Christmas at Castle Howard 2023 – The theme for this year at Castle Howard is Christmas in Neverland and runs from the 11th of November – 2nd January.
Join the Darling children as they meet Peter Pan then fly to Neverland to meet the Lost Boys, the Pirates and Mermaids. Each room is beautifully decorated to depict scenes from the beloved book. I have always loved Christmas at Castle Howard and was eager to see this year’s festivities.
The grand staircase decorated for Christmas at the start of the tour.
The tour starts in the bedrooms of the Darling children. Make sure you take a careful look in the windows of this dolls house to see if you can spot Tinkerbell! There are plenty of spots to see her and children can even follow a Tinkerbell trail around the house. (Keep them occupied while you are looking at the rest of the gorgeous decorations!).
There is very much an ‘Edwardian Christmas’ theme running alongside the Christmas in Neverland theme with traditional decorations like these paper chains. Castle Howard make an effort to reuse previous decorations in different ways to be more sustainable and this year any new decorations bought have deliberately been purchased with a mind for the future, with paper, fabric and glass being the materials of choice.
I always come home with grand plans for my own decorating. Look at this gorgeous pastel Christmas tree!
This is always my favourite room, with the table laid for a magical banquet.
There are so many rooms to marvel at!
Lights, sounds and clever special effects have been used to enhance the journey through the house, like this magical mermaid pool (my favourite this here are the jellyfish – my photo does not do them justice!)
As always there is a huge tree taking centre stage. This one was cut from the Castle Howard estate and is decorated in a tropical theme. It’s bright and colourful and utterly fabulous, but I have to say I prefer a more traditional look (don’t shoot me!!).
There are more rooms to see than I can include here. As always it is a feast for the senses!
I also managed to snap a photo of the land train that will take you around the grounds.
If you want to push the boat out at the end of your tour then you can also treat yourself to a festive ‘Darling Afternoon Tea’ (and who doesn’t love an afternoon tea?!) Castle Howard is a lovely place to visit and the perfect way to celebrate Christmas.
Intrigued to see what last year was like?
Our review of Castle Howard at Christmas last year
Last year Castle Howard was transformed into a storybook castle at Christmas. We were lucky enough to go along to the press launch to get a first glimpse.
Each room is transformed into a decadent Christmas wonderland featuring different fairytale characters, It really is the ultimate in festive theatrics, with so many lush and varied details, you might need more than one visit to see it all!
The experience begins at the bottom of the grand staircase, festooned with foliage and lights, leading to your first (of many) Christmas trees at the top of the stairs. From there, it’s a feast for the senses as you move from opulent room to opulent room.
Many of the decorations are made in house, like this beautiful cloak belonging to Little Red Riding Hood.
This cute house now houses the Three Bears and you can see Goldilocks peering out over three porridge bowls in the window, In fact, this was originally a wendy house belonging to and played with by the Howard children. The team like to use as much authentic Castle Howard items as possible as well as reusing and recycling past decorations in a new and exciting way.
This year, it’s decorated in traditional red with lots of candy canes and lollypops!
When you are in this room, look up to the gallery to see Rapunzel’s tower, with her hair cascading down.
Another favourite of mine was this wonderful table set for an extravagant feast!
Just look at those baubles! Don’t miss the Christmas shop set up on your way out if you want to recreate this at home (now wouldn’t that be fun!).
As you near the end of your experience you will see Cinderella’s carriage. And, just like every good panto, at the end is a wedding!
There are amazing sounds and lights throughout the experience and remember to look up for some truly magical ceilings.
Finally, if you want to really push the boat out, why not indulge in a festive afternoon tea!
Castle Howard at Christmas
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