Key dates, information and events in Saltford this Christmas as follows!
SPC December meeting 2025 – Tuesday 2 December, 7:15pm: Saltford Parish Council’s last meeting of 2025 takes place in the Avon Room at Saltford Hall on Tuesday 2 December, starting at 7:15pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend. View our ‘Meetings – Agendas and Minutes‘ page for meeting details.
Image shows L-R Cllrs Paul Smith, David Halton, Jon Godfrey, Phil Harding, Julie Austwick and Andy Rice at SPC’s December 2023 meeting
Saltford Community Association’s Santa Sleigh – from 29 November to 17 December: Saltford Community Association (SCA) has arranged Santa’s Sleigh to travel around Saltford this December! View a message from the SCA Team including the events Santa will be attending and maps for the Saltford Street Tours in SPC’s article ‘Saltford Santa Sleigh – Christmas 2025! News from Saltford Community Association‘.
Photo taken c.2023, showing a SPC Cllr (and elf volunteer) and staff with Santa and another of his elves!
Saltford Christmas Market – Saturday 6 December: With nearly 50 stalls there’s no better place to do your Christmas shopping locally! Head down to Saltford Hall for Saltford Community Association‘s Christmas Market between 10am and 2pm on Sunday 6 December. SCA say: “We will also be selling 100 Club Tickets, our very reasonable priced Saltford Calendars for 2026 and we will have a wonderful Christmas Cake raffle, made, decorated and donated by Vivien. Then after the shopping relax with a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie or if you feel peckish savour one of the cafe’s specialities, a Newton Farm bacon roll with brie. Come and enjoy the festive atmosphere and be inspired!”
Christmas Market at Saltford Hall image courtesy of Saltford Community Association
Saltford Santa Dash 2025 – Sunday 7 December: Watch (or be one of) hundreds of Santas and Mini-Santas running around our village! Saltford Santa Dash page at https://www.saltfordsantadash.com/ . Also view SPC’s article ‘Saltford Santa Dash – Sunday 7 December 2025: Hundreds of Santas on the streets (traffic may jingle along more slowly!)‘ including a message to residents from the organisers.
Image above taken from Saltford Santa Dash 2025 leaflets, and shows (left) Cllr Phil Harding and (right) Cllr David Halton (and SPC dog!) volunteering and participating in the 2024 event.
Lighting of the Christmas Tree (Saltford Hall) – 7pm on Thursday 11 December: This annual event is at the heart of the community each Christmas in Saltford. Hosted by Saltford Community Association at Saltford Hall, the Saltford Village Choir along with children from Years 5 & 6 from Saltford Primary School will perform a variety of Christmas songs, carols and poems. (Previous version of this article had an incorrect start time – now corrected – apologies for any confusion!)
The Lighting of the Christmas Tree event at Saltford Hall (image taken in a previous year)
December services at St Mary’s Church – Wednesday 3 December to Sunday 28 December: St Mary’s Church warmly welcomes residents to its December services. A list of services during the Advent period can be found listed on p.43 in Saltford Community Associations SCAN newsletter (as in the image below). These include services on Sundays in December as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Cllr David Halton, Vice Chair of SPC, is pleased to have been invited by the Revd Nigel Williams to give a reading during St Mary’s Church ‘Carols at Christmas’ Service on Sunday 21 December – the service starts at 6pm. St Mary’s Church website is at https://www.scnbenefice.org.uk/stmix.html.
A list of St Mary’s Church services in December is shown above and available in the current copy of SCAN on p.43
B&NES Council’s waste and recycling changes – affecting scheduled collections Wed 25 Dec to Sat 11 January: For the 2025/26 Christmas and New Year period, changes will affect collections which would normally be scheduled from Wednesday 25 December to Saturday 11 January. There are no collections on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Check out SPC’s comprehensive article titled ‘Waste, recycling and Christmas tree collections in Saltford: Christmas and New Year 2025–2026‘ for information about changes to scheduled collection dates over the festive period, as well as details on Christmas Tree collections, recycling, the reuse shop, B&NES Council’s Pixash Lane site and more.
Image taken from B&NES Council’s Waste and Recycling Guide 2025/26, as posted to Saltford residents in November
Saltford Community Post Office and Library – opening hours during the festive period: Saltford Community Post Office and Library has shared its opening schedule for the festive season, visit https://www.saltfordhub.org/.
Normal hours are Monday to Friday from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm. On Saturdays, the library and shop are open from 9.00 am to 12.00 noon. While the Post Office is usually closed on Saturdays, it will be open on the four Saturdays leading up to Christmas: 29 November, 6 December, 13 December, and 20 December, from 9.00 am to 12.00 noon.
For the Christmas and New Year period, the post office, library, and shop will close at 1.00 pm on Wednesday 24 December and reopen at 9.00 am on Monday 5 January 2026. Santa and his sleigh will visit Saltford Post Office and Library from 10.00 am to 12.00 noon on Saturday 29 November and Saturday 13 December.
For further enquiries, contact Saltford Hub on 01225 257143 or email library@saltfordhub.org View the Saltford Community Post Office and Library Hub website and Facebook page for more information. Plus Saltford Community Association has shared in their news letter: “Christmas goodies are now on sale at Saltford Community Post Office and Library. Santa’s elves have been working hard to ensure we have all the items our customers need leading up to Christmas. We have a great variety of boxed cards starting from just £2 plus handmade individual cards from only £1.50. Finally the beautiful 2026 Saltford Calendar is now available at Saltford Community PO/Library and we’d encourage you to purchase while stocks last”.
Image above Santa with the Chair of the Saltford Library and Community Post Office Hub on Saturday 29 November 2025
Bath Christmas Market 27 November to 14 December: 2025 marks 25 years of the Bath Christmas Market, view their website at https://www.bathchristmasmarket.co.uk/ Residents who hold a Discovery Card are eligible for discount at all chalets, Monday to Friday. Offers will be on display in each chalet and listed on the website. Don’t forget to bring it along with you! Details along with travel information is available in SPC’s article ‘Bath Christmas Market 2025: Residents special preview evening Wed 26 November, 5-7pm‘.
Photo of the Bath Christmas Market, taken in Abbey Square, taken by Cllr Phil Harding (2024)
Update 16 Dec 2025: The Bath Christmas Market will return in 2026, from November 26 to December 13. For 2025, Christmas in Bath is still in full swing with ‘the Victorian carousel arriving on Stall Street on December 18 and Bath on Ice at Royal Victoria Park continuing to delight’. Details from B&NES Council’s Newsroom article titled ‘Festive magic for Christmas 2026 already on the horizon in Bath‘.
‘Report It’ this Christmas and New Year period – Saltford Parish Council kindly requests that members of the public report issues in the village directly to the appropriate authority. As a small local council, SPC does not have the resources to report issues or liaise with authorities (like B&NES Council) on residents’ behalf. Direct reporting also ensures a quicker and more efficient response. Issues in public areas in Saltford may be the responsibility of B&NES Council, or Curo, the Canal River Trust etc. – various authorities that are responsible for different matters cover our area. To assist with reporting, guidance for residents is available on SPC’s ‘Report It‘ page. SPC’s report it page also has a guidance for residents under its Report It page’s ‘Environment, Flooding, and Water‘ section which has helpful information in case of extreme weather. B&NES Council is the responsible authority for Emergency Planning and resilience in Saltford. Thanks to all residents who look to report issues and fixes required in Saltford.
Image above taken from B&NES Council’s FixMyStreet page at https://fix.bathnes.gov.uk/, showing ‘fixes’ reported as of 1 Dec
~ SPC Office hours during the Christmas and New Year period: Parish Council office hours will be restricted over the Christmas and New Year period. Any communications received to SPC from Wednesday 17 December (including emails, post and voicemails) will be responded to as soon as possible after Monday 5 January 2026. SPC will next meet on Tuesday 6 January at 7:15 pm in the Avon Room at Saltford Hall. For information about Saltford Parish Council, its meetings and Councillor contact details please view SPC’s website.
Merry Christmas and wishing you a happy New Year, from everyone at Saltford Parish Council
Image taken at SPC’s Christmas Dinner in 2024 – all SPC Christmas social gatherings are funded individually (not via SPC funds!)