Fareham's Festive Thursdays: late shopping and events

If you are planning your Christmas shopping around the South Coast, Fareham's Festive Thursdays are worth building an evening around. The two events fall on Thursday 10 December and Thursday 17 December, running from 4pm to 7pm at Fareham Shopping Centre, with many of the shops staying open until 7pm on both nights. To make it easier to get in and out, Fareham Borough Council is throwing in free parking across all its town centre car parks from 4pm on both dates.

The centrepiece is The Courtyard, the former Game unit inside Fareham Shopping Centre, which Flo's Market turns into a festive indoor market. It gathers local traders, artisans and craftspeople selling the kind of things you will not find on a high street: jewellery, candles, handmade soaps, homewares, sweet treats, local tea, preserves, artwork, crochet gifts and eco-friendly products. If you would rather make something than buy it, there is a run of workshops covering silver jewellery making, Christmas card making, decoration, glass, vision boards, collage, calligraphy, painting and Kinusaiga.

Families are clearly the target audience for the rest of the programme. From 4pm, a winter schedule of activities takes over the town centre, including a free Santa's Grotto and a Festive Christmas Workshop where children can meet Santa Claus and get stuck into some craft activities. Over at the Civic Gardens, tucked between Fareham Live and Fareham Library, Carols in the Garden starts at 4.30pm, with the area decked out in Christmas lights and a lit arch and live performances of Christmas songs.

For anyone who wants to make a proper night of it, Fareham Library hosts Quizmas on Thursday 10 December from 6pm to 8.30pm, and the Library Café stays open all night serving food and drink, including a pre-order Christmas baguette at £5 a head, which you need to book by 1 December. It is a handy option if you want to sit down after a few hours of browsing.

The late-night shopping list is long enough to cover most of your Christmas list in one go. Among the retailers staying open late are Boots, The Fragrance Shop, Amy Nails, Waterstones, Next, Cards Direct, David Christopher, Bonmarche, Shoe Zone, Savers, Card Factory, Ernest Jones, Fone World, Fone Centre, GDK, Grape Tree, B&M, Age UK, Kem Pres T-Shirts, Shakeaway, The Works, Utopia Desserts, Glamour Girl, Salt & Sage Bistro, New Look, Peacocks, Cafe Nero and CeX, with Clintons, Roman and Costa joining in on 10 December only. Cllr Frair Burgess, Executive Member for Leisure and Community, and Mike Taylor, Centre Manager of Fareham Shopping Centre, have both put their support behind the events.

Between the free parking, the free grotto, the local market and the long list of shops staying open, it is a well-stacked couple of evenings for anyone who would rather do their Christmas shopping in person than click a button. Whether you are there for the market, the carols or simply to tick off a few presents, the two Thursdays give you a couple of chances to catch it.