centre:mk opens 9am to 9pm on weekdays from 1 December, 9am to 7pm on Saturdays and 11am to 5pm on Sundays. Christmas Eve to New Year hours are still to come.
centre:mk moves to late Christmas opening on Tuesday 1 December 2026: 9am to 9pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm on Saturdays and 11am to 5pm on Sundays. The centre has not yet published its hours for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year. Last year it closed only on Christmas Day and opened 9am to 6pm on the other four days.
Everything on this page comes from centre:mk’s own website, checked on 1 November 2026. Individual shops set their own hours inside the centre, and centre:mk says to check each one before you go.
Festive hours from Tuesday 1 December
centre:mk’s Christmas page lists these “Festive Opening Times from 1st December 2026”: (centre:mk, Christmas)
| Day | Shops open |
|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | 9am to 9pm |
| Saturday | 9am to 7pm |
| Sunday | 11am to 5pm |
| Bank holiday | 9am to 6pm |
That adds an hour every weekday evening. Until 30 November the centre keeps its usual hours: 9am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm on Saturdays and 11am to 5pm on Sundays, with restaurants open until 10pm. (centre:mk, opening times)
Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day: not yet published
The festive table has a single bank holiday line and no individual dates. This year the dates fall like this:
| Date | Day | Published hours |
|---|---|---|
| 24 December, Christmas Eve | Thursday | Not yet published |
| 25 December, Christmas Day | Friday (bank holiday) | Not yet published |
| 26 December, Boxing Day | Saturday | Not yet published |
| 28 December | Monday (Boxing Day bank holiday) | Not yet published |
| 31 December, New Year’s Eve | Thursday | Not yet published |
| 1 January, New Year’s Day | Friday (bank holiday) | Not yet published |
Because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, the Boxing Day bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December. (GOV.UK, bank holidays)
The general “9am to 6pm” bank holiday line on the festive table should not be read as Christmas Day opening. Last year centre:mk published separate hours for each day, and Christmas Day was the exception.
What centre:mk did in 2025
centre:mk’s opening times page in December 2025 listed these special hours (the page as it stood on 13 December 2025, from the Internet Archive’s copy): (centre:mk opening times, December 2025)
| 2025 | Hours |
|---|---|
| Christmas Eve, 24 December | 9am to 6pm |
| Christmas Day, 25 December | Closed |
| Boxing Day, 26 December | 9am to 6pm |
| New Year’s Eve, 31 December | 9am to 6pm |
| New Year’s Day, 1 January | 9am to 6pm |
Its 2025 late opening ran on the same pattern as this year’s: 9am to 9pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm Saturday and 11am to 5pm Sunday. We will add the 2026 dates here when centre:mk publishes them.
Parking at centre:mk
centre:mk’s own multi-storey car park has more than 1,400 spaces, including 80 disabled bays on the ground floor, wider parent and child bays and electric vehicle charging. It uses number plate recognition and works out the charge as you leave. Charges apply 6am to 6pm, seven days a week, and parking is free after 6pm. The car park is open 6am to midnight. (centre:mk, parking)
| Stay | Charge |
|---|---|
| Up to 2 hours | £2.50 |
| 3 hours | £3.50 |
| 4 hours | £4.50 |
| 5 hours | £5.50 |
| 6 hours | £6.50 |
| 7 hours | £7.50 |
| 8 hours | £8.50 |
| 9 to 24 hours | £15 |
Standard charges apply in the disabled bays. There is also an overflow car park off Silbury Boulevard and Secklow Gate (sat nav MK9 3BU), open 24 hours, paid through Apcoa.
With free parking after 6pm and the shops open to 9pm on weekdays from 1 December, a weekday evening visit is the cheapest way to park at the centre. The city council’s surface car parks across Central Milton Keynes charge from 7am to 6pm every day, Sundays included; our parking in Milton Keynes page has the tariffs. Check Milton Keynes roadworks and travel before you set off.
Christmas at the centre
- Starlight Square, Middleton Hall, from Saturday 14 November to Sunday 3 January: the Very Merry Christmas Market of local businesses, with a carousel, helter skelter, train ride and Santa’s sleigh VR. It keeps its own hours, which centre:mk has published week by week up to the week of 30 November. Our Christmas market page has them. (centre:mk, Starlight Square)
- Santa Parade, Friday 20 November at 5.30pm, from Door 1 in front of M&S Foodhall and down Midsummer Arcade. Free. (centre:mk, Santa Parade)
- A Magical Visit with Santa and The Snowman, Friday 20 November to Thursday 24 December in Middleton Hall: child £16, adult £6.50, plus a 10% booking fee. Our Santa’s grotto page compares it with the others in Milton Keynes. (centre:mk, Santa and The Snowman)
- Santa’s Tea Party at John Lewis & Partners, from Friday 4 to Wednesday 23 December: story time, cocoa and a snack for children, a hot drink and cake for adults, and a gift for every child. Details and booking are with John Lewis. (centre:mk, Santa’s Tea Party)
Frequently asked questions
What are centre:mk’s Christmas opening hours?
From Tuesday 1 December 2026: 9am to 9pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm on Saturdays and 11am to 5pm on Sundays, and 9am to 6pm on bank holidays. Shops inside can set their own hours.
Is centre:mk open on Christmas Day 2026?
centre:mk has not yet published its Christmas Day hours. It was closed on Christmas Day in 2025.
Is centre:mk open on Boxing Day?
Not yet published for 2026. In 2025 it opened 9am to 6pm on Boxing Day. This year Boxing Day is a Saturday, and the bank holiday is on Monday 28 December.
What time does centre:mk open on New Year’s Day?
Not yet published for 2026. For New Year’s Day 2026 its published hours were 9am to 6pm.
Is parking free at centre:mk at Christmas?
It is free after 6pm every day. Between 6am and 6pm the multi-storey charges from £2.50 for up to two hours to £15 for nine hours or more.
Elsewhere this Christmas
- Christmas bin collections in Milton Keynes
- Christmas trains and travel from Milton Keynes
- Christmas lights switch-ons
- What’s on in Milton Keynes this month
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