Christmas in Oxfordshire's market towns 2026

Late November is when Oxfordshire's market towns start to feel like Christmas. Within about a week the lights go on in most of them, usually on a Friday evening with stalls, carols and a crowd in the market square. A few towns also hold a festive fayre or a late-night shopping evening.

This guide goes town by town. Where a town council or the event organiser has published a 2026 date, we give it. Where nobody has yet, we describe what normally happens and suggest you check nearer the time. Plans change and weather intervenes, so look at the organiser's own page before you set off.

West Oxfordshire: Witney, Woodstock and Burford

Witney

Witney Town Council lists the Christmas Light Switch On for Friday 27 November 2026, run by Witney Rotary Club. Last year it was held in the Market Square. Around the switch-on, a Christmas market of chalet-style stalls usually sets up along Marriotts Walk, the shopping centre. In 2025 it ran Thursday to Sunday that weekend. A children's Advent Fayre is normally held at the Corn Exchange Witney at the end of November, and the council lists the Mayor's Carol Service for Friday 4 December 2026. Cogges Manor Farm on the edge of town normally runs seasonal workshops, which need booking.

Woodstock

Woodstock's main Christmas event is the Festive Fayre, run by Wake Up To Woodstock, a non-profit association of local businesses. Its 2026 dates are Friday 27 November (evening) and Saturday 28 November (daytime). Artisan gift stalls are spread across three venues: St Mary Magdalene Church, The Oxfordshire Museum and the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum. The fayre is usually followed by the Night of a Thousand Candles in the Town Square, a free evening of music and carols when the Christmas lights are switched on. The town council says it is held on the last Saturday of November. While you're in town, The Woodstock Bookshop is on the high street. The organisers warn that parking is limited that weekend, and that Blenheim Palace pass holders can't park free at that time of year.

Burford

Burford has no single council-run Christmas event that we could find. In past years independent organisers have held a Christmas market on the High Street, and the parish church holds carols by candlelight shortly before Christmas. Look at the Burford town page and our events listings for this year's plans.

North Oxfordshire: Chipping Norton and Charlbury

Chipping Norton

Chipping Norton's switch-on normally falls on a Thursday in late November. The town council hadn't published a 2026 date when we checked. The evening usually runs from late afternoon. It includes the Big Chippy Christmas Sing-along led by local choirs from the Town Hall steps, late-night shopping, more than two dozen craft and charity stalls, and a visit from Santa. Watch the town council's community events page.

Charlbury

Charlbury is lit up mainly by its residents. More than 100 households and businesses fix a lit Christmas tree in a bracket on the front of their property, a scheme the Chamber of Commerce started. The town also holds a late-night shopping evening in mid December, usually on a Friday. In 2025, Charlbury Museum opened that evening with free entry. The community website, charlbury.info, already has an entry for this year's evening, so check there for the date.

South Oxfordshire: Henley-on-Thames, Thame and Wallingford

Henley-on-Thames

Henley Town Council lists its Christmas Festival and Light Switch On for 27–28 November 2026. The festival is normally an evening event. The town centre is closed to traffic and filled with stalls and rides, the Mayor switches on the lights, and live music plays on a stage in the Market Place. The council also lists a late-night shopping evening, "A Christmas Night in Henley", for Thursday 3 December 2026, and a Living Advent Calendar across the town from 1 to 24 December. Just outside town, the National Trust's Greys Court holds Christmas at Greys Court from 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. It is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There is no extra charge for the Christmas event, but normal admission applies.

Thame

Thame Town Council's Christmas calendar is already up. The Christmas Light Switch-on is on Friday 27 November 2026, in the late afternoon and early evening in the town centre. In 2025 it brought carols, street food and Thame Players to the high street. The next day, Saturday 28 November, the Christmas Charity Fair runs in the Town Hall and Santa's Grotto is at the Information Centre. Through December the calendar lists carols, concerts and the Thame Players panto, and a vintage and collectables sale at Thame Museum on 5–6 December.

Wallingford

Wallingford Town Council's events page lists the Wallingford Christmas Fayre on Sunday 6 December 2026 in the Market Place, run by Wallywood CIC. It's billed as a full day with craft and food stalls, live music, the Santa Dash, fairground rides, Santa's Grotto, a lantern procession and a dog show. In earlier years the town has also held a separate evening when the marketplace tree lights go on, and carols around the tree. We found no 2026 dates for those, so check with the town council.

Vale of White Horse: Abingdon

Abingdon's lights go on at the annual Christmas Extravaganza, run by the Abingdon Events Partnership with support from Abingdon on Thames Town Council. The council says this is held at the end of November or the start of December. It's a full day in and around the Market Place, normally with a craft market on Bath Street, performances on a Market Place stage, a parade led by pipers and local groups, and the switch-on in the early evening. In recent years it has been held on a Saturday in late November. No 2026 date had been published when we checked, so look at the town council's events calendar.

Before you go

• Check the date. Where we give a 2026 date it comes from the organiser or town council, but confirm on their page in the week before.
• Expect road closures. Henley closes its town centre to traffic for the festival, and other towns restrict vehicles around their market squares on switch-on evenings.
• Park early or take the bus. Most of these are evening events in small town centres, and car parks fill quickly.
• Ask about access. If you need step-free routes or accessible toilets, contact the organiser before you travel.

For more festive dates across the county as they're confirmed, see our events listings.

Cover photo: Christmas lights on the Buttercross in Witney, by Roger Davies, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.