THE Lanes Shopping Centre in Carlisle has revealed its bumper festive events schedule as part of its 2024 'Christmas extravaganza.'

The shopping centre will host a number of free events for the Christmas period, with this schedule set to get underway on Thursday, November 28. 

These include a programme of meet-and-greet events where local families can say hello to their favourite Christmas movie characters such as The Grinch and Cindy Lou, and Paddington Bear. 

The Lanes will also be hosting Santa's Grotto between Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 22, the seven-foot-tall singing and dancing Cocky Robins on Saturday, December 14 as well as Buddy Elf and Naughty Elf. 

In addition, the shopping centre will extend its Thursday opening times from November 28 to December to accommodate Christmas shoppers.

Susan Young, centre manager at The Lanes, said: "Christmas is such a magical time and we love seeing children in the centre get excited when they know Santa is in town.

"For families doing their Christmas shopping, we’ve put on a number of activities to keep the kids entertained and get everyone feeling jolly.

"In addition, we have also extended our Thursday opening times until 7pm from 28th November until 19th December to give our customers more time to shop for Christmas gifts."