As part of a move by Visit Jersey to increase the number of tourists visiting the Island over the winter, for the first time all of the events taking place over the festive period have been brought together to form what will be known as the Winter Festival.
Beginning on 26 November with the switching on of the Christmas lights in St Helier, the festival will include the popular Fête dé Noué, which takes place from 3 to 6 December.
Featuring a Norman Market at the Weighbridge and the Spirit of Christmas food and craft market in the Royal Square, the fête will culminate with the Christmas Battle of Flowers parade.
As in previous years, shops will stay open late on the four Thursdays in the run-up to Christmas.
However, for the first time this year stores will be open for six Sundays before Christmas instead of the previous five.
Another new attraction this year will be Enchanted Narnia at the Weighbridge.
Run by the award-winning production company, Secrets Beneath, families will be able to explore the world of the C S Lewis novels in a specially designed Winter Wonderland.
The ice rink will also be open at Fort Regent, where children will be able to visit Father Christmas during the Fête dé Noué.
Jenny Ellenger, head of product at Visit Jersey, said: ‘This is the first year that Visit Jersey have been working on marketing Jersey at Christmas.
‘What we have tried to do is pull together events organised by a wide range of people, instead of just those that were previously organised by Jersey Tourism.
‘We want to try and attract people to stay for more than just one weekend and we have so much going on that we thought we could bring all the events together under one festival.
‘It’s something that makes the Island look good and makes commercial sense.’
She added: ‘There’s going to be something for everyone – I think the Narnia attraction should be brilliant fun for families.
‘We tend to get lots of French visitors over Christmas and New Year and having the shops available on an extra Sunday is something which will certainly enhance their experience.’
For the full list of events click here
Meanwhile, as part of its Escape to Jersey campaign Visit Jersey is launching a competition for Islanders to win a table for two at a top Jersey restaurant by sharing their favourite winter images on its Facebook page.
Town centre manager Daphne East said: ‘I think St Helier will really twinkle this year.
‘The Fête dé Noué is a fantastic event but it is only on for one weekend and we wanted to make sure that we have something going on in town on every weekend in December before Christmas.
‘St Helier should have a real buzz as there are lots of performances planned.
‘It should be a very exciting month or so.’
While it is understandable that advent calendars need to be on the shelves in November, is there really a need for any other Christmas products to be on sale before 1 December?
We asked some Islanders in town for their opinion. Check our our video to see what they thought:
