Home / Licence to Prepare: is your venue ready for the festive season?
4th November 2026
The festive season is one of the busiest trading periods of the year for pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels and other licensed venues.
Christmas parties, later opening, live entertainment and special events all present opportunities to maximise festive trade. But before the bookings fill up, it pays to make sure your plans are covered by your premises licence.
A little preparation now can help prevent licensing issues when the Christmas rush is in full swing.
Start by comparing what you are planning over Christmas and New Year with what your premises licence allows.
Are your proposed opening hours covered? Are you bringing in DJs or live music? Will you be serving food later than usual or running special events?
If your plans fall outside your existing permissions, you may need to consider additional permissions, including a Temporary Event Notice (TEN).
TENs can be particularly useful over the festive period where an operator wants to extend its usual trading hours for a particular event. Our Temporary Event Notices for the festive season: is your venue ready to sleigh? article explains the key points operators should consider.
The important thing is to identify any gaps early, while you still have time to deal with them.
Before the festive rush begins:
Your licence is only part of the picture.
Longer hours and busier events can put additional pressure on day-to-day operations, so make sure managers and staff understand the conditions and procedures that apply to your premises.
This is also a good opportunity to review your existing policies and procedures and check they remain appropriate for the way you intend to operate over the festive period.
Christmas is an important trading period. The last thing you want is to discover too late that extended hours, entertainment or another part of your festive plans falls outside your existing permissions.
Don’t wait until the decorations are up. Review your licence, check your plans and get prepared.
If you’re planning extended hours, additional entertainment or something different at your premises this festive season, Kuits’ Licensing team can help you review your current permissions and identify any additional steps required.
Read our guide to Temporary Event Notices for the festive season for further guidance.
Visit our Licence To Trade hub for more useful information.