Celebrate Christmas at Cragside

This is an advertisement feature with National Trust Cragside

I always love to fill the first day of December with plenty of Christmas fun, it's usually the day that I convince Simon to pull the Christmas tree out of the cupboard and I love to ensure that our whole day is filled with plenty of Christmas cheer and festive activities. This year we decided to celebrate the start of Christmas at Cragside, one of the most beautiful National Trust sites in the North East and somewhere that we have never visited during December before.

Visiting Cragside is the perfect way to start your Christmas celebrations with plenty of seasonal activities to keep your whole family entertained for a full day. So whether you want a great place to blow off the cobwebs, a delicious mince pie or to meet Father Christmas there is something to suit everyone at Cragside.

Driving down the road into the Cragside Estate we were greeted to the most beautiful Winter Wonderland of frost tipped trees, we felt like we'd jumped into a Christmas Card Mary Poppins style, the views were so incredible it almost didn't seem real. If you are looking for a really stunning place for a Winter walk this Christmas time then I would definitely recommend heading to Cragside.

Christmas at Cragside

We began our Christmas at Cragside with a visit to the house, somewhere that we have never actually been into before (shocking really when you consider its rich North East history!). Used as an external filming location for Jurassic Park, my husband was particularly excited to step inside although I did have to tell him we were on the look out for Christmas decorations, not dinosaurs!

If you are visiting Cragside this month then popping into the house is a must. Parts of the ground floor and some of the bedrooms have been decorated for a traditional Victorian Christmas. Dimly lit with fires and fairy lights, the upstairs bedrooms transport you back to Christmas Eve where children are getting ready for bed, hanging their stockings out for Father Christmas whilst the adults in the neighbouring room are getting ready for the party downstairs.

Following the holly garlands down the staircase we explored the rooms on the ground floor, each more impressive than the last in their seasonal decorations. I loved the pretty paper decorations then, just when I'd decided to maybe keep our own decorations simple this year, we found our way into the most beautiful dining room complete with a huge tree and very decadent spread.  Just imagine having your Christmas lunch in a room like this.

Every weekend at Cragside house you have the opportunity to meet the Victorian Cooks and following our well trained noses we found our way into the kitchen where mince pies had just been taken out of the oven.  The smell was absolutely incredible and made my tummy growl.

The house at Cragside is open between 11:00 am and 3:00 pm (last admission at 2:30 pm) 
Normal Admission charges apply. 

Wreath Making Workshop

Next on our Festive agenda was a Wreath Making Workshop inside Cragside house. Having tried wreath making a couple of times before I have to say it's definitely not my greatest skill but if, like me, you struggle to make things look beautiful please don't let this put you off. Creating your own wreath is such an incredible way to spend your time, truly gets you into the mood for Christmas and is so much fun.

The Wreath Making Workshop at Cragside is extra special as wreaths are created using a traditional method, natural materials from the gardens at Cragside and lead by one of the gardeners of the Estate. I loved asking questions about all of the different festive foliage that can be found round the Estate and the abundance of red berries this year has meant that the collection for the wreaths are particularly spectacular.

The best thing about wreath making is that once you've got the basics there really isn't a right or wrong way to create your design. Every single wreath in our workshop looked different and each one looked so effective. That said, I'm really not joking when I say that I'm beyond useless at crafting so I ended up helping Simon with his, although in reality I was bossing him about whilst drinking mulled wine.

Yes, I did say mulled wine! The Wreath Making Workshops include a cup of mulled wine and a mince pie which you can enjoy half way through the class - just be careful not to drop your foliage into your cup!

Considering how much homemade wreaths cost to buy in the shops creating your own at Cragside is such a cost effective way of making your home look really lovely this Christmas time. I never thought we'd be able to make something we'd be happy to display but we actually do have our creation hanging with pride from our front door.  It'll certainly be a talking point this Christmas.

Wreath Making Workshops take place on 7, 8, 14 and 16 December and are adult only. 
The workshop costs £28.00 to join - call 0344 249 1895 to book your place

Christmas Lunch at Cragside

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a Festive Lunch and we ended our visit to Cragside with a three course feast with all of the trimmings. Served up in their tea room in December, the menu offers a perfect little choice of traditional favourites and a complimentary hot punch to welcome you in from the cold. We enjoyed ours by the fire, the perfect way to warm our fingers, tummies and toes on such a cold day.

There's nothing better on a cold Winter's day than a nice hot soup so we both opted for Soup of the Day (£4.75) to start our Festive Lunch. The delicious bowl of vegetable soup was spot on (I often order soup from National Trust as it's always so good) and served with a very generous hunk of bread.  It was a pretty filling start to our meal so I'm glad we went in hungry - if you're planning on heading to Cragside for a Christmas lunch, make sure you leave yourself plenty of room!

It wouldn't be Christmas without Turkey and so Simon decided to go for the Traditional Roast Turkey with all of the Trimmings (£11.95) as his main course. It was served with what was definitely the largest jug of gravy I have ever seen. I couldn't believe the jug was for just one person and it was so welcoming to not have to ask for more. There's nothing worse than a Christmas lunch with a stingy allocation of gravy. I definitely picked myself one of the good guys because my husband voluntarily passed me one of his pigs and blankets and it was delicious! If you're after a good traditional festive lunch then this one ticks the boxes.

Although not a vegetarian I do find myself sometimes getting a little tired of turkey at this time of year so I decided to go for the equally festive alternative of Cranberry and Mushroom Wellington (£9.95). Served with a large jug of Vegetable Gravy it was huge, stuffed full and absolutely defeated me - it was hard to stop but I needed to save myself for the all importation dessert.

The temptation of Classic Christmas Pudding served with Orange and Mead Sauce was almost too much to resist but in the end we both decided to finish our meals with the Chocolate Tart, Passionfruit Sorbet with Caramelised White Chocolate (£4.95). It was very indulgent and rich and perhaps a little too heavy after a full two course meal but there were no regrets, we both managed to polish the whole lot off.

Christmas Lunch at Cragside is the perfect way to celebrate the festive season and is particularly great for families. As we tucked in to our meal several larger groups were also sitting down to eat and it was lovely to see tables filled with family members spanning generations. The tea room is very child friendly so the best place to bring the whole family for a sit down meal.

Christmas Lunch is served every day up until 22 December.  Booking is essential on 01669 622 038 or e-mail joanne.clues@nationaltrust.org for a booking form. 

We absolutely loved our Christmas day trip to Cragside, it was the most special way to spend a cold Winter's day and to kick off December. If I wasn't feeling Christmassy before I certainly am now.  If you're looking for somewhere to enjoy some Festive fun with friends or family then a trip to Cragside really is a must for your diary.

Find Cragside at:

Rothbury
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE65 7PX

nationaltrust.org.uk/cragside

This is a sponsored feature with National Trust. We also received a complimentary Wreath Making Workshop and Festive Lunch for Two.