CHILDREN in St Albans will be able to get their faces painted for free as the Malting shopping centre begins in Christmas celebrations on Saturday.

Between 11am and 4pm youngsters can have their faces transformed into festive characters from an elf, reindeer or snowman.

Phil Corrigan, centre manager at the Maltings, said: “This is a great opportunity to being the whole family along for some fantastic face painting and, even better, it's totally free.”