Christmas In Spilsby

Spilsby Online has promoted the Christmas Market and lights switch-on event since it started in 2016. We were heavily involved in ensuring as many people knew about the event as possible as well as taking a direct role in planning and operating the event.

However, as time has gone by the current organisers have continued to not provide any information about the event other than a small poster distributed locally. We are disappointed that we do not have any further information to share with you about the event as we have not been provided with any further details to distribute.

We have previously requested information, and have been promised updates but this has not come to pass. Every year we have thousands of visitors coming to the site to find information about local events, so it seems odd to us that the organisers have not shared any further information. It is free and easy to do and is offered to any organisation holding an event in the town and surrounding areas.

If you are holding a Christmas event please let us know and we can add it to our community events calendar. We have thousands of unique visitors each month visiting Spilsby Online – make sure they know about your event!

To ensure that our visitors can find out about the event we have added it to the events calendar. There will be a Christmas street market from 10 am to 2 pm, with street entertainment from noon.  The lights will be switched on at approximately 5 pm.

Other Local Christmas Events

We will advertise any local event open to the public in Spilsby and the surrounding area for FREE. It is quick and easy to do and thousands of visitors to find out about your event. Let us know about your event.

A brief history of Spilsby Christmas Market

After taking responsibility for the provision of Christmas lights for the Town in 2016, Councillor Andrew Wright and his wife, Vicky, took up the challenge to improve the event as something for all the family.

Having previously witnessed previous switch-on ‘events’ consisting of the town mayor and a few hardy locals at just after 3 pm, with the sun still in the sky and the lights impossible to see, it was clear that an improvement was sorely needed.

With not much time, Andrew and Vicky quickly pulled together the paperwork required, of which there was plenty, met with the relevant organisations on public safety and using public property for events, and received the required approvals.

The first event took place on Friday 25 November, on what started off as a quite windy and cold afternoon with the wind dropping in time for the market stalls to open.

Held in the centre car park there were nine stalls in total, and the switch-on was broadcast by County Linx Radio who had their radio bus on site. Despite the short notice to organise and promote the event, it was very well attended.

The Christmas tree lights were switched on by Councillor Gill Rymer, Mayor of Spilsby, to a packed crowd who were treated to festive songs from the students of Linkage College and Toynton All Saints Primary School.

From these small acorns, the event grew over the next few years, spreading onto the High Street, with more than twenty stalls in 2017, as well as a Santa’s Grotto, and linked up with Spilsby Rotary’s Cracker Day in 2018. County Linx Radio continued to support the event by bringing their radio bus, with Spilsby even beating Skegness to book their services in 2018.

More than £10,000 was spent on replacing Christmas lights during this period, replacing the old and inefficient incandescent lights with new, energy-efficient LED bulbs and large light-up motifs for mounting on the side of the building near the tree.

Organising an event such as the Christmas Market and lights switch on is considerably time-consuming and with work pressures and family to consider, as well as a lack of practical support from some business organisations, other voluntary organisations, and only limited practical support from the Town Council, Andrew and Vicky stood back from the event in 2019, handing over to Councillor Morgan Holland, with the market on a good footing and established in the community. Spilsby Online continued to support the event and it built on the existing successful formula, with more entertainment added.

No Christmas event took place in Spilsby due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, but the event was planned to return in 2021. However, this was cancelled due to high winds.

Unfortunately, the current organisers, the Spilsby Business Partnership and Spilsby Events Team, have only promoted the event through their own Facebook page and occasional flyers in the town and have not provided any materials for promotion, despite the earlier successes achieved through joined-up promotion, both online and offline, including posters in shop windows and banners, BBC and commercial local radio, local newspaper, Facebook, and Twitter – all coordinated through Spilsby Online.

Is this the same as Cracker Day?

No, Cracker Day is not the same as the Christmas Market and lights switch on, although, over the past few years, these have become more aligned.

Cracker Day was originally run by Spilsby Lions as a free local event, with Spilsby Rotary filling the gap when the Lions ceased. Despite promises over the years to provide information about Cracker Day so we can pass it on to our visitors, Spilsby Online does not receive any additional information from Spilsby Rotary.

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