A MAGICAL gingerbread village has arrived for the first time in Chester this year as part of the city centre’s festive programme of activities.

Offering families a free gingerbread craft zone where they can create their own eco-friendly gift bags and wrapping paper, add to the gingerbread paper chain, write letters to Santa and complete colouring pages. The Gingerbread Village will be hosted by gingerbread men and women who will be on hand to help families with Christmas crafts and spread festive cheer.

The village has been created by the city’s Business Improvement District, CH1ChesterBID, and will see an empty unit on Frodsham Square near the big Tesco transformed as part of the city’s Christmas theme.

Other features of the Gingerbread Village include a gingerbread playhouse and a ‘parent parking’ station, where adults will be encouraged to wait for their children as they complete their decorations and create their own gingerbread people.

The village will be open from Friday 16 November – 22 December and is free for families to visit. Opening times will be:

Thursdays: 3 - 7pm

Fridays: 10.30am - 1.30pm

Saturdays: 11am - 4.30pm

Sundays: 11.30am - 3.30pm

Emily Ghazarian, events manager at CH1ChesterBID, said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing the first ever Gingerbread Village to Chester city centre and look forward to welcoming families to this truly enchanting workshop.

“The gingerbread theme is running across many of the city’s Christmas activities this year and we will be promoting a Gingerbread Window Competition, thanks to our businesses, who are always keen to make the city look its best at Christmas.

“We created the Gingerbread Village to give families something new to enjoy and another reason to come and enjoy a festive visit to the city centre. The business community has been a great support with Tesco giving us use of the space and both The Gift Company and Weasel & The Bug donating toys and decorations. Christmas in Chester is always a magical time of year and this year is set to be one of our best ever!”

Young visitors to the Christmas-inspired Gingerbread Village will also receive a special ‘Chester Christmas Passport’ and a stamp to add to their collection. The passports will be customisable on the inside, with children encouraged to draw their own passport photo and complete their details, with other stamps available throughout the city centre.

During the Christmas period, donations will be kindly accepted at the Gingerbread Village with any money given going towards Hope House Children’s Hospice, which supports 750 local families who are either caring for a terminally ill child, or whose child has died.

The Hope House charity shop on Frodsham Street will also be joining in with the gingerbread theme and decorating its store windows to include gingerbread ornaments and embellishments created with support from children at The Kings School.

For more information on all the events and activities taking place in Chester this Christmas time, visit https://experiencechester.co.uk/christmas-events/.