Switch-ons, grottos, late-night openings
Snow Machine Hire
Nothing turns a crowd into a photograph like snow falling on it. A snow machine is the cheapest piece of theatre in Christmas — it costs less than most props, it works on people rather than on a room, and it is the moment everybody films. We hire ours out with everything else, delivered and set up by our own team.
What a snow machine is actually for
A snow effect is not decoration, it is an event. It has a beginning and an end, people look up, and phones come out. That makes it worth far more at a switch-on, a grotto opening or a late-night shopping evening than it is running quietly all afternoon to an empty room.
Used well it is the punctuation mark on a scheme you already have — the moment the lights go on, the moment Santa arrives, the moment the choir finishes. Used badly it is background noise nobody notices.
- Save it for moments, not for the whole day.
- Pair it with the thing people are already looking at.
- It photographs best against dark backgrounds and into a light.
- Delivered, set up and collected by our team — it is not a box you have to work out.
The snow machine
Tell us the date and the space and we will tell you what it needs.
Snow you don’t have to switch on
The settled kind — snow blanket, snowballs, glitter and frosted props that build the scene the machine falls onto.
Where a snow machine earns its money
Anywhere there is a crowd and a moment.
Christmas light switch-ons
The obvious one, and still the best. Snow on the countdown is the photograph that ends up in the local paper.
Grotto entrances & exits
A snowstorm exit is how we finish the drive-thru grotto at Heskin Hall. Children leave through weather, not through a door.
Late-night shopping
A short burst on the hour gives people a reason to be outside your shop at a particular time.
Parties & functions
Arrivals. Guests walk in through it, and the night has started before anybody has taken their coat off.
Photo sets & grottos
Falling snow in a photograph does more for the picture than another prop in the background.
Snow as part of a bigger scheme
Most people who hire a snow machine from us are hiring other things too — a grotto, a window scheme, trees, lighting. It is almost never the whole job, and it works best when it is the last thing added rather than the first thing booked.
Put everything you are considering on one list and we quote it together, deliver it together and collect it together. One van, one team, one invoice.
Common questions
How much does it cost to hire a snow machine?
The rate is published on the snow machine’s own product page where we hold one; anything bundled into a larger scheme is quoted together with the rest of it. Tell us your date and we will price it.
Do you set the snow machine up?
Yes. We deliver, set up and collect with our own team, anywhere in the UK. It is not dropped off for you to work out.
Can I hire a snow machine for one night?
Yes — single events are normal. Tell us the date and how long you want the effect running for.
What does a snow machine need on site?
It depends on where you are putting it, so tell us the position and we will tell you what it needs rather than guess from here.
Can we have snow indoors?
It depends on the room and the position, which is a conversation rather than a yes or no. Describe the space and we will advise.
Where we work
We deliver and install anywhere in the UK. We are based in Wigan, so everywhere below is within about a hundred miles of the warehouse — the places we can get to fastest, and where a same-week site visit is straightforward.
- Wigan
- Bolton
- Warrington
- St Helens
- Manchester
- Salford
- Liverpool
- Preston
- Blackburn
- Blackpool
- Chorley
- Southport
- Chester
- Wrexham
- Lancaster
- Kendal & the Lakes
- Leeds
- Bradford
- Huddersfield
- Sheffield
- York
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Crewe
- Shrewsbury
- Derby
- Nottingham
- Birmingham
- Carlisle
- North Wales
Tell us about your Christmas
Add anything you like to My List and send it over — we come back with one quote for the lot, delivered, installed and collected. Or just ring and talk it through.