12 dated events coming up in and around Stockport, Greater Manchester. Collected from the organisations running them, not from anyone paying to appear.
Arc's monthly art club at Hat Works in Stockport, where adults and children make things together. Drop in between 11am and 3pm, with a suggested £3 donation per artist if you can afford it.
Spot the elves hidden round Bramall Hall and win a festive prize at the end. £3 a child plus the booking fee; adults pay normal admission. Recommended from age 3. No trail on 5 and 6 December.
A free half hour of stories for under 5s at Stockroom, the new library in Merseyway. Every Wednesday at 11am. It is free but they ask you to book so they know numbers.
A free half hour of stories for under 5s at Stockroom, the new library in Merseyway. Every Wednesday at 11am. It is free but they ask you to book so they know numbers.
Arc's monthly art club at Hat Works in Stockport, where adults and children make things together. Drop in between 11am and 3pm, with a suggested £3 donation per artist if you can afford it.
Spot the elves hidden round Bramall Hall and win a festive prize at the end. £3 a child plus the booking fee; adults pay normal admission. Recommended from age 3. No trail on 5 and 6 December.
The Snowman shown on the big screen at Stockport Plaza with the Yorkshire Imperial Band playing the score live. Cert U and billed for all ages, in the lovely 1930s cinema.
Santa Claus The Movie on the big screen at Stockport Plaza, the restored 1932 art deco cinema in Mersey Square. A Sunday afternoon showing at 3pm. Rated PG.
The house is dressed room by room in Christmas traditions from around the world, made by Handmade Theatre. The car parks shrink when it is wet. A bus or train ticket gets you into the park and garden free, but not the house, so you still pay for this bit.
A guided walk-through at the farm: passport control, a naughty-or-nice machine, a teddy to build and stuff, Mrs Claus's kitchen, the reindeer stable, then a personal visit with Father Christmas and a coin to spend in his toy shop. Marshmallow toasting by the fire costs extra, so decide before anyone spots the fire pit. Free parking.
A junior cast put on Frozen Jr at the Forum Theatre in Romiley, with all the songs from the film. Evening shows 3 to 5 December and a 2pm matinee on the Saturday.
Stockport's family panto at the Plaza on Mersey Square, with Todd Carty as Fleshcreep. BSL-interpreted shows on 5 and 10 December; book at the box office to dodge the booking fee.
Father Christmas at Bramall Hall: elf spotting, a letter to write and a gift from Father Christmas himself. Every child needs a ticket booked in advance, none are sold on the day. From age 3.
Charming Entertainment's Beauty and the Beast panto at the Forum Theatre in Romiley, running 12 to 28 December with morning and evening shows. Prices are on the booking site.
Stockport Symphony Orchestra's family matinee at the Town Hall: Peter and the Wolf and The Bear and the Piano shown with the live orchestra, plus Carnival of the Animals. Accompanied under 16s are £5.
Places you can turn up to whether or not anything is on.
A black and white Tudor manor house sitting in around 60 acres of parkland with woods, brooks and lakes. The park costs nothing, under 16s go into the hall free, and all-day parking is £4.
Stockport's big council park in Cheadle, with a fully accessible playground, a free BMX race track and an 18-hole pitch and putt at £6.50 for juniors. Free to visit, but the car park is pay and display.
A big lake crowded with waterfowl, a flat path alongside it and a cafe where you left the car: the easiest small-child walk in the Stockport area. Entry is free, the car park is not.
The UK's only museum of hats and hatting, back open after a four-year refurbishment. The galleries are free and you can try hats on; the Victorian factory floor is an £8.50 guided tour on selected dates. An hour well spent, not a full day.
Aviation museum on the old Woodford aerodrome, home to the only all-white Vulcan bomber, with cockpit tours and a free flight simulator. Under-11s go free, and it opens Friday to Sunday only.
A proper deer park on the edge of the Peaks: 1,400 acres, a herd of red deer, the Crow Wood adventure playground, and the house from the BBC's Pride and Prejudice.