FAMILY FUN IN BATH THIS CHRISTMAS 2024

Bath will be filled with family-friendly festivities this year as part of the citywide Bath at Christmas campaign. From a free Lantern Making Workshop and the community-focused Bath Christmas Light Trail Switch-On to the environmentally minded Elves’ Swapshop and the return of plenty of family favourites, there is plenty for the whole clan to enjoy this Christmas.

Discover Magical Illuminations

Some of Bath’s most iconic streets and buildings will be brought to life with magical illuminations from 25th November to 31st December, as part of the Bath Christmas Light Trail.

The illuminations will begin at the official Bath Christmas Light Trail Switch-On event in Milsom Street at 5pm on 25th November, which will also see the launch of Thursday evening late-night Christmas shopping.

Count down to the moment the wonderful lights switch on and enjoy the all-new rainbow illuminations in Milsom Street, with community heroes attending to help celebrate the start of the festive season in Bath. Visitors are encouraged to bring along their own lanterns to ensure the city centre sparkles, or book a spot at a free Lantern Making Workshop on 14th November to make or decorate a lantern for the big day.

As families discover the Bath Christmas Light Trail, an assortment of festive entertainment will make for a fabulously festive atmosphere, as well as the return of the popular Victorian Carousel, which will be in the city from 2nd to 31st December.

From 19th November to 26th December, Bath Abbey will be glowing with the addition of Luke Jerram’s popular Museum of the Moon. Throughout the festive period, there will be Christmas carols, storytelling and moon-gazing with Bath Astronomers taking place with the stunning seven-metre moon as a backdrop.

A world of enchantment, magic and good cheer awaits you at the American Museum & Gardens from 9th December to 31st December. Families will be transported into a magical after-dark adventure through spectacular light displays which will emblazon the entire house, gardens and woodland in glorious seasonal colour, with children under five years old able to attend for free. Visitors can keep warm with seasonal drinks and a banquet of festive treats.

Have an Environmentally Friendly Christmas

Father Christmas and his elves have joined the upcycling revolution! This year, they invite children to visit the fascinating Elves’ Swapshop at 5 Old Bond Street, where they are training the Share and Repair volunteers how to refurbish toys and give them a new, loving home.

Children are welcomed along to see the fabulous Elf-O-Matic toy upcycler in action by bringing a toy to be gifted to another lucky child. With the help of the Elf-O-Matic technology, the elves will make sure that the toy is safe and clean and ready for its new home. Everyone who brings in a toy can see the machine in action and will be invited to take home a toy of their choice.

As well as meeting the elves and marvelling at the Elf-O-Matic machine, children will have the opportunity to post their Christmas wishes into Father Christmas’ post box. Include a stamped addressed envelope to receive a special Christmas greeting from Father Christmas.

Tickets are available for a workshop demo and a jolly singalong with the elves for children and their adults, with family tickets available for a maximum of three children.

The environmentally minded Elf-O-Matic gives children a chance to put the ‘reuse, repurpose, recycle’ message into action as they swap used-for-used in a fun and festive way.

Get Your Skates On

After a year away, Bath on Ice is back! Head to Royal Victoria Park from 12th November to 3rd January for some festive fun. Bath on Ice’s Moguls Bar will be serving delicious food, spicy mulled wine and hot chocolate; ideal to warm you up after a spin around the rink.

Combine a trip to Bath on Ice with a round of Glow Golf. The illuminated 18-hole adventure golf course has become a staple of the city’s winter calendar, with couples, families and friends challenging each other to a round with glow-in-the-dark golf balls.

Enjoy a Royal Crescent Christmas

Visit the wonderful No.1 Royal Crescent from 27th November to 31st December see the rooms dressed for the festival season. Enjoy the traditions and celebrations of a Georgian Christmas told through stories and poems throughout the house as part of their new immersive experience.

On Sundays in December, visitors to No.1 Royal Crescent will also be able to Meet Father Christmas. Children will be greeted by Christmas helpers and led into a room where Father Christmas will read them a story. Each child will be given a gift and a Georgian Christmas Cookie recipe card to take home.

The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa’s Hunt the Nutcracker game was a hit last year, so their seven upstanding soldiers will be returning for one last time this Christmas! From 1st December to 3rd January, the festive Nutcrackers will be hiding around their twinkling gardens. Each Nutcracker will have a letter tied to their wrist; solve the puzzle and you’ll be rewarded with a festive treat, as well as 10% off food and drink!

Be Wowed by Glittering Performances

The best-loved pantomime of them all is back at the Theatre Royal Bath this Christmas! With a brand-new joke-filled script by Bath’s own award-winning writer and all-round pantomime legend Jon Monie, Cinderella will offer family fun and festive frivolity from 16th December to 19th January.

The Egg Theatre is bringing a sprinkling of snowy magic and puppetry mayhem for children aged six months to four years old, with their festive favourite, Squirrel. Running from 27th November to 24th December, discover a story of new growth at the Egg’s welcoming and warm-hearted early-years production.

Perfect for children aged six and above, Five Children and It returns to the Egg Theatre from 10th December to 16th January with a sparkling new take on the classic story by E. Nesbit, The Railway Children. As the children set off on a series of fantastic adventures, they soon learn that wishes can get you into a whole heap of trouble. Perhaps a wish granted isn’t always the dream come true you might expect!

Find out more about what’s on in Bath this Christmas at welcometobath.co.uk/christmas.