The festive period has begun in Watford!
On Saturday 15 November 2025, Watford Town Centre’s Christmas lights were officially switched on at Winterfest thanks to a magical visit from Santa Claus himself.
This year’s Winterfest and Christmas lights switch-on event on The Parade was bigger than ever before, featuring funfair rides, a high street parade, live entertainment and of course a special visit from Santa and his sleigh. The completely free community event ran from 2:00pm to 6:00pm, with the festive installations, including the LED Christmas tree, being switched on at 4:30pm watched by thousands of people.
Winterfest largely took place on The Parade, which was filled with activities suited for all ages, a community feel and a fun Christmas vibe. The funfair rides were all completely free to attendees including a rodeo reindeer, giant snow globe, Christmas carousel, pudding shy, penguin skittles and much more.
As well as a Christmas-themed Watford market, the event also included live on-stage entertainment by the pond. There were several local community group performers, featuring talented stars of all ages and it all culminated in a spectacular LED finale to round off the Christmas event.
One of the main features of the day was the Winterfest Parade, which began at 4pm outside of McDonald’s on the lower high street. The festive parade included a marching band, costume characters, community groups and Santa Claus himself riding his magical sleigh! The parade moved up Watford high street until it concluded at freshly named ‘Pondside’ for the big red button push.
As well as funding and organising Winterfest, Watford Town Centre BID has once again funded the town’s spectacular LED Christmas light installations for the seventh-year running, with thanks to a contribution from Watford Borough Council. The festive LED twinkly lights provide a wonderful backdrop for all Watford Town Centre users and complement Harlequin Watford’s beautiful displays.
Photo by Andrew Lalchan Photography
Kara Mesiano, BID Manager of Watford Town Centre, said: “We are thrilled with how the event went and want to extend an enormous thank you to all those in attendance! So much work goes into these events from the BID, local partners, volunteers and the community groups that performed, and we’re delighted to mark the beginning of the festive period with this brilliant event.
Huge credit goes to our BID businesses for funding another thrilling and vibrant event in our town for the benefit of residents and visitors. Now we must all repay the favour this Christmas by visiting Watford Town Centre and supporting its wonderful shops, pubs, restaurants and all the other fantastic businesses on offer!”
Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said: “I’m delighted to see the return of the beautiful Christmas lights in Watford Town Centre, bringing festive cheer for everyone to enjoy.
A huge thank you to Watford Town Centre BID for their hard work and dedication in organising the wonderful decorations and the many free, spectacular events that make our town so special at this time of year. This is just one of the many things that makes Watford such a great place to live, work and raise a family.”
To find out more about what’s on during the Christmas period in Watford Town Centre, be sure to keep an eye on @WatfordTownCentre Instagram, Facebook and TikTok accounts, as well as visiting www.watfordtowncentre.com for regular updates.
If you attended Winterfest and the Christmas lights switch-on, your feedback would be hugely appreciated by completing the following survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LR9KV8Y. There is a prize draw to win a £50 Watford Gift Card for those generous enough to complete the Winterfest 2025 survey, winner to be contacted towards the end of November 2025.
Photo by Dronexcell
