14 family events in Bristol throughout December 2017

Christmas might be a time of giving, but it’s also a time to tighten the belt as a result. Keep the kids occupied with activities throughout December, many of them completely free.

Free family Christmas activities
Dec 2 – FREE
Box-E, Wapping Wharf, Bristol, BS1 6UD
As part of the wider Wapping Wharf Christmas party, which will include singers and stilt-walkers, join Box-E on their terrace for free festive activities including gingerbread decorating, writing letters to Father Christmas and a satsuma peeling competition.
www.boxebristol.com

Christmas at the Red Lodge
Dec 2 – FREE
Red Lodge, Park Row, Bristol, BS1 5LJ
Pay what you feel at this hands-on festive event, where you’ll get to experience the sounds and smells of an Elizabethan Christmas, complete with food, music and decorations, and also stitch decorations with the help of Bristol’s Embroiderers’ Guild.
www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/red-lodge-museum

Bristol Plays Music Christmas Concert
Dec 6
St George’s Theatre, Bristol, BS1 5RR
Over 350 children from primary schools across Bristol join together to sprinkle Christmas cheer at St George’s. The concerts each last about an hour and treat audiences to seasonal songs and familiar favourites.
www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/event/bristol-plays-music-christmas-concert-2

Gloucester Road Christmas Street Party
Dec 7 – FREE
Gloucester Road, Bishopston, Bristol, BS7 8NU
To launch late opening in the run-up to Christmas, potter around the independent shops of Bishopston and enjoy music from local community choirs, wreaths from Golden Hill Allotments, free activities and lots of food and drink.
www.glosrdcentral.co.uk

Winter Lecture: Sore Tales of Giant Pliosaurs
Dec 7 – FREE
Priory Road Lecture Theatre, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1TN
Take a break from the Christmas rush to learn about the two Pliosaurus species displayed in Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, who were local residents from Westbury, Wiltshire, and who lived around 155 million years ago.
www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery 

A Very Victorian Christmas
Dec 9 – FREE
Blaise Castle Museum, Henbury Road, Bristol, BS10 7QS
Step back in time to experience a Victorian Christmas, including singing Christmas carols, dressing up and trying festive crafts. The house will be decorated with boughs of holly and evergreens from Blaise Estate, adding to the Christmassy feel.
www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/blaise-castle-house-museum

Windmill Hill City Farm Winter Fair
Dec 9 – FREE
Philip Street, Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 4EA
A full day of fun at the city farm, which is free to enter all year round. It’s a chance to meet others, sample food, try family activities, celebrate nature and forge a sense of community. Expect live music, locally-sourced gifts and fireside cooking.
www.windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk

Sail with Santa
Dec 9-10 & 16-24
Bristol Ferry, departs from Bristol City Centre Landing, Bristol, BS1 5TX
Join the Ferry Elves, on the cosy boat with their own Christmas tree, to search for Santa. Once found, Bristol Ferry’s delightful and amusing Santa will entertain while you cruise around the harbour. He has a sack full of gifts for the children and mince pies and sherry for the mums, dads and grandparents.
www.bristolferry.com/public-trips/Sailwithsanta

Victorian Christmas
9 Dec – 10 Dec
Brunel’s SS Great Britain, Great Western Dockyard, Bristol, BS1 6TY
Spend a festive weekend at Brunel’s SS Great Britain, with a range of activities on offer including carol singing, Victorian Christmas card-making and food and drink. Visitors will also be able to meet a cast of Victorian passengers and hear festive stories.
www.ssgreatbritain.org/whats-on/victorian-christmas

Santas on the Run
Dec 10 – FREE
Starting from the Harbourside, Bristol, BS1 5LL
Get ready for an amazing spectacle, as hundreds of santas run a 2km course through central Bristol to raise money for Children’s Hospice South West. Cheer them on, spot the best fancy dress and take lots of photos.
www.chsw.org.uk/events/christmas/santas-on-the-run/bristol

Miracle on 34th Street
Dec 11 – FREE
Curzon Cinema, 46 Old Church Road, Clevedon, Bristol, BS21 6NN
A free screening of evergreen family classic Miracle on 34th Street. If you can’t get over to Clevedon, there’s a second showing on December 17 at the Passenger Shed, though this is ticketed (adults £10, children £7.50). Rated U.
www.bristol247.com/whats-on/film/family/miracle-on-34th-street

I am Making Art: Demi Insall and Olivia Jones
Dec 16 – FREE
Spike Island, 133 Cumberland Road, Bristol, BS1 6UX
Join artists and printmakers Demi Insall and Olivia Jones to design, collage and stencil unique patterns for cards, tags and wrapping paper using a range of basic printmaking techniques, and finish your Christmas prep off in style.
www.spikeisland.org.uk/events/activities/i-am-making-art-december-2017

Carols in the Barn
Dec 16 & 17
Winterbourne Medieval Barn, Church Lane, Winterbourne, BS36 1SE
Members of St Michael’s Church present their own light-hearted dramatic take on the familiar Nativity story, in the atmospheric setting of Winterbourne’s medieval barn. Ticket prices include a cup of mulled wine or fruit juice and a mince pie to enjoy before the drama begins.
www.winterbournebarn.org.uk

Carols around the Campfire in Stoke Park
Dec 17 – FREE
Meet at Gainsborough Square, Lockleaze, Bristol, BS7 9XA
Join Friends of Stoke Park, who care for one of Bristol’s biggest and most dramatic parks, in Gainsborough Square at 5pm. Wrap up warm for the short walk to Stoke Park and enjoy carols, food and hot drinks around a roaring campfire in the great outdoors.
www.lockleazehub.org.uk/christmas

Millennium Square Ice Rink
To Jan 16 (closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day)
We The Curious, Millennium Square, Bristol, BS1 5LL
A winter playground on Bristol’s harbourside, the ice rink is returning for a fifth year to Millennium Square. Sessions open to the general public, school groups, evening ‘Disco Boots’ and special ‘Little Boots’ under 8s sessions. The ice rink will be joined by the ‘Millennium Square Winter Fair’, chalet stalls with hot food and drinks, and a fabulous Christmas tree. There will also be special ‘At The Movies’ film screenings on Big Screen Bristol.
www.wethecurious.org/category/ice-rink