With just six weeks to Christmas, it’s time to get organised for the festive season - and that means sorting out your annual night out with friends, family or workmates.
Luckily there’s no shortage of seasonal entertainment on offer in Edinburgh for you to enjoy, from 80s pop stars to traditional pantomimes (oh yes there is!).
Here are 10 that caught our eyes - with tickets currently available for all of them.
1. The Royal Lyceum - Treasure Island
Fun for all the family at the Royal Lyceum this year with Treasure Island (with an Edinburgh twist) running from November 28 to January 4. "It’s Christmas Eve and young Jim Hawkins works at North Edinburgh’s finest accommodation for reformed pirates and past-it privateers. Talk of cutlasses, ships and gold can be dangerous in such company. It’s not long before the story of their greatest voyage takes over… Jim, Ben Gunn and Lean Jean Silver are soon reliving their time hunting for treasure on the Hispaniola. Ahoy! Sea shanties, adventures and heartfelt fun enliven Jim’s adventure as Billy Bones’ treasure map leads him north to the isles of Orkney in search of Captain Flint’s hidden fortune. Encountering plenty of puffins and buckets of swashbuckling, Jim tries to beat the pirates to the gold and get back home to Edinburgh safe and sound. Remember, X marks the spot… or does it?" | Contributed
2. Christmas at the Botanics
Running from November 21 to December 30, Christmas at the Botanics will light up the Royal Botanic Gardens. "Discover flickering candles floating high into the night sky, batons of colour-changing light dancing in time, a sparkling flock of jolly robins and a sea of light that stetches out into the distance filled with all the colours of the rainbow. Grab a seasonal snack from one of the hand-picked street food vendors who bring an indulgent twist to tempting treats on offer. Complete your walk under the stars with a perfectly festive spiced winter warmer, hot chocolate or toasted marshmallow and share it with someone special." | Royal Botanic Gardens
3. Festival Theatre - Cinderella
With Edinburgh's King's Theatre closed for refurbishment, the traditional pantomime has once more switched to the Festival Theatre, from November 23 to December 31. "Join returning panto favourites Allan Stewart, Grant Stott and Jordan Young with a new magical pantomime for all the family. Packed with all of the traditional pantomime ingredients Edinburgh audiences expect, Cinderella features laugh-out-loud comedy, stunning scenery, beautiful costumes and plenty of boos and hisses. Join Cinders as she goes from rags to riches, outwits her very wicked sisters and meets her Prince Charming." | Edinburgh Festival Theatre
4. Playhouse - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's hugely popular musical isn't technically a Christmas show but it'll be running at the Edinburgh Playhouse from December 3-29 so is likely to be the destination for many Christmas nights out - particularly with the star pwer of Donny Osmond. It's a crowd-pleasing sung-through musical featuring the story of biblical character Joseph who is sold into slavery by his brothers, ingratiates himself with Egyptian noble Potiphar, then ends up in jail after refusing the amorous advances of Potiphar's wife. | Playhouse Theatre