After a 6-year hiatus, the Christmas Character Parade returned to the Trafford Centre last month, bringing with it the centres busiest day ever with over 131,000 visitors.  We had an amazing time bringing children’s favourites including Ginger from Vegesaurs, Miraculous’ Lady Bug & Cat Noir and Mr. Bump & Little Miss Sunshine to the stage and can’t wait to do it all again next year.

The same weekend, Bluey teamed up with Pudsey and Joe Wicks for the LIVE Activate Schools Special, before Pudsey joined Stephen Mulhern for a Deal or No Deal sketch, all in support of BBC Children in Need, who raised a phenomenal £45,507,536!

The Snowman™ wrapped up the month with a visit to Battersea Power Station for the launch of Classic FM and Global’s Make Some Noise’s charity campaign ‘The Big Christmas Chorus’. Celebrating 40 years since the release of “Walking in the Air”, the campaign invites schools and community choirs to perform the song and aims to raise funds for Make Some Noise’s supported charities.

For more enchanting character events, check out the list below to find out what’s happening near you (*events can be subject to change) …

2^nd December: Snoopy Meet & Greet – Bride Street, London

4^th December: Cookie Monster Meet & Greet – Hamley’s Westfield White City

5^th December: SpongeBob SquarePants Meet & Greet – Smyths Toys, Uxbridge

5^th – 7^th December: Bluey and Bingo Meet & Greet – Bluewater Ice Rink

6^th December: The Gruffalo & The Gruffalo’s Child Meet & Greet – Westgate Oxford

6^th December: Trolls’ Poppy & Branch Meet & Greet – The Brewery Shopping Centre, Romford

6^th December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Buttermarket Cantre, Ipswich

6^th December: The Snowman™ Meet & Greet – Doncaster Frost Festival

6^th December: SpongeBob SquarePants Meet & Greet – The Entertainer Westfield White City

6^th December: Birdy Call Promo Activation – Ship Street, Brighton

6^th December: Stick Man Meet & Greet – Wallsend

7^th December: SpongeBob SquarePants Meet & Greet – Smyths Toys Old Kent Road

7^th December: Pingu Meet & Greet – Westgate Oxford

7^th December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Hertfordshire Zoo, Broxbourne

13^th December: The Snowman™ Meet & Greet – Sharpes Pottery Museum, Swadlincote

13^th December: Snoopy Meet & Greet – The Brewery Shopping Centre, Romford

13^th December: Wallace & Gromit Meet & Greet – Westgate Oxford

13^th December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Banham Zoo, Norwich

13^th December: Elves Behavin’ Badly Meet & Greet – Forum Shopping Centre, Sittingbourne

13^th & 14^th December: SpongeBob SquarePants & Patrick (13^th Only) Meet & Greet – Westfield Stratford

14^th December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Hertfordshire Zoo, Broxbourne

14^th December: Bluey Meet & Greet – Hamleys Regent Street, London

14^th December: Superman Meet & Greet – Hamleys Regent Street, London

14^th December: Elves Behavin’ Badly Meet & Greet – Westgate Oxford

14^th December: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Meet & Greet – Harlow Town Centre Christmas Market

19^th December: SpongeBob SquarePants Meet & Greet – Hamleys Regent Street, London

20^th December: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Meet & Greet – Harlow Town Centre Christmas Market

20^th December: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – St Peter’s Quarter, Derby

20^th December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Westgate Oxford

21^st December: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Meet & Greet – Westgate Oxford

21^st December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Hertfordshire Zoo, Broxbourne

28^th December: The Snowman™ Meet & Greet – Great Central Railway, Leicestershire

29^th December: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Meet & Greet – Kent & East Sussex Railway

30^th December: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Meet & Greet – East Somerset Railway

We kicked off October with a busy week at Brand Licensing Europe, where 72 of our characters walked the aisles on day one and 49 on day two! It was a huge honour to have been part of such a vibrant celebration of creativity, connection and most importantly characters!

Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie also premiered in cinemas, with Gabby and Cakey visiting cinemas across the UK to meet fans ahead of seeing her cat-tastic adventure on the big screen. And ‘Four Happy Bunnies’, a new Peter Rabbit™ baby book, was unveiled at Clarence House by Her Majesty The Queen alongside Peter Rabbit himself.

Looking ahead to November, the Trafford Centre’s free Christmas Character Parade is returning on Saturday 15^th, bringing together  a dazzling cast of children’s favourites – including Numberblock One, Mojo and Bo, Hey Duggee, Paddington™, The Gruffalo, Sonic the Hedgehog™, Teletubbies, Supertato and many more - alongside dancers, singers and a grand appearance by Father Christmas himself.

Plus we have lots more can’t miss character events coming up, so check out the list below to find out what’s happening near you (*events can be subject to change) …

1^st November: PAW Patrol’s Chase Meet & Greet – Africa Alive, Lowestoft

1^st November: Gabby and Cakey Meet & Greet – Smyths Northampton

1^st November: Bluey, Miraculous’ Ladybug and CoComelon’s JJ Meet & Greet – Smyths Coventry

1^st November: Peppa Pig, Mummy Pig & Evie Meet & Greet – White Rose Shopping Centre, Leeds

1^st November: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – Hamleys Westfield White City, London

1^st November: PAW Patrol’s Marshall Meet & Greet – Smyths Weston-Super-Mare

1^st November: Elve’s Behavin’ Badly Meet & Greet – The Range, Ruislip & Leighton Buzzard

1^st November: Elmo Meet & Greet – Toys N Tuck, Essex

1^st & 2^nd November: Zog Meet & Greet – Eden Project, Cornwall

2^nd November: Dennis & Gnasher Meet & Greet – Midlands Art Centre, Birmingham

2^nd November: Gabby and Cakey Meet & Greet – Smyths Croydon

7^th November: Bluey Meet & Greet – Smyths Southampton

7^th November: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leo & Donnie Meet & Greet – Smyths Southampton

8^th November: PAW Patrol’s Meet & Greet – Cheltenham Racecourse Fireworks

8^th November: Bluey Meet & Greet – Hamley’s Glasgow

8^th November: Miraculous’ Ladybug Meet & Greet – Smyths Southampton

8^th November: Stick Man Meet & Greet – Moors Valey Country Park, Ringwood

8^th & 9^th November: Gabby and Cakey Meet & Greet – Hertfordshire Zoo, Broxbourne

15^th November: Bluey & Bingo Activation, Peppa Pig Dance Party and Mummy Pig & Evie Meet & Greet – Southport Town Hall

15^th November: Care Bears’ Funshine Meet & Greet – The Entertainer Bluewater

15^th November: Peter Rabbit™ Story Time – Milton Keynes Museum

15^th November: Kung Fu Panda Meet & Greet – High Wycombe Christmas Lights

16^th November: Minions Bob & Stuart Meet & Greet – Cheltenham Racecourse

16^th November: PAW Patrol’s Chase & Skye Meet & Greet – Buttermarket Centre, Ipswich

19^th November: Snoopy Meet & Greet – Bride Street Christmas Lights, London

19^th November: Bluey Meet & Greet – Vue Cinema, Cardiff

20^th November: Bluey Meet & Greet – Vue Cinema, Nottingham

21^st November: Bluey Meet & Greet – Vue Cinema, Glasgow Fort

22^nd November: Gabby and Cakey Meet & Greet – Character.com Store, Bridgend

22^nd November: Bluey Meet & Greet – The Entertainer, Aberdeen

22^nd November: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – Luton Town Centre

22^nd November: Care Bears’ Cheer Bear Meet & Greet – The Entertainer, Milton Keynes

22^nd November: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Whiteley Bay

22^nd November: Peppa Pig, Mummy Pig & Evie Meet & Greet – Hamley’s Regent Street, London

22^nd & 23^rd November: The Gruffalo & The Gruffalo’s Child Meet & Greet – Whitehall Garden Centre, Chippenham

23^rd November: Bluey Meet & Greet – Chesterfield Town Centre Christmas Lights

23^rd November: The Snowman™ Meet & Greet – Battersea Power Station Pop Up

28^th November: Mr Monopoly Meet & Greet – Pescod Square Shopping Centre, Boston

29^th November: Stick Man Meet & Greet – Delamere Forest, Cheshire

29^th November: Bluey Meet & Greet – Sevenoaks High Street Christmas Lights

29^th November: PAW Patrol’s Marshall Meet & Greet – Hamley’s Westfield White City, London

29^th November: Peppa Pig Meet & Greet – Luton Point, Luton

29^th November: The Gruffalo & The Gruffalo’s Child Meet & Greet – Killingworth Shopping Centre

29^th November: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – Newtownards Christmas Lights, Northern Ireland

29^th November: Care Bears’ Funshine Meet & Greet – The Entertainer Westfield White City

30^th November: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Hertfordshire Zoo, Broxbourne

30^th November: SpongeBob SquarePants Meet & Greet – Luton Point, Luton

We have a Super reason to be jolly this month... as Supertato has joined our licensed character list.  The lovable, caped superhero with the can-do attitude is now available to book for UK events.

We’ve also been busy spreading Christmas cheer across the country with a host of character events including The Grinch’s visit to Landmark Forest Adventure Park in Inverness-shire, Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas appearance at Ludgate Circus and the Elve’s Behavin’ Badly attended the re-opening of the Wilko store in Uxbridge.

There’s even more to look forward to this festive season, so check out our December events below (*events can be subject to change)…

1^st December: Batman Meet & Greet – Hamley’s Regent Street

1^st December: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – Selfridges, London

1^st December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Buttermarket Centre, Ipswich

3^rd December: The Snowman™ Meet & Greet – Victoria Cardinal Place & Nova Realm Xmas Lights

6^th December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Primark, Birmingham

7^th December: Bluey Meet & Greet – Character.com, Bromley

7^th December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Hertfordshire Zoo, Broxbourne

7^th December: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Meet & Greet – Church Walk Shopping Centre, Caterham

7^th & 8^th December: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – Waterstones, London

8^th December: Bluey Meet & Greet – Character.com, Kingston

8^th December: Elve’s Behavin’ Badly Meet & Greet – The Brewery Shoppinf Centre, Romford

14^th December: The Snowman™ Meet & Greet – Sheffield Park and Gardens, East Sussex

14^th December: Elve’s Behavin’ Badly Meet & Greet – The Springs, Leeds

14^th December: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – The Forum Shopping Centre, Wallsend

14^th December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Hertfordshire Zoo, Broxbourne

15^th December: PJ Masks' Catboy Meet & Greet – Hamley’s, Regent Street

21^st December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Hertfordshire Zoo, Broxbourne

21^st December: The Snowman™ Meet & Greet – Sheffield Park and Gardens, East Sussex

21^st December: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – Queensgate Shopping Centre, Peterborough

23^rd December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – The Hive, Guildford

27^th - 31^st December: Paddington™ Meet and Greet – Wookey Hole, Somerset

29^th & 30^th December: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Meet & Greet – Quorn & Woodhouse Station, Leicestershire

The annual Elves Behavin’ Badly Tour kicked off the festive season in November, with the mischievous pair already pranking Christmas shoppers around the country… while The Grinch has been causing mayhem at Meadowhall in Sheffield in his attempt to ruin Christmas!

November also saw The Wombles’ Great Uncle Bulgaria and Alderney attended the Sustainability in Licensing Conference for a day of sustainable education and action… while Orinoco helped launch the Wimbledon Quarter – a new urban space to meet, shop, eat and train!

As we head into December, Christmas is in full swing with Elfie & Elvie continuing their tour and the Grinch heading back to Meadowhall… find out more below (*events can be subject to change)…

1^st December: Bluey Meet & Greet – Rainham Christmas Lights Switch-on

1^st December: Elves Behavin’ Badly Meet & Greet – The Range, Chelmsford

2^nd December: Elves Behavin’ Badly Activity – Touchwood Shopping Centre, Solihull

2^nd December: Gruffalo Meet & Greet – The Forum Shopping Centre, Walsall

2^nd December: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog – Sutton Coldfield Town Centre

2^nd & 3^rd December: Sonic Meet & Greet – Westfield London

2^nd & 3^rd December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Meadowhall, Sheffield

3^rd December: Elves Behavin’ Badly Activity – Silverburn, Glasgow

3^rd December: Bluey Meet & Greet – The Lexicon, Bracknell

9^th December: Gruffalo Meet & Greet – Touchwood Shopping Centre, Solihull

9^th December: Elves Behavin’ Badly Activity – Barton Square, Trafford Centre

9^th December: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog – Sutton Coldfield Town Centre

9^th & 10^th December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Meadowhall, Sheffield

10^th December: Elves Behavin’ Badly Activity – Metrocentre, Gateshead

10^th December: PAW Patrol’s Chase Meet & Greet – The Lexicon, Bracknell

13^th December: Peppa Pig Meet & Greet – Kingdom of Winter, London ExCeL

16^th December: Miffy Meet & Greet – Bandai Namco Cross Store, Camden Market London

16^th December: CoComelon’s JJ Meet & Greet – McArthur Glen Designer Outlet, Bridgend

16^th December: Elves Behavin’ Badly Activity – Festival Leisure Park, Basildon

16^th & 17^th December:  The Grinch Meet & Greet – Meadowhall, Sheffield

17^th December: Hey Duggee Meet & Greet – The Lexicon Bracknell

17^th December: Elves Behavin’ Badly Activity – Seal Bay Resort, Selsey

18^th December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Meadowhall, Sheffield

19^th December: Pikachu Meet & Greet – Queens Walk, Southbank

19^th December: The Grinch Narration – Seal Bay Resort, Selsey

20^th December: Elves Behavin’ Badly Activity – Seal Bay Resort, Selsey

20^th December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Meadowhall, Sheffield

20^th December: Gruffalo Meet & Greet – Kingdom of Winter, London ExCeL

21^st December: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Narration – Seal Bay Resort, Selsey

21^st & 22^nd December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Meadowhall, Sheffield

23^rd December: Elves Behavin’ Badly Activity – Marlowes Shopping Centre, Hemel Hempstead

23^rd December: The Grinch Narration – Seal Bay Resort, Selsey

23^rd December: Sonic Meet & Greet – The Dome, Doncaster

23^rd December: The Snowman™ Meet & Greet – Meadowhall, Sheffield

24^th December: Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas™ Meet & Greet – The Friary, Guildford

24^th December: Elves Behavin’ Badly Activity – County Square, Ashford Kent

24^th December: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Narration – Seal Bay Resort, Selsey

24^th December: The Grinch Meet & Greet – Meadowhall, Sheffield

31^st December: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Meet & Greet – The Friary, Guildford

October saw the return of the renowned Character Parade at Brand Licensing Europe and it didn’t disappoint.  At just under one mile it was the longest parade in the history of BLE with 66 characters including Barney, Paddington™ and The Wombles walking the route at ExCeL London.

Poppy & Branch also promoted the release of their new movie ‘Trolls Band Together’, Sonic flew to the Netherlands for Lego® World 2023 and Pip and Posy set out on a half-term tour of shopping centres to raise brand awareness.

November marks the start of the annual Elves Behavin’ Badly Christmas Tour.  The popular pranking Elfie and Elvie will be helping shoppers get into the festive spirit at the following shopping centres:

11^th November: Baytree Centre, Brentwood

12^th November: The Atria, Watford

18^th November: Meadowhall, Sheffield

19^th November: Lakeside, Essex

25^th November: The Mall Luton

26^th November: Staines Town centre

Plus the Grinch will be getting up to all sorts of mischief and mayhem at Meadowhall in Sheffield this festive season when he visits on 11^th, 12^th, 19^th, 25^th & 26^th November.

Want to find out where the rest of your favourite characters will be this month?  Check out the list below (*events can be subject to change)…

1^st November: CoComelon’s JJ Meet & Greet – Selfridges Birmingham

2^nd & 3^rd November: PAW Patrol’s Chase Pup Pup Boogie – Peak Wildlife Park, Leek

4^th & 5^th November: The Gruffalo Meet & Greet – East Lancashire Railway, Bury

5^th November: Bluey & Bingo Meet & Greet – Cheltenham Racecourse Fireworks

5^th November: PAW Patrol’s Skye Meet & Greet – Hamley’s Regent Street, London

11^th November: PAW Patrol’s Chase Pup Pup Boogie – Boston Farm Park, Doncaster

11^th November: Gabby Meet & Greet – The Entertainer, Bluewater

11^th November: Bluey Meet & Greet – The Forge Shopping Centre, Glasgow

11^th November: Pikachu Meet & Greet – Smyths Toy Store, Wrexham

11^th November: CoComelon’s JJ Meet & Greet – Smyths Toy Store, Wrexham

12^th November: PAW Patrol’s Chase Meet & Greet – The Forge Shopping Centre, Glasgow

15^th November: The Snowman™ Meet & Greet – Belgravia Christmas Lights, London

17^th November: The Snowman™ Meet & Greet – Angel Shopping Centre, London

17^th November: Miraculous' Ladybug Meet & Greet – Strood Town Centre, Kent

18^th November: Pikachu Meet & Greet – Castle Street, Edinburgh

18^th November: Bluey Meet & Greet – Wolverhampton Christmas Lights

18^th November: Grinch Meet & Greet – High Wycombe Christmas Lights

18^th November: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – Dartford Christmas Lights

18^th November: Shrek Meet & Greet – Fishergate Shopping Centre, Preston

18^th November: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Meet & Greet – Fishergate Shopping Centre, Preston

18^th November: Bluey & Bingo Meet & Greet – Southampton Town Centre

18^th & 19^th November: Hey Duggee Activity – Southampton Town Centre

19^th November: PAW Patrol’s Chase Meet & Greet – Southampton Town Centre

19^th November: Paddington™ Meet & Greet – Chesterfield Christmas Lights

24^th November: PAW Patrol’s Chase Meet & Greet – Gillingham Town Centre, Kent

25^th November: Peppa Pig & George Meet & Greet – The Mall Luton

25^th November: Care Bears’ Grumpy Bear Meet & Greet – Bentalls Kingston

25^th November: The Snowman™ and The Snowdog Meet & Greet – Touchwood Shopping Centre, Solihull

25^th November: Bluey Meet & Greet – Godalming Christmas Lights