Santa Claus lands in Manchester as 20m Father Christmas wows shoppers

Manchester United are back in Premier League action on Saturday night as they face Newcastle at St James' Park.

All of the road closures necessary this weekend have been announced ahead of the Manchester Christmas Parade - due to take place in the city centre on Sunday, December 3.

Local school kids were given an extra special tour of the Etihad Stadium as Jack Grealish popped up as a surprise to spend time with them.

Carrie Johnson has been getting into the Christmas spirit over at her family home, where she and husband Boris Johnson reside with their three young children. Carrie, 35, who married former Prime Minister Boris, 59, in 2021, has shared a glimpse of her festive preparations on Instagram, where she documents her family life with children Wilfred, three, Romy, one, and four month old Frank.

A grand Hollywood tradition will kick off at 6 PM on Sunday, as the 91st Hollywood Christmas Parade winds through the streets of the movie capital.

Influencer and YouTube star Molly-Mae Hague is well and truly in the Christmas spirit, as she showed off some snaps of lavish Christmas decorations and a cosy roaring fire, as she cuddled up to her baby, Bambi. Molly, who is known for her huge love for the cold and cosy season, took to Instagram to share a small video as she walked into a very festive room. The display was complete with a roaring fire and candles which provided a festive low-light.There was also a huge garland hung across the top of the fire with Christmas stockings hanging down.

Today is the day that the Christmas and holiday season officially starts, as Santa Claus made his way down the parade route during the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday (November 23) in New York City!

Tim Burton is clear that a sequel or a reboot of The Nightmare Before Christmas is not happening. In a new interview, the director talks about what he thinks about the idea of the stop-motion film getting a follow-up 30 years after the movie’s debut.

Tim Allen’s house. The “Home Improvement” alum admitted – after his daughter seamlessly roasted him — that he’ll only watch a Santa Claus movie if it’s, well, his own.“Every Christmas we watch all three of them,” Elizabeth Allen-Dick told The Post in a joint interview for Season 2 of “The Santa Clauses.”“We do watch other movies! Not many,” the vet actor chimed in.

Gabriel Iglesias, aka Fluffy, is one of the new stars in the second season of the Disney+ holiday series The Santa Clauses!

Mariah Carey! Now that the so-called “Queen of Christmas” kicked off her annual music special, sisters Kim and Khloé Kardashian took North West, Chicago West, Dream Kardashian, and True Thompson to enjoy the star’s Merry Christmas One And All! tour show at the Hollywood Bowl.The girls‘ night out, which included Kris Jenner’s, was filled with unforgettable moments as Kim immortalized their outings with several selfies and videos. The mom of four took to social media to share clips of herself singing along with Chicago while Khloé shared pictures.Mariah Carey shares top essentials while on tourMariah Carey officially welcomes the Holiday Season: ‘It’s Time!’Britney Spears praises Mariah Carey in her memoir: ‘She was completely right’“The Queen of Christmas!!!! For the little girls very FIRST concert ever, we went to see the Queen herself, @mariahcarey !! We all had the best time, creating the most magical memories!! Thank you mommy for taking all of us!,” Khloé wrote on Instagram.Una publicación compartida por Khloé Kardashian (@khloekardashian)The singer brought her twins, Moroccan and Monroe Cannon, 12, to perform with her.

Kerry Katona excitedly showed off her Christmas makeover at her £2million Cheshire home, as she got into the festive spirit.The 43 year old former Atomic Kitten star took to Instagram to share a video of her house as she drove down the drive in her £200k green Lamborghini. As the house came into sight, it looked like Santa's grotto, with twinkling lights adorning it.

Wheatus have shared a holiday version of their 2000 hit ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ titled ‘Christmas Dirtbag’ from their holiday EP – Check it out below.The track revamps the original song by swapping out the lyrics: “Her name is Noelle / I have a dream about her / She rings my bell / I got gym class in half an hour / Oh, how she rocks / In Keds and tube socks / But she doesn’t know who I am / And she doesn’t give a damn about me”.With more of a holiday spirit, it continues: “First night of Noel / Asleep with the fire burning / Jingling bells / And sugarplum fairies turning / But I don’t see / Any presents for me / Does Santa Claus know who I am? / Does Santa Claus even care about me?”The song’s iconic chorus also got the holiday treatment going from “‘Cause I’m just a teenage dirtbag, baby / Yeah, I’m just a teenage dirtbag, baby / Listen to Iron Maiden, baby, with me, ooh” to “‘Cos I’m just a Christmas dirtbag, baby / Yeah I’m just a Christmas dirtbag, baby / Santa forgot all about me, baby / Tonight, ooh.”Directed by Jaime Restrepo of production studio Dreambear, the track’s accompanying video finds Buddy the Wheatus Dog, who’s featured on the cover of the band’s EP ‘Just a Dirtbag Christmas’, struggling for attention during the merriest time of the year.Speaking about the video in a press release, frontman Brendan B Brown said: “I wanted to honour our beloved band dog Buddy, who left us this past summer, just before we started our UK & Irish tour.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic In “Dashing Through the Snow,” Lil Rel Howery has the off-the-cuff funk energy of a hustler who’s so quick that you believe his spiel before you’ve had the chance to outthink it. The whole issue of believing is key to the movie, since Howery plays Santa Claus — or, perhaps, a petty criminal who’s pretending to be Santa Claus. The character calls himself Nick, and he’s dressed as a variation on the old-school Victorian Santa: half-frame glasses, a coat festooned with gold buttons and paramilitary shoulder flaps, a vest of gold finery, along with a few token bits of street cool (pearl earring, two-tone beard, fingerless leather gloves).

This winter, join Manchester’s symphony orchestra, the Hallé, for a cracker of a Christmas - with concerts to suit all ages at The Bridgewater Hall.

All of the following businesses have paid to feature in this listicle: Waterside Arts, The Hallé, Storyhouse, Cockfields Farm, Octagon Theatre, Clonter Opera Theatre.

Gino D'Acampo has snubbed one British festive staple from his dinner table this Christmas.

Manchester Christmas Markets may have only just opened, but they've already been welcoming thousands of punters over the weekend. And that includes the first sighting of celebrity visitors.

Trick or treaters may have finished off their Halloween sweets, and the sparklers and fireworks have fizzled out after Bonfire Night, but we've got plenty to look forward to in the weeks ahead. November and December in Manchester is full of festivities - from the markets and winter chalets to the carol concerts and pantomime shows.

This year's Manchester Christmas Markets have got off to a rousing start - with plenty of festive cheer already filling the city centre.