Christmas in Llandudno is gentler than in big cities, and that is not a defect. The town offers shopping, lights, theatre, hotel breaks, winter walks and seasonal events without pretending to be Vienna in a knitted hat.

Do not arrive expecting a vast Christmas-market kingdom. That would be unfair and faintly silly. Llandudno is a coastal town in North Wales, not a mulled-wine hallucination.

Venue Cymru’s pantomime season is the anchor of Christmas in Llandudno. Running from December into January, it draws audiences from across North Wales for a show tradition that is as much a part of the local Christmas as anything else. The capacity of around 1,500 means the productions are well-resourced compared to smaller venues, and the pantomime is taken more seriously here than the light-entertainment reputation of the form might suggest.

The best festive version is simple: a cold walk on the promenade, coffee or lunch in town, a show at Venue Cymru and a little shopping on Mostyn Street.

Clear winter light can make the bay look sharper than summer ever manages. The hotels stand out, the Orme darkens, the Little Orme to the east catches low light in ways the summer visitor never sees, and the sea behaves with dramatic indifference to the season.

Hotel Christmas packages are available from the larger seafront establishments, offering festive menus and seasonal breaks for those who would rather not spend Christmas cooking and would prefer to be waited on by people being paid for cheerfulness.

Weather is the gamble. Wind and rain can turn the seafront into a moral test. Bring proper clothing and do not complain if December behaves like December.

The town illuminations and decorations along Mostyn Street and the promenade add the necessary seasonal element. They are not lavish in the city sense, but they are sufficient for a town of this scale and rather better than the gloomy alternative.

Christmas here rewards those who enjoy atmosphere over spectacle. If you require fake snow, forced jollity and overpriced novelty mugs, there are other places prepared to insult you more thoroughly.

For the visitor who comes specifically for Llandudno rather than for Christmas, the winter season gives the town in an honest register: quieter, sharper, less crowded and considerably more revealing of its actual character.