17 Nov 2025
It’s beginning to look at lot like Christmas in St Albans, as the city enters the festive season in style with its annual street festival spectacular.
This year’s Christmas Cracker saw St Peter’s Street closed to traffic on Sunday for a day of family fun including live music, fairground rides, a Santa’s grotto, street entertainers and dozens of market stalls selling hot food, drinks and seasonal gifts.
Thousands of people flocked the streets for what may are saying was the busiest Cracker yet.
Festive decorations and installations were illuminated throughout the event and there were guest appearances from some of the cast of this year’s Alban Arena pantomime, Aladdin, including the legendary Bob Golding.
Cllr Edgar Hill, SADC’s lead for events, said: “Once again, the Christmas Cracker attracted huge crowds to the City Centre and launched the festive season in St Albans in an exciting way.
“This was a fantastic occasion with thousands of people out and about, enjoying themselves.
“The run-up to Christmas is an important time for many of our local businesses – shops, pubs, restaurants and market traders.
“The Christmas Cracker provides a boost to the local economy by attracting people to the City Centre and I am sure they will have been encouraged to come back for more in the weeks leading up to Christmas Day.”
The Christmas Cracker is organised by SADC with sponsorship from St Albans City Centre BID and support from local businesses including Costa Coffee and Ovo. It is part-funded by the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
All images by St Albans Times photographer John Andrews. More in this week’s issue.
