The sights, sounds and tastes of Christmas are set to be unleashed as towns prepare to celebrate the season.

Maidstone will hold its Christmas lights switch-on from 4pm on Thursday, November 17.

It will feature X Factor boy band Yes Lad! and Irish singer Niall Sexton who both made it through the audition rounds to reach Judge’s Houses.

They will be the stars of the switch-on, taking place at Fremlin Walk and hosted by stars from kmfm.

Father Christmas, reindeer, stars of the Hazlitt panto and performances from Razzamataz stage school complete the line-up.

People can also enter a Text to Win competition, where someone in the audience will be called back at random, with the chance to win shopping vouchers. Following the switch-on, there will be a Christmas market and food stalls at the shopping centre, while street entertainers, including a choir, will perform on Thursday nights.

On Saturdays face painting will be offered for younger shoppers.

New for this year is a yarn bombing display at the lower part of Maidstone High Street, created by Woolly Maids.

It sees lights, benches and other street furniture covered in woollen items and yarn hung from buildings from the first week of December.

Maidstone’s Jubilee Square will play host to a Christmas market from Saturday, November 26.

Santa will be arriving at the Mall on Saturday, and will be in his grotto every day until Christmas Eve, ready to meet good boys and girls.

Money raised from the grotto, which will be outside Vision Express and Bon Marche, will go to help local charities and organisations. Over the years, the Christmas grotto has raised more than £200,000.

The Mall grotto will be open from 11am until 5pm Monday to Saturday, and 10.30am to 4pm on Sundays.

From Monday, December 19 until Friday, December 23, the grotto will be open from 9am until 5pm, and on Christmas Eve it will be open from 9am until 3pm.