15 by September 2025 (prices rise as the run sells)) and HOME Christmas musical (Miracle on 34th Street 2024; Freaky Friday 2025) opened to members first (2024: Tue 4 Jun 2024).
Can I still book Christmas show tickets now?
Today, of the 69 we list that need booking, 54 are on sale, 5 selling fast, 1 sold out. See them all.
How we worked it out
We dated when booking opened for 6 of the most popular christmas shows and concerts within about an hour of Timperley, 2024 to 2026, from the organisers' own announcements, saved copies of their booking pages on the Internet Archive, local news and ticketing sites. "Usually" and "typical" mean the median date, ignoring the year. Today's booking states come from our own checks of each booking page, rebuilt every night. Something wrong or missing? [email protected].