Celebrate Christmas with Jersey Heritage

Islanders and visitors alike are invited to join Jersey Heritage this December to get into the festive spirit and celebrate Christmas.

The charity’s festive programme includes a special two-day event at Hamptonne Country Life Museum for families to discover the traditions of Christmases past, as well as craft activities and trails at Jersey Museum, Art Gallery & Victorian House.

First up is the ‘Festive Food Trail’ around the ‘Bouan Appétit!’ exhibition at Jersey Museum, which starts this Friday (1st) and is available until the end of the year. The exhibition, which opened earlier this year, is a celebration of Jersey’s rich history of farming, fishing and food and so the trail is about food as well. Participants are invited to unscramble the letters they find to make a seasonal word and those who are successful can claim a sweet treat at the Museum’s reception.

Jersey Museum is also the location for a Christmas-themed Discovery Day, ‘Crafty Christmas’. This takes place on Saturday, 9 December and is an opportunity to make cards, decorations and gifts for the holidays. There will be a trail around the Victorian House to discover the true meaning behind the ‘12 Days of Christmas’, as well as carol singing and a Christmas movie in the AV Theatre.

Closer to the start of the Christmas holidays is ‘Old Fashioned Christmas’, sponsored by Ogier. The event takes place at Hamptonne over the weekend of 16-17 December. Nicky Lucas, Jersey Heritage’s Community Events Curator, said: “Christmas is one of our favourite times of the year at Jersey Heritage. We love to look back at how festive traditions were formed and enjoyed, and find new ways for people to explore them and have fun in the run-up to the big day. Our ‘Old Fashioned Christmas’ event is a chance for people to put aside their ‘to do’ list and come to Hamptonne to experience larger-than-life characters, traditions and stories that will transport them back to Christmases of days gone by. They may even find old St Nick warming his boots by the fire!”

Kate Kirk, Ogier’s Director of Marketing, said: “We’d love to see lots of people come and join the excitement at Jersey Heritage’s Christmas events this year, especially ‘Old Fashioned Christmas’, to make memories and be part of our Island’s story. As a community, we have such a rich history and Jersey Heritage are brilliant at helping people of all ages engage with it, and have great fun at the same time, whether its Pirates, Cider or marking the changing seasons.”

In addition to the specially-organised Christmas activities, all the Jersey Heritage visitor sites (with the exception of Elizabeth Castle) are open daily from 10am-4pm and will be looking suitably festive. This includes Jersey Museum, the Maritime Museum, Hamptonne, La Hougue Bie and Mont Orgueil Castle.

The cafes at Hamptonne and Mont Orgueil will be selling mince pies and mulled wine throughout December, as well as other festive drinks, including Christmas Pudding lattes and Black Forest mochas. There is also a special festive menu available at La Hougue Bie Tearooms, which is run by Beresford Street Kitchen.

For anyone wanting to tap into the Island’s centuries-old tradition of telling ghost stories during winter, Jersey Youth Performing Arts (JYPA) will be at Mont Orgueil for ‘Ghost Stories by Candlelight’ from 1-10 December. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.

For more information, go to jerseyheritage.org/christmas