Ready or not, the big ‘C’ is coming and there’s so much to organise – trees, decorations, lights, food, presents! Yet no matter how early we start preparing, there are always a million things to do at Christmas that we somehow manage to forget about. So while you worry about whether to buy a present for that cousin who may or may not turn up, we’ve put together this guide to some of the best Christmas events in Bristol. That’s one less thing to worry about!
1. Pick the perfect Christmas tree from a local farm
Before the festivities can truly begin you’ve got to buy a Christmas tree. You could dust off your old artificial tree sitting in the attic again this year, we won’t judge, but nothing beats the sight and smell of the real thing. Kickstart the festive spirit with a family day out on a hunt for the perfect Christmas tree at these wonderful forests and garden centres near Bristol. Whether you’re after a freshly-cut fir or a sustainable and locally sourced tree, check out our guide for best places to buy Christmas trees in Bristol.
2. Cosy up with Candlelight Christmas Concerts
If you ask us, Christmas is nothing without the music. The holidays can’t get better than traditional carols and Xmas hits. But, what if they were performed by a string quartet under the gentle glow of candlelight? Keep your tickets eyes out for Candlelight Christmas Concerts in Bristol here.
3. Glide into Christmas by going ice skating
We’ll all be indulging more than our fair share of mulled wine, mince pies and turkey slices this Christmas in Bristol. So, we’d better get some exercise in too. What better festive activity for burning calories is there than ice skating? No one expects you to become the next Torvill or Dean overnight, but these brilliant ice skating rinks around Bristol will be open all of Christmas. To paraphrase Chumbawamba: If you get knocked down, just get up again!
4. Hit up Bristol Christmas Market
Everyone knows about Bristol Christmas Market. It’s among the best Christmas markets in the country – brimming with dazzling lights, tasty festive treats, handmade gifts and plenty of activities. Home to over 35 unique stalls, Christmas in Bristol cannot begin without it! It’ll take over Broadmead from November 1 to December 23.
5. Visit the brand-new Christmas Village
If Bristol Christmas Market wasn’t enough, there’s a brand-new ‘Christmas Village’ in Bristol this year. Taking over Castle Park, the Christmas Village will run every day (apart from Christmas Day) from December 5 to January 3 – with a roller rink, a curling rink, a VR sledge ride and several funfair rides like a bungee trampoline, a Waltzer, Dodgems, and a balloon ride carousel.
6. Help Wallace & Gromit save Christmas
A brand new Wallace & Gromit movie, ‘Vengeance Most Fowl’, drops on Christmas Day, but that’s not the only reason to get excited by Bristol’s favourite odd couple. A one-of-a-kind ‘Wallace & Gromit: A Cracking Christmas Experience’ is transforming The Friary Building in Quakers Friars from November 16 to December 24. Help Wallace save Christmas by getting his latest gadget – the Christmas-O-Matic – up and running, before tucking into cheese sandwiches at the festive Cracking Christmas Cafe. You can learn more here.
7. Get into the festivities at Avon Valley
When has Avon Valley ever not thrown itself into the season? This Christmas is no different. On November 30 and December, 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 19 to 24, it will host a day of theatrics, entertainment and themed activities. The Santa Show takes visitors into the heart of Lapland, where you’re in for a BIG surprise! Plus, visit Santa’s Cabin and Toy Shop, see the new-for-2024 Grinch Show, ride the Polar Express miniature train, and walk through this amazing little magical forest. Avon Valley will also be home to ice skating and a Christmas trail.
8. Wander through a wintery Westonbirt
Spectacular at any time of year, Westonbirt Arboretum transforms into an enchanted forest this Christmas 2023. Take a walk through a breathtaking Christmas light trail, featuring interactive displays amongst its magnificent trees. The mile-long trail, Enchanted Christmas, takes place on select days from November 29 to December 31. You can also visit the Christmas Village to enjoy festive food and drink stalls and traditional fairground rides.
9. Watch ‘A Christmas Carol’ drone light show
The team behind last year’s Evolution show in Bristol has another epic drone light show for us this Christmas. Celestial reimagines the classic tale of ‘A Christmas Carol’. Performed by hundreds of animated drones and narrated in the unique style of Matt Lucas, it will take audiences on a heart-warming journey with miserly Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve at the Seat Unique Stadium (Gloucestershire County Cricket Club) in Bristol. The 45-minute show will fly into the skies on December 19 – 21, plus food and drink outlets serving a variety of refreshments. You can learn more here.
10. Head down to Vintage Winter Wonderland
Taking over Millennium Square from mid-November to early January (closed Christmas Day), the Bristol’s Vintage Winter Wonderland brings plenty of entertainment in the form of a helter-skelter, dodgems and other vintage funfair games. You’ll also find an après chalet-style bar, food stalls and plenty of festive cheer on the Harbourside.
11. Tuck into Christmas lunch on ‘Britain’s most luxurious train’
Described as Britain’s most luxurious train, the Northern Belle will be departing from Bristol Temple Meads on December 16. Probably the poshest train journey you’ll likely ever experience, the round-trip will include a seven-course festive lunch, flowing champagne, and the stunning sights of the English countryside. It’s not all about wine and dining, onboard entertainment will sprinkle a little extra bit of Christmas magic, with the likes of a table magician and strolling musicians.
12. Pick up decorations at one of the UK’s biggest Christmas shops
Whitehall Garden Centre’s Christmas shop is arguably one of the biggest in the UK and only a 20-minute drive from Bristol city centre. It’s selling everything from artificial Christmas trees to novelty snowmen ornaments and Lemax decorative villages. You could hop in your car now, load up on seasonal knick-knacks, and have your house completely decorated before bedtime. What are you waiting for!?
13. Book your Christmas party with a twist
Christmas parties, are boring right? Not at Spiegeltent. Having been on the harbourside for the past two years, these cabaret-themed Christmas parties return this December. Alongside a three-course dinner and endless fizz, your Christmas party will include incredible performances – anything from acrobatics to contortionists, cabaret to magic. Plus, there are plenty of other events worth checking out at the pop-up event space! You can learn more by heading here.
14. Catch the big Clifton Christmas tree switch-on
The whole of Clifton sparkles at Christmas, but every year a huge 50-foot Norwegian Spruce tree – decorated with 5,000 LED lights, 100 baubles and wrapped boxes of Christmas presents – sits at its heart. The lights will switch on November 20 in The Mall Gardens at 6.30pm. Beforehand community carol singing will be led by a local choir, while after Clifton Village traders will stay open late.
15. Go shopping at The Galleries
Looking for unique gifts this Christmas? The Bristol Pop-Up Shop is back at The Galleries for another year of festivities. Stocking items from 100 talented local makers, artists and designers, it’s become the go-to spot for your Xmas shopping! You’ll find this local economy-boosting shop on the ground floor when it opens this November. You can learn more here.
16. Embrace the spirit of Christmas past – with a twist
Wake The Tiger is getting all nostalgic this Christmas with the launch of RETRO-MEGA-MAS. The amazement park will combine retro charm, childhood memories and mind-bending surrealism from November 9 to January 5. You’ll find everything from toy cars queuing to enter and a room filled with giant Rubik’s Cubes to an invasion of ‘80s slushy maker, Mr. Frosty and festive androids singing holiday classics. Meanwhile, The Curiosity Shop is selling locally sourced trinkets, art and crystals for one-of-a-kind presents.
17. Make your own mulled wine
Mulled wine is an incredibly tasty festive treat. A glass of the warming, heavenly drink magically appears in our hands wherever we go at Christmas. But why do we waste all that money buying it out-and-about, when mulled wine is super easy to make at home? All you need is a pan and a hob, and the ingredients which can be picked up from any local supermarket.
Most recipes just require you to warm up red wine, oranges, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and a touch of sugar or honey to taste – and it’s as easy as popping it all in a saucepan together and simmering on low (with a pan cover) for just 15 minutes. If that doesn’t appeal to you, try these great places to buy mulled wine in Bristol.
18. Meet the big man himself
There are a lot of opportunities to meet Santa this Christmas, but few are as magical as Santa & Sven. This enchanting, interactive show is now in its 5th year, with British comic actor Stewart Wright returning to the role of Father Christmas at The Wardrobe Theatre on December 8. Mixing improvisation and audience interaction, he’s again joined by actor and circus artist Ben Kirby as Sven the Reindeer Handler. You can get your tickets here.
19. Take an enchanting trip to the Festival of Light
The Festival of Light celebrates the 10th anniversary of its iconic, interactive and immersive lantern trail with a journey through time! See the great pyramids of Egypt, dodge a dinosaur’s roar, and cheer on chariots at the 10-metre-high Roman Colosseum. From November 9 to January 5, 2025, this year’s historical lantern trail will showcase the evolution of Earth from the dinosaurs to the present day.
But that’s not all, as Longleat will also be home to Britain’s biggest singing Christmas tree – lit up with over 88,000 twinkling lights – and the Santa Train, journeying to the North Pole where Father Christmas is waiting in his grotto. Meanwhile, the phenomenal light show at Longleat House will bring the historic facade to life each evening, synchronised to festive music, as well as a 60m fountain display on Half Mile Pond.
20. Visit a real-life Santa’s grotto
We may have found the world’s first real-life Santa’s grotto under the mysterious Forest of Dean. Inside Clearwell Caves, a vast natural cave system, you’ll find a Christmas market, a festive trail and Father Christmas himself from November 30 to December 31. Descending 100ft down, you’ll follow the adventures of Bernard, a young boy in ‘the land where snow covers the ground for most of the year’, who finds a baby polar bear floating on an iceberg and decides to take it home…
21. Visit the Christmas market at this 300-year-old palace
You can go festive shopping, ice skating and beautiful Christmas light trails at one of Britain’s grandest houses. Christmas at this 300-year-old country house, Blenheim Palace, is a little different. A seasonal village of traditional wooden chalets will be selling everything from Christmas gifts to festive treats from November 15 to December 22. Inside, the 300-year-old house has been transformed into Neverland – where you’ll follow Tinkerbell on a swashbuckling adventure across a moonlit London skyline and onto the Mermaid Lagoon.
22. See this stunning immersive light show
After a stunning display last year at Bristol Cathedral, Luxmuralis returns this Christmas. In The Beginning is a stunning display of festive light and sound that retells the Nativity like never before, from November 25 to 29. Using the historic walls of Bristol Cathedral as a canvas, this uplifting Christmas journey is reimagined for a modern audience. You can learn more here.
23. See what Christmas used to be like at this ancient parkland
Christmas returns to Dyrham Park (November 21 to January 5) with a host of activities on this ancient parkland. The house has once again been dressed up with historical festive decorations from the Tudors to the 20th century – with a colourful 1980s-themed room this year! Elsewhere, families can follow a reindeer discovery trail around the 270-acre site, while choirs perform in the village church of St Peter on Saturdays and Sundays at 1pm.
24. Go ‘Twilight Tobogganing’ by thousands of fairy lights
Turning tobogganing into a magical experience for all, Twilight Tobogganing is running from November 8 to January 5, 2025, at the Mendip Activity Centre. The slope has been decked out with 10,000 fairy lights, coloured flood lights and lasers, as well as festive music and a snow machine. Afterwards, relax by wandering through an ancient woodland illuminated by Christmas lights. This will lead to the woodland campfire, where worn-out tobogganers can toast marshmallows, make s’mores and light sparklers. You can learn more here.
25. Cosy up with a Christmas film
After all these exciting activities, you’re going to be worn out! It’s time to wrap on the sofa and fall in love with our favourite Christmas films all over again. Take your pick of some of the newest Christmas film releases such as Spirited and Falling for Christmas, as well as Christmas classics such as Elf and Miracle On 34th Street.
There’s even a whole TV channel dedicated to Christmas to get you feeling festive. So get cosy on the sofa with a cup of hot chocolate or something stronger because, baby it’s cold outside! Also, check out our guide to Christmas films here.