We are on a countdown to Christmas in the Cairngorms – not long to go! To help you plan your festivities, we’ve pulled together a list of as many events in Grantown as we could. There’s a huge range of activities for all the family to enjoy and loads of places to find the perfect gifts.
Christmas craft
Christmas market season is well and truly underway and Grantown Museum will be hosting their annual arts and craft fair. Local artists and artisans will be selling their products at the Burnfield venue over three weekends.
- November 22-24
- November 29-Dec 1
- Dec 6-8
The fair will be open from 10am-4pm each day.
Please note that the museum remains closed outwith these times.
Pick the best tree!
Grantown’s Christmas tree festival is now a favourite in the calendar. Businesses and organisations from the town are challenged to decorate a tree, with the public picking the winner.
This is a joint project by St Columba’s Church and the Grantown YMCA Community Centre, which will display the beautiful specimens. You can see them for yourself on Saturday November 30 and Sunday December 1.
The community centre will also host a Christmas market on November 30, with mulled wine and mince pies on offer.
The High Street Does Christmas
Of course, you’ll be looking for the perfect present for everyone and Grantown has the solution – our wonderful High Street!
This group of independent businesses will be open throughout the coming weeks to help you find unique and beautiful gifts.
And there’s a special shopping weekend at the end of November to help you get it all out of the way.
On Thursday November 28, many of the shops will be open until 8pm for a late night shopping event.
And then on Saturday and Sunday, their doors will be open from 9am-5pm. And there will be activities and treats.
Organisers of the event, Highland Artisans will host Santa on Saturday Nov 30. The big man will outside the shop from 12pm-4pm. The shop will also take letters to Santa, just in case children forget to tell him exactly what they want.
The Artisans ladies will also do face painting and there will be a tombola with prizes from their crafters.
Donaldsons, Wildcat Pottery and Ewe & Me will be offering drinks and nibbles for their customers, while at Fiona’s Wholefoods, there will be music, wine and bratwurst sausage!
And My Secret Dressing Room is offering a lucky dip ticket for every £20 spent – expect some exciting surprises.
Tractor Run
A group of local farmers are hoping to bring festive cheer to Strathspey with a tractor run through the villages on Sunday December 22.
You can see the parade at the following places (times are approximate):
- Grantown Showfield, 5pm,
- Cromdale, 5.15pm,
- Nethy Bridge, 5.45pm,
- Boat of Garten, 6.05pm,
- Carrbridge, 6.25pm,
- Grantown High Street, 7pm.
Torchlight procession
Nothing kicks off Christmas in Grantown like the traditional torchlight procession. Every year, hundreds of residents turn out to walk from the Triangle (it’s outside the Craiglynne Hotel!) to the War Memorial in the Square for carol singing.
It’s a beautiful sight with Santa and his reindeer leading families bearing their flaming torches.
Christmas Day talks
It might be tempting to sit down and have a snooze after all the celebrations and family activities, but the Grant Arms is hoping to lure you out for special series of festive talks in the Osprey Suite.
Our famous hotel is focussing its attention on wildlife and local history to provide the entertainment. On Christmas Eve, Ralph and Brenda Todd will speak about their visits to Antarctica, including spotting penguins, albatrosses and petrels in between the icebergs.
The couple’s talk starts at 8.45pm.
And they are back the next day – Christmas Day! – for a second talk, this time drawing on visits to Egypt and China. Ralph and Brenda will take their audience through 3,000 years of history, looking at man’s association with birds and the evolution of field guides. This talk starts at 8.30pm.
Local history
Grantown Museum curator Dan Cottam takes the stage on Boxing Day to give a condensed history of the town and it’s people. Join this talk from 8.30pm.
On December 27, photographer Nick Wilcox-Brown will be speaking about his search for the elusive snow leopard in the Himalayas. Expect some birds to feature as well as the mysterious mammal.
Dan Cottam returns on December 28 to tell stories and legends from the Clan Grant (8.30pm start) while finally, on December 29 at 8.30pm, conservationist Toby Carter will lead the audience through Romania. On a journey that leads from the Carpathian Mountains to the Danube Delta, Toby will recount encounters with bears, Great White Pelicans and more 180 other species of bird.
Happy New Year!
And finally, of course Grantown will be marking the arrival of 2025 in style.
The celebrations start in earnest on December 30, with a concert in the Royal British Legion. Maggie Adamson and Friends will perform traditional and classical music.
The event starts at 7.30pm. Tickets are £15 and available from the RBL and The Bookmark. Proceeds will go towards the cost of the Hogmanay party.
Countdown to midnight
For the big event itself, the Square will be closed to allow revellers to gather.
Speysound Radio will provide music from 9pm, and an onsite bar will sell mulled wine, prosecco, red and white wine, beer, lager and more. There will also be hot food from Speyside Catering and Treats on the Street. Or you could catch early dinner at one of our brilliant restaurants.
Organisers ask that you do not bring dogs, sparklers, glass bottles or glass tumblers to the event. The street ceilidh will start from 10pm, before the sound of the pipes takes us all to midnight and a spectacular fireworks display.
This event is organised entirely by volunteers – please consider giving a donation on the night or via Just Giving: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/grantown-hogmanay
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you from everyone at the Discover Grantown team!