Christmas at Castle Howard 2024 – The theme for this year at Castle Howard is Alice’s Christmas Wonderland and runs from the 15th November until the 5th January 2025.
Alice is planning a huge Christmas party, and she invites you to follow the White Rabbit through Castle Howard’s grand halls and regal rooms with each twist and turn revealing fanciful festive surprises.
Don’t be late for this very important date, as you immerse yourself in a psychedelic world that will leave your smile as wide as the Cheshire Cat’s.
We visited on the press day and I must say, it’s a really good one this year (not that there has ever been a bad one!). There is so much going on at Castle Howard this year and I will try and tell you all about it, but first – the main attraction – the house itself!
All the rooms are stunningly decorated within the Alice in Wonderland theme. You start as always at the grand staircase and slowly wind your way through the bedrooms. Now, you must do this slowly as there is just so much to see.
The hours and hours of work that must go into this, are unimaginable, and I always come away determined to up my Christmas decoration game (and then fail miserably!).
To stop the kids racing through, there is a white rabbit trail where the white rabbit pops up in every room. If your kids would like to take part you will be given a booklet on the admissions desk to fill out with answers to questions in each room. At the end of the trail your children can draw themselves as an Alice character to enter a competition to win a Castle Howard Gold Membership.
Another thing to look out for on your way around are these ‘Touch me’ boxes, which are perfect for younger children and adults as well, let’s be honest. You can pick up and look at items in each room that are used in the decorations. I think this is a really thoughtful idea and perfect as sensory play.
There are a couple of stand out moments during your trip. The first for me is always the Christmas tree in the Great Hall. You come round a corner and then – boom – it’s there towering above you. There are a staggering three thousand decorations on the tree and it takes 6 days to decorate!
Your next stand out moment (or at least my favourite) is the room with the table in it. This year of course it is set up for the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. Just look how decadent this is!
Throughout the tour there are some very sophisticated light and sound installations. The show in the Long Gallery is particularly good this year!
As well as the Alice tour, you can also go and visit Father Christmas, indulge in afternoon tea or sharing boards. We go to try a little of these and they were fabulous.
Castle Howard seem to have upped their game with their food offerings across the board I think. In the marquee (which is much bigger this year) you will find various food stalls including a ‘build your own crumble’ where you can choose what fillings and what toppings you have. We tried an apple and cinnamon, with traditional crumble, custard and biscoff bits on top. It was fabulous (and very filling)!
Here are the menus so you can see what there is available and prices.
On a final note, for the first time ever, Bettys Tea Rooms are running a pop up shop in the courtyard. You can pick up Fat Rascals or Fondant Fancies on your way out. I have decided when I win the lottery, I shall spend a weekend doing all of the lovely things!
Read our review from last year with lots of lovely photos below!
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.
