Holkham Hall by Candlelight, Norfolk
Wander through staterooms lit by candlelight and festooned with decorations – mince pies and prosecco are provided to raise festive spirits. This year’s highlights are the Luxmuralis light projection and sound shows – spectacles of the kind previously seen in the Tower of London and Canterbury Cathedral. Self-led tours on selected dates throughout December; £32 for adults, £16 for children; under-twos go free, holkham.co.uk
Christmas and Hogmanay, Edinburgh
The city sparkles with festive lights for the season. There are a number of illumination shows to experience, from an after-dark light installation experience at the Royal Botanic Gardens (£22.50 for adults, from £17 for children, rbge.org.uk) to an immersive Castle of Light: Magic & Mystery show at Edinburgh Castle (£22 for adults, £12 for children, edinburghcastle.scot).
Bring in the New Year with a stay in town at the Witchery – an atmospheric cluster of historic buildings-turned-hotel at the gates of Edinburgh Castle dating to 1595 (from £475, thewitchery.com), or the 17th-century Prestonfield House: its Hogmanay break is £570 per room per night including a bottle of champagne. prestonfield.com
Howden Christmas Racing Weekend, Ascot
Ascot’s final race meeting of the year is combined with festive fun. There are six races on both the Friday and Saturday of the event, while off-track the entertainment includes candlelit carol singing with the Ascot Brass Band and an appearance by Father Christmas.
Friday 22 and Saturday 23 December; from £20, ascot.com
Christmas at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock
A light show extravaganza circles the stately Oxfordshire residence. Stroll through star-lined light tunnels, past an 8m sphere filled with more than 20,000 moving lights and alongside dancing fountains (from £19.50 for adult non-members, from £14.50 for children). There is a Christmas market on the grounds until 17 December, while inside the palace, the experience, inspired by the tale of Sleeping Beauty, includes a walk to Aurora’s candlelit bedchamber via an enchanted forest (from £35 for adults, £20 for children). blenheimpalace.com
Skate at Somerset House with Switzerland Tourism, London
The courtyard rink is back with a skating, music and food fest. It’s a popular winter pop-up and several of the skating sessions are already sold out, so book the evening DJ takeover sessions (£24) if you want to hit the ice, or reserve a spot at Chalet Suisse by Jimmy Garcia to indulge in Alpine-style dining (sharing mains from £21). somersethouse.org.uk
The Bull at Burford, Burford
Opened by PR chief Matthew Freud earlier this year, The Bull is a 16th-century coaching house-turned-contemporary escape, with curated interiors featuring artworks by Ai Weiwei, Salvador Dalí, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Francis Bacon. The experience here has a creative twist: there’s a changing roster of activities ranging from yoga and photography workshops to perfume making and culinary activities such as butchery or baking.
Artist Martha Freud’s ceramics masterclass has already proved popular with guests, and on 13 December, Rose Ferguson, the ’90s model-turned-nutritionist and functional medicine practitioner to A-listers, makes an appearance as the host of a talk with dinner (£50 per person including the talk, dinner and non-alcoholic cocktail). From £385; bullburford.com
Festive Lunch on the British Pullman
Watch wintry landscapes speed by as you dine amid the splendour of a 1920s vintage train carriage dressed with festive flourishes. The experience starts with a glass of champagne, followed by a five-course meal with wine, followed by tea and coffee. The journey is accompanied by merriment from music to magicians. £490 per person departing from London Victoria, luxurytraintickets.com
Wishmas: A Fantastical Christmas Adventure, London
A child-friendly adventure riffing on immersive theatre, staged at The Old Bauble Factory in Waterloo. The 60-minute walk-through takes visitors through interactive festive spaces (including a sorting office and Christmas train) where characters pop up along the way. There’s also a full 75-minute experience, which allows enough time to stop by the craft fair (and combine in the crafting) or face Father Christmas on his sleigh. From £29; group tickets available, wishmas.co.uk
Christmas in Brighton
Brighton is rocking the festivities with a smörgåsbord of gatherings. Its Artist Open Houses Winter Festival invites visitors into the homes of artists and makers until 10 December, where they can purchase unusual gifts such as crocheted food plates and mouth-blown glass fungi sculptures (aoh.org.uk).
The Royal Pavilion ice rink is back until 7 January for skating beneath the royal residence’s domes and minarets (from £11 for over-12s, from £9 for children, royalpavilionicerink.co.uk), while Burning of the Clocks – a city parade of willow lanterns culminating with a bonfire on the beach – takes place on 21 December (samesky.co.uk). Kew Gardens’ popular Glow Wild after dark light show at Wakehurst is also a winter crowd pleaser (£19 for adults, £12 for children, glowwild.seetickets.com).
Babington House, Somerset
If you are one of Soho House’s 162,000 members, this country-house escape is likely to be on your winter stay wishlist.
The grade II-listed house shimmers for the season and there’s a range of festive workshops, activities and indulgences to partake in: from festive carol singing with Podge (the annual carolling session with West-End razzmatazz led by House stalwarts Podge and Jay Alexander) on 11 December to a wreath-making workshop on the 15th, a mulled cocktail masterclass on the 20th and a festive trifle masterclass on the 22nd. Membership from £109 a month, sohohouse.com
Christmas at Kew, Richmond
The after-dark trail – a dazzling light and sound spectacle within the botanical gardens – has become a festive must-see, which this year includes 3m-high illuminated flowers, a Palm House light show and one of the longest light tunnels ever to feature at the event.
The downside? It’s booked up until January – but worth a visit post-festivities to counter the winter blues. From £22.50 for adult non-members; family and child tickets available, kew.org
A Family Christmas at Borde Hill, West Sussex
A Christmas kids’ trail and a visit to Santa’s Grotto tick the boxes for children, while adults can partake in a tablescaping class at the workshop (13 December; £38) at this English garden destination, which is set in 383 acres of grade II*-listed parkland. The garden shop offers gift ideas, and the cafe serves winter warmers of hot chocolates and mulled wine. £5.75 for adult non-members; £4 for children, bordehill.co.uk
Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
The ancestral seat of the Devonshire family has been transformed into The Palace of Advent – beginning with a glittering festive light installation projected across the facade of the stately residence. Step inside to examine 24 opulently decorated rooms, stopping by Father Christmas’s workshop at the heart of the house. examine the grounds with a trip to the festive farm, and take in the garden spectacle of an interactive light and sound trail (included in the price of a Christmas ticket), which finishes with an animated light show. £34 for adults, £19 for children, chatsworth.org
Bath on Ice, Bath
Bath has all the festive feels, not only at its famous market but within the Royal Victoria Park, where ice skating is accompanied by music and seasonal drinks, and a Glow Golf experience turns crazy golf into an after-dark sport complete with fairy lights and glow-in-the-dark balls.
Post exertion, stop by Moguls Alpine Bar for festive drinks and wood-fired pizzas. £14.50 for adults, £12.50 for children, £47 for families, bathonice.co.uk
Christmas at the Eden Project, Cornwall
Journey through an immersive lighting and sound show in the Rainforest Biome, which is transformed into a night-time tropical wonderland, before stepping into the Mediterranean Biome for a jazz experience performed by live musicians (half-hour performances start at 5.30pm, 6.30pm and 7.30pm: both experiences are part of the general admission price). Ice skating at the venue’s rink is part of the fun (from £9 for adults, from £7 for children) until February 2024, and throughout December, Father Christmas takes part in an interactive theatrical experience inside the Dome tent (at an additional cost from £12). From £33 for adults, from £11 for children, edenproject.com
