Lots of winter & Christmas trails to be found in the local parks all around Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole!
Happy Exploring!
Linsay Rd, Bovington, Wareham BH20 6JG.
Date: 18. & 19. November 2023 Time: 10am-5pm
Watch live entertainment, buy unique Christmas gifts from local makers and sellers and get in the Christmas spirit with ‘A Dorset Christmas Fair’.
Date: 16. December – 1. January 2023 Times: Daily 10am-5pm (except 24-26. Dec)
Enjoy free Christmas colouring, Frank on a Tank Elf Trail, special talks from the Guide Team and a Christmas-themed 1940s House and Shop.
Tickets available in advance or on the door.
Date: 1. – 25. December 2023
Collect a form and have fun finding the letters to make a phrase in the windows throughout Poole.
Entry forms are available from:
Truly Scrumptious ~ Poole Old Town
Rope & Anchor ~ Poole Old Town
Flaming Nora’s ~ Kingland Crescent
Toytown ~ The Dolphin Shopping Centre.
Window Display Competition – visit the businesses and see all of the wonderful displays, explore Poole and all it has to offer. Vote for your favourite for the chance to win £100 to spend in Poole. Voting is open from 8th until 22nd December.
Christmas Party Trail
Date: December 2023 & January 2024 Time: 10am-4pm
Help Rodney the Reindeer find out who his new heathland neighbours are and where they live so he can send them invitations to his Christmas party!
Trail packs cost £3.50 from the Visitor Centre.
Santa’s Grotto
Date: 3. 9./10. 16.-22. December 2023 Time: 10am-3pm
Join Santa and his elves in his magical cabin for a meet and greet with the whole family. Pictures are welcome.
£15 per child (includes gift) Adults Free.
Make your own Reindeer
Date: 16. & 17. December 2023
Booking essential.
Santa’s Enchanted Winter Experience
Date: 25. December – 5 January 2024 Time: 4-8pm
Visit Santa in a colourful world as you embark on a magical journey in our enchanted forest.
£15 per child (includes gift) £10 per adult.
Get your tickets via Ticket Source/avonheathenchantedevents.
All across Christchurch High Street.
Date: 25. November – 9. December 2023
We need your help to uncover the secret hideouts of these naughty little elves! If you happen to spot one of them in a shop, proudly waving a golden Christchurch BID flag, don’t be shy – approach them!
Ask for a golden ticket, fill in your details, drop it in Santa’s postbox at the Regent Centre! By joining in on the hunt, you have the chance to 𝙒𝙄𝙉 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 £100 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙨, just in time for Christmas!
Quay Rd, Christchurch BH23 1BU.
Date: 9. – 31. December 2023
Festive Gnome Hunt – When winter sets in a village of Gnomes moves into the museum, but where do they hide? Explore the museum and see how many magical Gnome homes you can find…you might even spot a Christmas Gnome or two!
£2 per activity sheet with prize.No need to book, just drop in.
Date: 13. January 2024
Cinderella by Treehouse Theatre
For all ages. Tickets are £8 book via the website.
Date: 1. December (6-8pm) 2. December 2023 (1.30-3.30pm)
Wreath Making Workshop – £55 per person book via the website.
Date: 9. – 10. December 2023
Christmas Afternoon Tea in Upton House book via the website.
Date: 9./10. 16.-23. & 27. December 2023 – 3. January 2024
A fairytale Christmas Trail – Look out for magical fairytale characters along the way!
£6 per trail map & prize collect from the Welcome Center.
Date: 13. – 14. December 2023
Meet Santa Paws – Bring your furry friend to meet the big man himself! Take a photo & get a festive bonio.
£6 per dog book via the website.
Date: 28. November & 5. December 2023 Time: 10.30am – 1.30pm
Eco friendly Christmas Wreath Making Workshop – made from natural materials. £30 per person. Pre booking is essential.
Date: 24. November 2023 – 1.January 2024 Time: 9am -4.30pm
Christmas Quiz Trail – Seasonal fun and general knowledge questions. £1.50 per trail sheet.
In the true spirit of Christmas parking is free at Moors Valley when you buy a tree from the Christmas Tree Shop, visit Santa at the Moors Valley Railway or for all pre-booked Christmas meals at Seasons Restaurant.
Date: 18 December 2023 Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Robin Hood Panto – £12 per person. Pre-booking is essential.
Date: 10. – 26. November 2023 Time: 10am -3.30pm
Stories of the Spirits Family Quest – Collect each character’s personalised embossing stamp in your booklet on your way around the ruins and discover life-sized portraits along the way. Earn a special edition siege coin at the end.
Date: 1. December 2023 – 7. January 2024 Time: 10am-3.30pm
Monty Mouse’s Hunt for a Festive Feast Family Quest – Explore the castle following the quest as it winds up through the ruins.
Date: 2. December 2023 – 1. January 2024 Time: 10am-3pm (1.1. 11am-3pm)
Marshmallows, firepits and festivities at Corfe Castle this Winter.
Join our festive storyteller on a tour of tales from Corfe Castle’s Rather Curious Christmas.
Date: 2. December 2023 Time: 4-7.30pm
Winter Lights Experience the magic of exploring Corfe Castle at night under the stars.
Date: 21. December 2023 Time: 7-10am
Winter Solstice – Experience the rare opportunity of watching the sun rise over East Hill on the shortest day of the year from the castle ruins. £11 per person Free for NT Members.
All the events are free but normal admission applies.
Date: 25. November 2023 – 2. January 2023
Enter a world of Christmas in Poole, with this FREE Christmas attraction! Be prepared to be dazzled as
thousands of twinkling lights take you on a nautical journey.
Immerse yourself in a magical maritime Christmas as you follow the light trail from Falkland Square,
through the High Street and onto Poole Quay.
Follow our discovery trail up Poole High Street to find out more about the hidden histories of the buildings and the people who lived there.
Click here to get to the FREE trail.
Date: 16. November 2023 – 1. January 2024
– Collect your FREE activity booklet from the Alpine Lodge until 6pm daily
– Find our Christmas Trail map
– Start exploring the Market, Wonderland and Skate to find your clues and letters
– Collect all 8 and solve our riddle, fill out your answer in the squares provided, tear off and submit via the ‘Letters to Santa’ postbox located opposite WHSmiths or alternatively submit via the Christmas in Bournemouth website.
– Be in for a chance to win some great Christmas treats!
Bournemouth Town Center.
Date: 1. December 2023 – 4. January 2024
At five town centre locations, there will be a shape-based window vinyl where trail participants can access an augmented reality experience and two historic facts about Bournemouth’s past, all via an app.
Everyone completing the fun trail will be entered for a free competition to win a Town Centre Gift Card.
