Lord Mayor's Christmas Tree Festival at Hull Minster

If you are looking for a gentle way to ease into the festive season, Hull Minster has a tradition that fits the bill. The Lord Mayor's Christmas Tree Festival is back at the 700-year-old church in the city centre, and it is the kind of event that is easy to drop into whenever you happen to be passing through town.

The premise is simple: local businesses, organisations and individuals compete to decorate the most creative Christmas tree, and the result is dozens of them filling the Minster for the run-up to Christmas. The 2026 edition officially opens on Tuesday 1 December at 11:00, with Lord Mayor Councillor Maria Coward and Reverend Dominic Black doing the honours, and it stays open right through to Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December. Between the opening and the end, you can wander in from 10:00 to 16:00, with the only exception being Sundays when it is closed. Entry is free, and visitors are asked to come in through the North Door.

For anyone who has ever looked at a shop window display and thought they could do it better, there is a way to get involved. Decorators set up their trees at the Minster on Monday 30 November between 09:00 and 15:00, and you have to bring your own tree and decorations. There is a minimum donation of £10 per tree, and lights must be battery-powered, with all the money going to the Lord Mayor's Charity Appeal Fund. The fund supports nominated charities across the city, including Hull and East Yorkshire Children's University and Cruse Bereavement Support, so the entry fee does some genuine good. Once the festival wraps up, trees need to be collected on Monday 4 January between 09:00 and 15:00.

There is a nice extra touch this year as well. Alongside the competition, the Lord Mayor has pledged to donate a Christmas tree to someone in the city, which adds a bit of quiet generosity to what is already a community-led event. It is a small gesture that sits well with the spirit of the whole thing.

Whether you want to enter a tree of your own or just have a free wander through a room full of them, it is a low-pressure way to mark the start of the season. If you would like to book a tree or need more information before you commit, the Civic Office can be reached on 01482 615 486. It is worth a visit either way, if only for the chance to see what the city's businesses have come up with this year. Between the opening on 1 December and the final day on Christmas Eve, there is plenty of time to find a quiet hour and take it in.