Twas the week before Christmas and all through Notts, festive parties and happenings are afoot! Here's some of our top picks of the week...
Littlest Yak
When: Sat 13 Dec – Sun 4 Jan 2026
Where: Djanogly Theatre, Lakeside Arts Centre
How much: £11.50 - £13
Expect cute puppets, songs and a wintery, festive twist in this story celebrating self-acceptance. Gertie, the littlest yak of the herd, wants to grow up and be like the other yaks, but soon discovers that being small doesn't mean being less than. This adaptation of the award-winning book by Lu Fraser and Kate Hindley is brought to Lakeside by LAStheatre.
When: Wednesday 17 December
Where: Royal Concert Hall
How much: £21.50 to £42.50
A truly festive night to get you into the week before Christmas, head to the Hallé perform 'operatic and Hollywood favourites, as well as some chestnut-roasting seasonal classics', from Tchaikovsky to Home Alone and Frozen. Featuring the return of British baritone Rodney Earl Clark and conducted by Stephen Bell, there will even be a little sing-a-long to get the audience feeling festive.
Soul Buggin': Xmas Party
Where: Movers, Hockley
When: Friday 19 December
How much: £5.50
Local promotors Soul Buggin' are celebrating their last party of the year over at Hockley's hottest new multi-use creative music venue Movers, with a night of spinning soul, disco, broken beat, cosmic afro grooves and basement bouncing house. Beane (presenter of LeftLion podcast Night Creatures) Wrighty and Mark will be spinning records until 2am for all of your festive dancing needs.
Christmas with Soft Serve
When: Saturday 20 December
Where: The Grove
How much: £8.80
Sneinton Market's most intimate venue and recording studio, The Grove, presents a night of festive cheer featuring a set by locals Soft Serve and your chance to cover Christmas classics with live band karaoke. Special guests TBA - get your tickets sharpish as there are limited spaces.
Evil Scarecrow
When: Sun 21 December
Where: Rock City
How much: £19
One of Nottingham’s most eccentric and entertaining live bands, Evil Scarecrow have been entertaining audiences for over two decades with their theatrical live performances. This month they headline Rock City, with support from award-winning stand-up comedian and musician Andrew O'Neil. Expect metal, mayhem and likely stage appearances by the krakhen, the crab, the slug from Antartarctica. If you fancy some ‘existential crisis metal’ (their words, not ours) to get out of the festive spirit for a night, get yourself a ticket.
Don't forget to head to our What's On page to see a full list of events! Got an event you want to shout about? Add it to our guide, or get in touch to discuss advertising with LeftLion
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