Last Updated on 6 December 2025 by Colette
This post features gifted experiences
Whilst my children are absolutely not the target age for a Waterside Christmas performance (it is recommended for age 3+), it is still a much loved family tradition for us and all three of them were keen to come along to watch this year’s performance of Raymond Brigg’s Father Christmas. Now we have actually seen Pins and Needles Productions perform Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas before when it was at Waterside in 2018 but I loved it just as much the second time round!
Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas is an absolute classic which tells the tale of a rather grumpy but entirely lovable Father Christmas as he gets ready for the busiest day of his year: “Bloomin’ Christmas”! From the moment his alarm clock goes off on Christmas Eve morning we follow his working day; looking after his pets, preparing his sleigh and delivering gifts across the world before settling down to his own Christmas dinner and a jolly good kip.
The story of Father Christmas has been adapted for stage beautifully with every memorable detail of the book incorporated into the performance so you really do feel as if the book has come to life before your very eyes. We loved the detailed scenery which was cleverly moved to create changes in location. Ben especially loved the way they showed Father Christmas arriving in different destinations around the globe and Chloe was a big fan of the way we were shown Father Christmas’ less than graceful decent down a chimney.
Having see the show before, it would have been easy to feel somewhat less impressed by it but honestly, it was just as beautiful as the first time. This time I had a good an idea of what was coming (for example the absolute joy that is the music and sound effects performed by Grace Liston) but rather than feeling it was less exciting for that, I think I just spotted and enjoyed new and different details instead. And of course, seven years on, there’s a lot less magic in our house but we were still entirely swept up in the story.
Highlights included the collective gasp from younger members of the audience when Father Christmas opened his wardrobe door and we saw his big red coat for the first time, or when the sleigh (with clever use of dry ice and snow) appeared to fly creating awe and wonder for little ones (and frankly, at 45 I was pretty impressed too!)
Chloe is now studying GCSE drama so watched the play through different eyes noticing clever details like the change of lighting to make a new location or the puppetry skills of Imogen Khan.
Not for one second am I recommending you take your teens to watch this play – they really aren’t they target audience, but in the same breath I’m going to tell you that I could happily go watch a Pins and Needles performance at Waterside without my kids and still adore it.
Father Christmas runs for around 50 minutes with no interval making it an ideal length of first time theatre goers. Don’t forget you can pre-book a milk and cookie pack which my three still love even in their teens (Chloe says the cookies were “banging” this year)!
Book tickets for Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas at Waterside which runs until Saturday 27th December 2025
PS The actors we saw last night are not the ones in these production shots!
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