TRADERS are being urged to make Thetford sparkle again this Christmas in a bid to lighten the economic gloom.Two bottles of bubbly are on offer for the shop/business which comes up with the best dressed window in a competition run by town manager Susan Glossop and backed by Barclays bank.

TRADERS are being urged to make Thetford sparkle again this Christmas in a bid to lighten the economic gloom.

Two bottles of bubbly are on offer for the shop/business which comes up with the best dressed window in a competition run by town manager Susan Glossop and backed by Barclays bank.

Meanwhile, the town is gearing up for a big lights switch-on on Friday, December 5, with an extra selection of events planned for the following day.

A Captain Mainwaring look-alike - marking Thetford's strong links with the classic TV comedy Dad's Army - will switch on the lights at 6.15pm, followed by the arrival of Father Christmas on his float.

Norwich Road Community Primary School will sing carols and perform an extract from Oliver Twist, and the evening ends with the Keystone Kollective band from 7pm.

During the day, there are other events as Thetford gets ready to celebrate. It's free admission from 10am-8pm at the Charles Burrell Museum, where there are steam engine demonstrations and junk modelling.

There will be an art and craft fair in the Guildhall from 10am-8pm on the Friday and 10am-5pmon the Saturday, and Ancient House Museum will be open from 5pm-8pm, with visitors able to see how Christmas was celebrated in the 1940s and make festive decorations and gifts.

The Dad's Army Museum opens from 4pm-8pm with gifts, cards and the chance to have a photograph taken with Captain Mainwaring (alias lookalike Mick Whitman).

During the festivities, King Street will host children's fairground rides and there will be charity stalls.

On the Saturday there will be stalls and activities in the town centre.

Santa's postbox will be outside King's House from December 5 for children to write to Father Christmas. All children will get a written reply from Lapland. Last day for posting is December 15.