With big festive events such as Fenwick's Santa on the Roof and Beamish Museum's Christmas Evenings, it seems it's never too early to plan your family's festive treats,
Both those events annually see huge demand for tickets and, with preparations well under way for other seasonal specials around the North East, there no doubt will be many other people eager to be quick off the mark to make a booking. Even in - or maybe because of - the current financial gloom, families just like to have something to look forward to.
We have drawn up a list of 10 Christmas events across the North East which have tickets on sale now and in these cash-strapped times we also will be following up with ideas for free, or cheap, things for families to do over the festive season. For now, our round-up includes some annual favourites - where it will be a case of you snooze, you lose over tickets - and some new twists on what's gone before.
