A CHRISTMAS cinema experience is coming to Walton Hall with The Muppet Christmas Carol and Love Actually brightening up the festivities.

Walton Festive Cinema takes place in the Old Riding School on Saturday and Sunday, December 22 and 23, with the experiences billed respectively as ‘Saturday night romance’ and ‘Sunday family fun’.

It follows a Walton’s first open-air film festival in August when Notting Hill, Donnie Darko and The Blair Witch Project were shown on the big screen.

Mary Poppins was also on the slate but had to be cancelled at the last minute due to a family emergency involving the contractors.

Taking inspiration from open air cinema events at the likes of Tatton Park and Haigh Hall, organiser Sean Kelly told Weekend he hopes the screenings become a regular event at the park.

He said: “The reception we had was fantastic. We had a tremendous response in August and tickets have been selling well this time, particularly for The Muppet Christmas Carol.

“We’re trying to strike the right balance so what we put on is going to be popular for a variety of different audiences.

“Despite the commercialism of Christmas, I think it’s fair to say most of us still pine for the traditional things. A lot of us will have memories of a Muppets Christmas and it seems to keep coming around.

“It’s like a mince pie – you don’t touch them all year but then you love them at Christmas.”

Operations manager Sean and his team are hoping for between 400 and 500 people at each of the screenings and you can expect Christmassy drinks like hot chocolate and mulled wine to add to the sense of occasion.

The Muppet Christmas Carol will see the Muppets tell their version of the Charles Dickens classic about an old and bitter miser’s redemption on Christmas Eve.

The star-studded Love Actually follows the lives of eight couples dealing with their love lives in loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.

Sean, of Gorsey Lane, said: “We’ve seen successful events like this at forward-thinking venues like Tatton Park in Knutsford and Haigh Hall in Wigan.

“We strive to be as good if not better than them. It keeps everybody on their toes.”

The father-of-four added: “It’s disheartening to see your kids on an Xbox all the time and you’re always striving for something to do that will appeal to your whole family. I just think this is great because it gets people out of the normal cinema environment and it gives it more of a novelty value. I hope that never wears off.

“We’re trying to get people into the festive spirit. There’ll be a fantastic atmosphere as in the coming weeks we’re also preparing for our winter wonderland.

“So we’re hoping to retain that Christmas spirit through December.

“When you’re planning these things it can be a gamble as it’s just before Christmas but people are looking for these family experiences – a memory to treasure.”

  • Walton Festive Cinema featuring Love Actually and The Muppet Christmas Carol is on December 22 and 23.
  • Love Actually is on the Saturday from 7.30pm while the family friendly U-rated Muppet Christmas Carol starts at 4.30pm on the Sunday.