Christmas in Surrey fills Sandown Park from 21 to 24 November, from £6. Hampton Court's Festive Fayre is 4-6 and 11-13 December. Village market dates are due.

Elmbridge’s Christmas markets come in two kinds. There are two big ticketed fairs with confirmed 2026 dates, both on the borough’s edge at Esher and East Molesey. Then there are the village markets, run by local groups alongside the light switch-ons, which had not published 2026 dates when we checked on 3 October.

The quick answer

  • First: Christmas in Surrey at Sandown Park, Saturday 21 to Tuesday 24 November, 10am to 5pm, early bird entry £6
  • Biggest: Hampton Court Palace Festive Fayre, 4 to 6 and 11 to 13 December, over 100 producers, included in a palace ticket
  • Village markets: no 2026 dates yet. Last year’s ran from 22 November to 14 December, and the council’s combined list came out on 10 November

Christmas in Surrey, Sandown Park: 21 to 24 November

A four-day indoor Christmas fair at Sandown Park Racecourse, Portsmouth Road, Esher KT10 9AJ, run by Life Events Management Ltd. It is open 10am to 5pm each day, with independent makers and small businesses, creative workshops, family activities and a Santa’s Grotto.

The entry tickets on Eventbrite are still at early bird prices:

  • £6 a head
  • £10 for a couple with no children
  • £12 for a family of two adults and up to two children under 13

Workshops are ticketed separately at £22.38 and £33.22 including fees. The Santa’s Grotto is booked separately too: £20 for one child, £30 for two and £40 for three, for children aged 1 to 15, with under-ones free.

Sandown has paid parking for more than 2,000 vehicles and step-free access, the organiser says. Esher station is about 20 minutes’ walk.

Hampton Court Palace Festive Fayre: 4 to 6 and 11 to 13 December

The Festive Fayre fills the palace’s Great Fountain Garden over two weekends, Friday to Sunday each time, 10am to 5pm, with more than 100 independent producers selling gifts and food and live music at the bandstand. Historic Royal Palaces says there are more stallholders to find on the second weekend.

  • It is included in palace admission. All six Fayre days are peak dates, when tickets are £36 an adult and £18 a child aged 5 to 15. Under-fives are free. The ticket also covers the Winter Palace show inside, the gardens and the maze
  • Book ahead. The palace says entry without a pre-booked ticket cannot be guaranteed. Members get in free but must also pre-book
  • The palace building closes at 4.30pm on Fayre days, except Friday 11 December, when the Winter Palace runs late but the Fayre still closes at 5pm
  • An adults-only Festive Lounge, with drinks and a goody bag, is sold as an upgrade on top of a ticket

The palace is just over Hampton Court Bridge from East Molesey, in the borough of Richmond.

The village markets: last year’s dates

Elmbridge Borough Council’s Love Elmbridge at Christmas 2025 guide listed six markets. None has a 2026 date yet. These are last year’s dates, to show which weekend to expect:

  • Cobham Farmers’ and Artisans market, Hollyhedge Road car park, Saturday 22 November 2025
  • Hersham Christmas market, Sunday 23 November 2025
  • Weybridge Christmas market, Sunday 30 November 2025
  • The Court Circular Christmas market, Vine Hall, East Molesey, Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 December 2025
  • Walton on Thames Farmers’ and Artisans market, The Heart Shopping Centre, Saturday 6 December 2025
  • Claygate Christmas market, Sunday 14 December 2025

Cobham and Walton’s are the regular monthly farmers’ markets in festive form. Surrey Markets holds Cobham’s on the fourth Saturday of the month and Walton’s on the first, which would put them on 28 November and 5 December 2026 if the pattern holds. That is our reading of the pattern, not a published date.

Most of the switch-ons have stalls too. Cobham’s Onederland on Saturday 21 November is confirmed, 2pm to 7pm. Every switch-on date is on our Elmbridge Christmas lights page.

The ice rink next door

The Hampton Court Palace ice rink opens on Friday 20 November and runs to Sunday 3 January 2027, closed only on Christmas Day. Sessions run from 10am to a last session at 8pm. It needs its own ticket, and palace admission is not included.

The 10am sessions every day are reduced-capacity, with static lighting and quieter music, which the palace suggests for disabled skaters and parents with young children.

Parking

Last year the council made 22 of its car parks free on the three Saturdays before Christmas, and gave free parking at several car parks on switch-on days. Nothing has been announced for 2026. Everyday charges are on our parking in Elmbridge page, and closures are on roadworks and travel.

What it means for you

  • The only Elmbridge market you can book now is Christmas in Surrey, and its early bird prices will not last
  • For Hampton Court, pick your weekend and book. Every Fayre day is a peak day, so the ticket price is the same on all six
  • Expect the village markets in the last week of November and the first fortnight of December. The council’s guide came out on 10 November last year; we will add each date as the organisers publish it

Sources