Crib Service

Chester Cathedral holds its Crib Service on Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December, at 3pm. It's the one they describe as being for young children and for all ages to welcome the birth of the baby Jesus, so it's a good shout if you're heading in with the little ones. It's free and you don't need to book, but seats are first come, first served, and the cathedral asks people to be seated 15 minutes before it starts.

It's part of a wider Christmas programme that runs across the few days around the 25th. The Festival of Lessons and Carols is on 23 and 24 December at 6pm, and Midnight Mass follows the Crib Service later on Christmas Eve, starting at 11.30pm and sung by the Nave Choir. Christmas Day itself has the Eucharist at 10.30am, sung by the Cathedral Choir and presided over by the Bishop of Birkenhead.

Beyond the services, there's the annual Christmas Tree Festival, with more than 80 trees decorated around the theme 'Christmas Around the World', and a ticketed Christmas Carol Concert of traditional and popular festive words and music. If you're planning to do more than one, it's worth checking the timings, as the Crib Service is the earliest of the bunch.

So, the Crib Service is at Chester Cathedral, St Werburgh Street, Chester CH1 2DY, on Thursday 24 December at 3pm. Free, no booking needed, and first come, first served.