Weymouth, Dorchester and Swanage switch on their lights on 28 November, Sherborne's market is 6 December and the Cracker 13 December. Updated November 2026.

Christmas in Dorset 2026 starts in earnest on Saturday 28 November, when Weymouth, Dorchester and Swanage all switch on their lights and the Dorchester ice rink opens. Sherborne’s Festive Shopping Day follows on Sunday 6 December, and the Dorchester Christmas Cracker fills the county town on Sunday 13 December. Lyme Regis gets there first, with its switch-on on Saturday 21 November.

The three dates to know

Saturday 28 November: three switch-ons and the rink. Weymouth’s day runs from 9am, with an elf world record attempt, a parade at 1.15pm and the lights on at 5pm from the stage in New Bond Street (Weymouth Town Council). Brewery Square in Dorchester starts its evening at 5pm (Brewery Square), and Skating in the Square opens beside it the same day at £15 a skater. Swanage gathers outside The Mowlem in the afternoon. Twelve Weymouth car parks are free that day.

Sunday 6 December: Sherborne Festive Shopping Day. More than 100 stalls from 10am to 4pm, with Cheap Street and South Street closed to traffic, free car parks and the tree lit at 4pm (Sherborne Chamber of Trade and Commerce).

Sunday 13 December: Dorchester Christmas Cracker. 11am to 4pm across the town centre, the Corn Exchange and High West Street. Every pitch is taken (Dorchester Chamber for Business).

Christmas lights and carols in Dorset

  • Christmas lights switch-ons: Lyme Regis on 21 November, Weymouth, Dorchester and Swanage on 28 November, Blandford’s tree at 6.15pm on 4 December and Sherborne’s at 4pm on 6 December.
  • Carol services in Dorset: Sherborne Abbey’s Festival of Lessons and Carols at 5pm on Sunday 20 December, free and not ticketed, plus outdoor carols in Weymouth, Dorchester and Blandford.
  • Abbotsbury Illuminate: the light trail at Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens on selected nights from 20 November to 31 December.
  • Kingston Lacy at Christmas: the Starlit Christmas Ball from 21 November to 3 January, free with admission, with late opening to 7.30pm on 4 and 5 December.

Santa, pantos and things to do

  • Where to see Santa in Dorset: Stewarts Broomhill from 21 November, the Swanage Railway’s Santa trains from 28 November to Christmas Eve at £29.95, Christmas at SEA LIFE Weymouth, and grottos at Abbotsbury, Lyme Regis and the Hotel Rembrandt.
  • Dorset pantomimes: Jack and the Beanstalk at the Tivoli in Wimborne from 12 December and Cinderella at Weymouth Pavilion from 19 December, from £22.
  • Dorchester ice rink: Skating in the Square at Brewery Square, 28 November to 9 January, £15 with skates.
  • Christmas and New Year swims: the free Swanage Boxing Day swim at 11am and the Ice Water Swim Festival on 29 December.
  • Boxing Day walks in Dorset: eight walks, from the Cerne Abbas mummers to Old Harry Rocks, with what is open on 26 December.

Christmas dinner in Dorset

Christmas markets, shops and trees

Travel, parking and bins

  • Christmas trains and travel: no trains on 25 or 26 December, and buses replace trains between Wareham and Weymouth on Sunday 13 December.
  • Free parking in Weymouth: twelve town centre car parks on Saturday 28 November, Saturday 5 December and Tuesday 22 December.
  • Christmas bin collections: Christmas Day’s bins are collected on Monday 28 December, and rounds run a day late until 9 January.

Not announced yet

By 13 November nothing had been announced in the Dorset Council area for New Year’s Eve beyond Weymouth’s tradition: the We Are Weymouth 2026 events leaflet lists Thursday 31 December with “Wear your best fancy dress to see in the New Year!”, but no programme. No New Year’s Eve fireworks had been announced in any Dorset town. Bridport, Shaftesbury and Wimborne had not published 2026 switch-on dates, and Dorchester and Sherborne had not published grotto details.