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Christmas 2024

Whether you're looking for dazzling light displays, the wardrobe leading to Narnia or the chance to meet Father Christmas, make this season magical with festive events for the whole family. 

Celebrate the season with traditional carol services and wreath-making workshops, and fill your weekends with Christmas joy at our Festive Fun events. 

 

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Immersive Christmas experiences

Enter a world of storytelling and make-believe, as our sites brim with Christmas spirit this season.

Meet Father Christmas

Father Christmas has planned a series of special stops at sites around the country, as he prepares for the big day. This December, gather around the Christmas tree as he shares a festive story, receive a special gift to take home and make merry memories to treasure.

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Festive Fun Weekends

Wrap up warm and fill your weekends with Christmas cheer at our Festive Fun events. There’ll be a host of jolly entertainment for the whole family, from storytelling to toymaking, carols to Christmas crafts and more. 

Weekends at selected sites from 30 November until 22 December 

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Traditional wreath-making workshops

Get creative this Christmas and make your very own wreath to take home. Our gardening team will guide you through classic designs, using festive foliage and sprigs from English Heritage's gardens. Everything you need to create a wreath is provided for you – including tasty winter warmers!

Christmas Carols

As the winter evening draws in, celebrate the season at our traditional carols evenings in stunning surroundings.

 

CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON TEAS

Come and join us in celebrating Christmas with a delicious afternoon tea at:

Think pigs in blankets, smoked salmon blinis and a selection of sweet treats, served with tea, coffee, or prosecco. We also have an option for the little ones too, featuring tasty finger sandwiches, cakes and fruit, with their choice of milkshake or juice. Tickets for our Christmas afternoon tea can be added to your Christmas experience at the checkout.

Shop Christmas

Find gifts for all your family and friends with our Christmas range. Whether you're looking for history-themed stocking fillers or building a traditional Christmas hamper, we've got it all. 

 

Find the perfect present

Plan a festive stay

Relax, unwind and enjoy the festive season in style at one our many holiday cottages. From wintery woodland views to panoramic seascapes, our properties are full of character and offer visitors free entry to sites amongst other benefits, making it the perfect family getaway. 

Explore Holiday Cottages

Victorian Christmas Crafts

Christmas crackers, gilded walnuts, pin-prick cards and paper flowers

The Victorians popularised many Christmas traditions we know and love, decorating their homes just as we do today. Most of their decorations and gifts were made using household items and are surprisingly simple to make.

Watch our video and click on the links below to discover easy guides and templates to make your own Victorian Christmas crafts. 

  • Make your own: CHRISTMAS CRACKERS

    The Christmas cracker can be traced back to the middle of the 19th century and London confectioner Tom Smith. Smith patented his first cracker in 1847 and perfected the mechanism in the 1860s. It was Smith's son Walter who had the idea of including paper hats and novelty gifts. 

  • Make your own: PIN-PRICK CARDS

    Christmas cards date back to 1843 when civil servant Henry Cole commissioned a card showing a family around a dinner table. The idea caught people’s imaginations and with advances in colour printing technology, the sending of cards had become hugely popular by the 1880s.

     

  • make your own: PAPER FLOWERS

    Making paper flowers was a popular craft activity among wealthy Victorian women. Hundreds of articles from magazines at the time showed how to make elaborate imitation flowers, which were displayed throughout the house and were considered an indispensable personal accessory.

  • More Victorian Christmas Traditions

    From presents to puddings, you can bet Queen Victoria had something to do with their history. In fact, the Victorian age played a big part in establishing the traditions of Christmas we still practice today. Discover just how important the Victorians were in the celebration of Christmas.