Competition gives young people in Galashiels the chance to switch-on the town's Christmas lights

The Christmas poster competition forms part of this year’s Galashiels – Where Christmas Comes Together campaign and invites pupils to create a piece of artwork around the theme ‘What Christmas Means to You in Galashiels’.

The winning pupil will take centre stage at 5pm on Saturday, November 21, when they will officially switch on the Galashiels Christmas tree lights as part of A Festive Gala, a full day of Christmas celebrations organised by BID for Galashiels.

Taking place on Bank Street from 11am until 6pm, A Festive Gala will build on the success of last year’s event, bringing businesses, families and the wider community together to mark the start of the festive season in the town.

Visitors can look forward to a Christmas market, staged performances, a nativity performance, magician, Show Globe performance, food vendors, Santa on a Trishaw and a School Christmas Choir led by Charlotte Bramhall from Borders School of Music.

The day will culminate with the Christmas lights switch-on, singalong and torchlight procession, creating a fitting finale to a day centred around community and Christmas in Galashiels.

Lauren Jamieson, Director of BID for Galashiels and Christmas Lead, said: “Last year showed us just how much appetite there is for people to come together and celebrate Christmas in the heart of Galashiels. There was a wonderful atmosphere throughout the town, and for 2026 we really wanted to build on that and give the community even more reason to be part of the day.

“Having a local primary school pupil switch on the Christmas lights feels like a lovely way to put the community at the very heart of the celebrations. We want children across Galashiels to get involved, have fun with the competition and show us what Christmas in their town means to them.

“A Festive Gala is ultimately about bringing people into Galashiels, supporting our local businesses and creating something that families and the wider community can enjoy together.”

Entries to the competition will be judged by Melissa Jeffrey, of Honey Be Bright, the illustrator behind this year’s Galashiels Christmas campaign, alongside Pamela Ingles, Art Teacher at Galashiels Academy, and Lauren Jamieson, Director of BID for Galashiels.

Melissa said: “It’s really special to have created the artwork for this year’s Christmas campaign and now to be part of judging the competition too.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what Christmas in Galashiels means to everyone who enters and the different ideas, places and traditions they choose to include in their artwork.

“It’s a great way to get young people involved in the celebrations and encourage them to be creative. I’m sure Pamela, Lauren and I are going to have a very difficult job choosing a winner!”

Competition entries should be A4 in size and can use any artistic medium. Pupils should include their name, school and age on the reverse, together with contact details and the required parent or carer consent to switch on the Christmas lights and for photographs to be used by the media.

Entries should be handed in to Hike & Bike or Tesco Customer Services in Galashiels by Friday, November 13.

The festive activity will continue beyond A Festive Gala with the return of the Galashiels Festive Reindeer Trail, running from November 1 until December 31.

Nine reindeer will be hiding in nine different businesses around Galashiels, with children and families challenged to find them all for the chance to win an iPad. Trail sheets will be distributed to Galashiels schools and will also be available from Hike & Bike.

Further information and the full programme for A Festive Gala will be available through Galashiels Heartland website.