A 400-drone Christmas show at Abingdon Airfield on 11 and 12 December, drive-in only. Gates 4pm, show 6.30pm, tickets £69 to £99 a vehicle, backup 13 Dec.

Christmas in the Sky is a drive-in drone show at Abingdon Airfield on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 December 2026. Gates open at 4pm and the show starts at 6.30pm. You can only go in a vehicle, and the ticket is per vehicle: £69 for a standard car, £79 for a large vehicle and £99 for the front row. Tickets are on sale now.

It is run by Xplosive Events, which describes itself as the team behind the Abingdon Funfair and Fireworks at the same airfield on 14 November. Everything below is from the organiser’s own website, read on 18 October 2026.

The quick answer

  • When: Friday 11 and Saturday 12 December 2026. If the weather stops the show, it moves to Sunday 13 December, and your ticket carries over.
  • Where: Abingdon Airfield, Shippon. Arrival instructions and the route in are emailed to ticket holders before the night.
  • Times: gates 4pm; the fairground, street food and bars run until 6.30pm; the show is about 25 minutes.
  • Tickets: one per vehicle, per night, with no separate parking charge. Up to seven people a vehicle. No walk-in entry.

What the show is

The organiser describes a Christmas story told above the audience with 400 drones, a theatrical light show, special effects, low-noise fireworks, music and narration. A girl called Hope follows a star north to the North Pole to find out where Christmas magic comes from. The organiser will not say which characters appear or how it ends.

Each vehicle gets its own marked box in a purpose-built arena. You park on the right of the box and can sit outside on the left, or watch from inside the car.

Tickets and prices

Ticket Price per vehicle, per night Who it is for
Standard £69 A car, small SUV or a normal family vehicle, in the main arena
Large Vehicle £79 Large people carriers, pickups, vans and unusually long or high vehicles, parked at the rear
Premium Front Row £99 Standard vehicles only, closest to the show; the organiser says availability is very limited

Bookings go through a Parktec checkout, where you confirm the event rules before paying. The organiser says both nights are expected to sell out and that capacity is strictly limited.

The rules that catch people out

  • No pedestrian entry. Admission is only for people arriving in a vehicle.
  • No minibuses, and no more than seven people in a vehicle.
  • You cannot leave early. Once you are parked in the arena, you stay until the main show has finished. The organiser says this is for traffic management and safety, so nobody gets blocked in.
  • Everything closes at 6.30pm. The fairground, food stalls and bars shut when the story begins so everyone is back at their vehicle. Eat before.
  • The backup date is part of the booking. If high winds or heavy rain stop a show on the Friday or Saturday, it moves to Sunday 13 December. Tickets stay valid for the Sunday and are not refundable if the show goes ahead then, so the organiser asks you to keep that evening free. If the show cannot run on either date, its standard cancellation terms apply.

For young children, the organiser suggests ear defenders, because of the music, bright lights and the low-noise fireworks.

Your evening, from arrival

Time What happens
4pm Arena opens; drive in and park in your allocated space
From 4pm Christmas fairground, street food, licensed bars, hot drinks, and Nathan the Elf as host
Before the show An interactive light-up of the whole arena
6.30pm Fairground, food and bars close; the show begins
About 6.55pm Finale with drones, lights and fireworks; vehicles can then leave

Getting there and roads

The airfield is on Barrow Road, Shippon, west of Abingdon (OX13 6JQ is the postcode Xplosive gives for the November fireworks). The organiser does not publish a route; it sends arrival instructions and vehicle routing to ticket holders before the event.

No road closure order for Christmas in the Sky was listed on Oxfordshire County Council’s large public events page when we checked on 18 October. The November fireworks at the same airfield do have one, closing roads round the airfield from midday; ours is on the fireworks page. We will add any December order here when it is published. For other closures that week, see our Abingdon roadworks page, and if you are going into town first, the car parks and tariffs are on our parking in Abingdon page.

More Christmas near Abingdon

The town’s own lights go on at 6pm on Saturday 28 November at the Christmas Extravaganza. Every Christmas market is on our Christmas markets page, and the nearest light trail and ice rink are at Blenheim, on our light trail and ice skating page. Grottos and Santa trains are on our Father Christmas page.

Sources

  • Christmas in the Sky, christmasinthesky.co.uk, read 18 October 2026: dates, backup date, times, ticket tiers and prices, vehicle rules, the weather policy and the FAQ
  • Oxfordshire County Council, large public events, read 18 October 2026: no order listed for this event
  • Abingdon Funfair and Fireworks, abingdonfireworks.co.uk, for the airfield address and postcode