Last updated 14 October 2026. Every date below is checked against the organiser's own page. Where a 2026 date has not been announced yet, we say so rather than guess.
Sunbury does Christmas in two halves. The village half is small and friendly: a street party on the Avenue Parade, carols at St Mary's, the walled garden on a frosty morning. The other half is Kempton Park, which turns into one of the busiest places in Surrey over Christmas. Here is what is confirmed for 2026.
At Kempton Park
Toy, Train and Collectors Fair
Kempton Park · Sunday 6 December 2026, 10.30am to 2.30pm · Adults £5, concessions £4, children £1
Pay on the door, and parking is free. A good Sunday morning for a present that nobody else will think of: old train sets, die-cast cars and the toys people remember from their own Christmases.
Sunbury Antiques Market
Kempton Park · Tuesday 8 December 2026, 6.30am to 2pm
The only market in December, and the one to go to for presents with a story. More than seven hundred traders, and it has run at Kempton since 1979. Early entry before 8am is £5 a head; after 8am it is free, and under-16s are always free. Wrap up: much of it is outdoors.
The Christmas Festival: Boxing Day racing
Kempton Park · Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 December 2026
The King George VI Chase on Boxing Day is the big race of the meeting, and has been since 1946. Gates open at 10.30am, the first race is at 12.45pm and the King George itself is due at 2.30pm, though the Jockey Club say timings can change. Sunday is Kauto Star Chase Day. Tickets are on sale now through the Jockey Club, and it is the one day of the year when half of Sunbury walks to the course.
Close by
Shepperton Big Tree Night
Shepperton High Street · Wednesday 9 December 2026, 5pm to 8.30pm · Free
Santa with real reindeer by the library, school choirs on the stage and around forty-five stalls. The High Street closes from 4pm, so the train is the easy way in.
Ashford Wide Christmas Market
Church Road, Ashford · Wednesday 2 December 2026, 5pm to 8pm · Free
More than fifty stalls, mulled wine and a free grotto. Our Ashford Christmas guide has the rest.
Hampton Court Palace
Ten minutes over the river. The ice rink runs from 20 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed on Christmas Day, and the Festive Fayre is on 4 to 6 and 11 to 13 December. Both need booking, and the rink sells out at weekends.
Staines Christmas Parade
Sunday 22 November 2026, 10.30am to 4pm
See our Staines Christmas guide.
Expected, but not yet confirmed
These all ran in 2025. The organisers have not published 2026 dates yet, so please check before you go.
- Sunbury Christmas street party, the Avenue Parade, Lower Sunbury. Run by the Lower Sunbury business community, with the road closed to traffic, stalls, lights and music. It ran on Thursday 4 December 2025, 5pm to 8pm, and it is usually an early-December Thursday evening.
- St Mary's, Sunbury carols. In 2025 there was an Advent carol service on 30 November, Nine Lessons and Carols on the Sunday before Christmas at 6.30pm, crib services at 3pm and 5pm on Christmas Eve and Midnight Mass. The church has not posted its 2026 Christmas services yet.
- Riverside Players of Sunbury pantomime, Riverside Arts Centre, Thames Street. The company has launched its 2026–27 panto, but the title and dates are not out yet. It usually runs in January.
We will update this page as the dates land. If you would rather be told, the signup at the foot of this page is one short letter a month and nothing else.
Bringing a little of it home
Whether it is a cold morning at the antiques market or a long afternoon at the races, the walk home is the best part. A few things we keep for the evenings in between:
- Twelve-Day Christmas Village Advent Calendar, £39.95. A little village that builds up through December, and comes back out next year.
- Little Woodland House, Light-Up, £14.95. Lit from inside, for the windowsill.
- Fluted cordless table lamps, £24.95. Rechargeable, so they can glow in a front window with no lead in sight.
Our Christmas gift guide is grouped by what you want to spend, and the Christmas gifting collection has everything in one place. Delivery in the UK is included.
For the wider area, see Christmas markets near Sunbury-on-Thames, and what to take to a Christmas market.