With the festive season just around the corner, you can get into the yuletide spirit with lots of Christmassy events at Gilbert White’s House & Gardens!
[Advent calendar and notecards produced by Art Angels Publishing, candles by St Eval, sparkling cyder by Gospel Green and knitted Ferrero Rocher characters by our volunteers]
For all those early birds, who have been keeping their eyes peeled for the perfect Christmas gifts for their loved ones you can visit out shop between Tuesday-Sunday to discover our nature-inspired Winter range! Whether its scented candles, velvet wash-bags, children’s mittens, hearty craft beers, embroidered eye masks, delightful coffee table books or even seasonal wrapping paper and cards, our humble shop proudly provides the lot!
For those shopaholics we also have White’s Eco Christmas Fair on December 3rd between 10.30am-4pm. This provides the perfect opportunity for you go on a shopping spree without the guilt, as all the stallholders will be offering local and sustainably produced goods!
[Our Christmas Fair will bring merriment with mulled wine & community choirs, beer & gin tasting, wassailing & gifts you cannot resist!]
There will be a range of stalls at our barn selling beautifully handcrafted sustainable items. Stallholders include the Blue Leaf Soap Ministry who will be bringing natural handmade soaps with herbs and essential oils, Candles of Chawton providing fragrant hand poured soy blend candles and wax melts, Fordingbridge Fudge with traditional handmade fudge to taste, alongside many more stalls offering a variety of eco items!
Make a day out of your Christmas shopping trip, as entrance to the Fair is only £3 and includes admission to the house and gardens. The house will be festively decorated with merriment in the air, and yuletide performances from Prize Old Mummers and Alton Community Choir in our atmospheric Great Parlour. There will also be tasting sessions of Gilbert White's gin and beer, in addition to mulled wine and mince pies being available in the old kitchen and luxury hot chocolates being poured out in the barn.
The garden will also be presenting its Winter wonder. The great, windy trees cast intricate shadows across the ground against the low winter sun, whilst the mistletoe berries sparkle from their branches. There will be a wassail led in traditional costume, where visitors can help to promote a good harvest for the coming year by singing to the orchard trees.
[Decorate your Christmas tree by needle felting your own robin]
With the Winter wonderland all around you, why not bring the beauty of the outdoors into your home! Create your very own needle felt robin in our special Christmas workshops. Come along to the workshop on December 13, to create a robin using the needle felting technique under the instruction of Anna McCallion. You will be able to create a delightful robin which will bring colour and fun to your Christmas tree or can make the perfect handmade gift for a loved one.
For all those who would like to make a thoughtful gift for family and friends who are passionate about birds, why not participate in the willow birdfeeder workshop on December 15. In this workshop you can create a naturally stylish biodegradable feeder and fill it with fat balls or nesting materials in early spring. Using UK grown willow, you will create the perfect hanging cone for our feathered little friends just in time for Winter.
[Indulge in a glass of mulled wine, whilst listening to the Christmas carols performed by Otterbourne brass band!]
Finally, the festive season would be incomplete without the night’s air being filled with song. Enter the rustic 16th Century barn nestled beneath the Selborne Hanger, to enjoy an evening of brass music and carols with Otterbourne brass on December 8. The band have provided music to Winchester and beyond since 1923, regularly taking part in national and regional competitions and performing to crowds throughout the county. Take your pick from a warming glass of mulled wine or spiced apple juice to accompany a classic mince pie, as you tap your feet to the beat!
With Winter all around you, come and immerse yourself in the festive season at Gilbert White’s House & Gardens!