Hillingdon's Christmas lights go on from Monday 9 November, with eight switch-on events from Hayes on 12 November to Harefield on 3 December. Every date.
Christmas lights will be up in 27 town centres and parades across Hillingdon this year. The first go on from Monday 9 November, and eight places get a switch-on event between 12 November and 3 December.
Hillingdon Council published the list on its Christmas light displays page. The council says the displays will run through November and December “to celebrate Christmas and Diwali”. Diwali falls on Sunday 8 November, the day before the first lights go up.
Updated 7 November: the council has listed the Civic Centre switch-on on its events calendar: Friday 27 November, 5.45pm to 7pm, free, with school choirs, a brass band, stilt walkers and Father Christmas. (Hillingdon Council)
Updated 5 November: TfL lists no Piccadilly or Metropolitan line trains to or from Uxbridge on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November, the day of the Uxbridge town centre switch-on. TfL says replacement buses will run. Travel details.
So far the council has published a time for only one of the switch-on events, its own at the Civic Centre (below). The other seven are dates only.
The eight switch-on events
| Date | Where |
|---|---|
| Thursday 12 November | Hayes Town Centre |
| Saturday 14 November | Joel Street, Northwood Hills |
| Saturday 14 November | Victoria Road, Ruislip Manor |
| Friday 20 November | Ruislip Town Centre |
| Saturday 21 November | Uxbridge Town Centre |
| Friday 27 November | Civic Centre, Uxbridge, 5.45pm to 7pm |
| Monday 30 November | Ickenham Village |
| Thursday 3 December | Harefield Village |
Uxbridge gets two. The town centre switch-on on Saturday 21 November is the one run by Love Uxbridge, the business improvement district. The Civic Centre event six days later is the council’s own, with the Mayor switching on the forecourt tree. Our Uxbridge switch-on page has what each has involved in past years.
Lights with no switch-on event
The rest simply go up. Most are on from Monday 9 November:
- Belmore Parade, Blenheim Parade, Byron Parade, Crescent Parade, Marlborough Parade and New Broadway Parade, all on Uxbridge Road
- Hayes End Parade
- High Street, Yiewsley
- Hillingdon Circus
- Kingshill Avenue, Hillingdon
- Long Drive and Station Approach, South Ruislip
- North Hyde Road, Hayes
- Yeading Lane Parade
Four others start later:
- Eastcote Town Centre, from Friday 13 November
- Harlington High Street and Harmondsworth Village, from Thursday 19 November
- Northwood Town Centre, from Thursday 26 November
The council lists Station Road, West Drayton “from Monday 10 November”. 10 November is a Tuesday, so one of the two is wrong. Expect the lights there on 9 or 10 November.
How it compares with last year
The scheme is about the same size. In its 2024 festive round-up the council said it was supporting 28 council-led and four community-led lights schemes across the borough’s 21 wards (Christmas events in Hillingdon, Hillingdon Council).
Some dates have moved. In 2025 the Ruislip switch-on was on Friday 21 November and the Civic Centre’s on Friday 28 November, according to the ianVisits round-up. This year both are again on a Friday, 20 and 27 November. Ickenham’s moves from Monday 1 December to Monday 30 November.
What it means for you
- Put your local date in the diary now. Times have not been published, so check nearer the day. We will add them here when the council or the organisers publish them.
- Free parking comes later. HillingdonFirst cardholders park free in council car parks and on-street bays on Saturday 12, Sunday 13, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December. It does not cover Ruislip Lido or the leisure centre car parks (Free festive parking, Hillingdon Council). Our parking in Uxbridge page has the usual prices.
- More to do: see our pages on Christmas markets, Santa’s grottos and Christmas travel.
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