Home > News Index > December Newsletter

2012 promises to be a great year to celebrate for Britain, and if you love fancy dress your in for a treat. With so many fantastic celebrations there is no excuse for not getting dressed up.

Below is your guide of events you might want to wear fancy dress for in 2012. If you're dressing up next year for a charity or for any other reason please email us your pictures and we will do our upmost to give you a mention.

Chinese New Year = January 23rd

2012 is going to be the year of the Dragon which means a number of good things will happen. Those born under the sign of the Dragon are said to be ambitious and dominant allowing them to reach climb to success, this determination and will power however can lead to feeling unaccomplished and fatigued.

Burns Night = January 25th

A Burns Night or a Burns Supper is a night where people celebrate the life of Robert Burns, a well known Scottish poet. The night is mainly celebrated in Northern Ireland and Scotland however it is also celebrated in other parts of the UK. There are many activities that occur during the night, such as eating traditional Scottish food such as haggis, the reading of poetry, traditional Scottish Dancing and much more.

Australia Day = 26th January

Australia Day is a day celebrated by all Australian citizens, the day is dedicated to the celebration of achievements made by Australians that year. The event is usually celebrated in the form of street parades, public barbeques and many more.

Premier League Darts = February 9th - May 17th

The Premier League Darts Tournament was originally started in 2005 and is now the worlds largest indoor sporting event. £20,000 is guaranteed to anyone that qualifies to enter the competition, and then a cash prize of £125,000 is given to the winner. 8 players are involved in the tournament overall and the matches will be held at 15 different venues including the M.E.N Arena in Manchester and the 02 Arena in London. The defending champion for 2012 is Gary Anderson, a well-known and respected darts player from Scotland.

Valentines Day = February 14th

Valentines Day is an annual day dedicated to Saint Valentine and it is celebrated by spending time with loved ones and exchanging gifts such as flowers or chocolates. Saint Valentine was an early Christian Martyr and at one stage the day dedicated to him was deleted by Pope Paul VI in 1969, only to then return again later on.

World Book Day = March 1st

World Book Day, or International Day of the Book, is a yearly event that promotes reading, publishing, and copyright. World Book Day is held on March 1st for a number of reasons, one of which being that it is the anniversary of the birth and death of William Shakespeare as well as many other famous writers.

Saint Davids Day = March 1st

Saint David is the Patron Saint of Wales and the 1st March marks the date of his death, celebrating his life. The Welsh are very proud of this Saint and and over 60% of them said in a poll that they were willing to give up another of their bank holidays in order to have a Saint Davids Day.

Saint Patricks Day = March 17th

Saint Patrick was the Patron Saint of Ireland and so Saint Patricks day celebrates the life of the Saint as well as the arrival of Christianity into Ireland. The day is celebrated in a number of ways such as wearing green clothes such as shamrocks, attending Church services, and a lift on alcohol and food consumption restrictions. This public holiday is celebrated all over the world but largely only due to fun festivities that occur on the day, rather than its religious significance.

Easter = April 8th

Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ after he was killed and also the end of Lent, a 40 day period of fasting. It is common for people to paint eggs and go on chocolate Easter egg hunts as well which has nothing to do with the religious celebrations.

London Marathon = April 22nd

The London Marathon is one of the most well known marathons in the world with thousands of people applying to enter every year. The race itself is just over 26 miles and is part of the World Marathon Majors,  a competition of the five biggest marathons in the world with a cash prize for the overall winner of $1,000,000. Since 1981 when the London Marathon first started £450 million has been raised for a huge selection of charities and is the largest annual fund raising event in the world.

World Shakespeare Festival = April 23rd - November

Thousands of William Shakespeare fans come to England from all over the world to celebrate the works of William Shakespeare, many of which are actors taking part in a huge array of William Shakespeare films that take place including titles such as Romeo & Juliet, Richard III and many more. These plays last a very long time and occur all over the country meaning that there will be a Shakespeare play performing near you at some point during the festival.

Saint Georges Day = April 23rd

Saint Georges Day is celebrated all over the world in numerous countries of which Saint George was also a Patron Saint, Saint George was a Roman soldier and a Priest who is well known for the stories of him fighting with mythical creatures such as dragons. Saint George was the Patron Saint of a number of countries such as; Romania, England,  India, Greece, Palestine and many more.

Will & Kate Anniversary = April 29th

Not much is known at the moment about the couples Royal Anniversary however as it is their first there will be a lot of media attention to it meaning that it is sure to be a rememberable event.

Childrens Book Week = May 7th - May 13th

Childrens Book Week is an annual celebration of reading, its aim is to encourage children to read more and maybe even start writing books themselves. The event holds a number of events at local schools and libraries during the week in order to try and influence as many children as possible.

Olympic Torch Relay = May 19th - July 21st

The Olympic Torch Relay is a well known event where the Olympic torch is taken from the last Olympic stadium to the new one by being carried by a number of athletes and celebrities, this year however members of the public also have the chance to carry the torch as part of the "Moment to Shine" campaign. The torch itself is made up of 8,000 circles that represent the 8,000 unique stories of all the torch bearers, and also to quickly dissipate the heat created by the flame to ensure it does not get too hot for the runners to hold.

Diamond Jubilee = June 2nd - June 5th

To celebrate the Royal Diamond Jubilee the queen has decided to take her royal barge down the River Thames from Putney down to the Tower Bridge where she shall disembark and then watch the rest of the proceedings from afar until the barge reaches Canary Wharf where it shall then stop and mark and end to the official public celebrations. 1,000 public boats are allowed to take part in the event and follow the royal barge of which 1,000,000 people are expected to be watching from the river side. The royal barge its self is made up of five sections; the first shall contain the Queen herself, the second shall contain water jets and water cannons, the third shall contain some royal drummers, and the fifth shall include fireworks and a mechanical dragon which shoots flames out of its mouth.

UEFA Euro Championships = June 8th - July 1st

The 2012 UEFA European Championship will be the 14th of its kind, and this year will be held in Poland and the Ukraine. The event will include a team from 16 different nations and the winner will win automatic entry into the 2012 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.

Wimbledon = June 25th - July 8th

Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and considered by many to be the most prestigious, the Wimbledon tournament is also part of the Grand Slam tennis tournament. There are very strict rules at Wimbledon as to what the competitors can wear and the dress code of the members of the public, a number of traditions are also closely followed such as the eating strawberries and cream.

T In The Park = July 6 - July 8

A line-up has not yet been released for the festival however it has been confirmed that The Stone Roses will be playing. Around 85,000 people went to T in The Park in 2011 and the majority enjoyed it thoroughly, there is a huge amount of fun things to do at the festival such as silent discos, a large fun fair, a comedy tent and much more.

Olympics = July 27th - August 12th

The 2012 Olympics will be held in London, this is the third time that the Olympics has been held in the United Kingdom which is a current world record. The area where the Olympic stadium is being built is called Stratford, a low income area of London which will benefit hugely from the increased tourism to the area. There will be around 10,500 athletes competing in the Olympic games, coming an expected total of 204 countries performing a total of 35 different sports such as fencing, rowing, table tennis and much more.

Edinburgh International Book Festival = August 11th - August 27th

The Edinburgh Book Festival started off as a bi-annual event in 1983, only to become yearly in 1997 due to its high popularity. It is now classed as an international event and may be one of the reasons why Edinburgh was named the UNESCO City of Literature in 2004.

Paralympics = August 29th - September 9th

The Paralympics is similar to the Olympic Games but with disabled athletes competing in the event. The games still involve a lot of sports similar to that of the regular Olympics but with a slight twist to it to make it more appropriate for disabled athletes such as wheelchair fencing, sitting volleyball, and many more.

Great North Run = September 16th

The annual Great North Run is the world largest half marathon in the world and attracts more athletes than the London marathon does. In 2011 around 54,000 runners got involved with the event which is sponsored by Bupa.

Halloween = October 31st

Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, was originally a Pagan festival in which the dead where celebrated and honoured, however due to modernisation of the event it is now a day where children go trick or treating and families go on spooky ghost walks around parks and old houses at night.

Saint Andrews Day = November 30th

Saint Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland, and every year the Scottish celebrate the day as a feast day. Saint Andrew was also a Patron Saint of a number of other countries including; Greece, Romania, Russia, Ukraine and many others.