THE North West Pops Orchestra and presenter Alasdair Malloy have got Christmas all wrapped up for Lancaster audiences.

They will open their musical Advent Calendar along with Robin McEwan at the Great Hall at Lancaster University on Monday, December 22, at 2.30pm.

Alasdair will serve up a fantastic festive feast for the whole family with all the musical trimmings - seasonal songs, classical Christmas cards, familiar favourites and sensational surprises.

Santa will be dropping in and showing off his unique musical skills as well as joining in the Countdown to Christmas.

The North West Pops orchestra is made up of the leading freelance musicians in the North of England, regularly performing at leading venues throughout the UK and abroad.

Alasdair Malloy has worked with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Phil-harmonic, the Hall Orchestra and the RTE Orchestra in Dublin.

He also appeared with the BBC Philharmonic for the Blue Peter children's Proms in 1998, 1999 & 2000 at the Royal Albert Hall.

"What this cheerful event does is provide gentle fun, a handy introduction to classical music with the most human of faces and the chance for the players to enjoy themselves too," he says...

Suitable age range is from 0 to 100 years and the box office number to buy tickets is 0800 028 3042 .