Last night (November 2017) I went to Christmas in Museum Gardens. It was a lovely evening with lots to see. A great festive outing, particularly if you are someone who doesn’t enjoy the festive tat! It is open from now until 1st January 2018 (except Christmas Day).
We were two adults and three children (2, 5 and 10yrs). The entrance is nice, really Christmassy and takes you straight into the food and drink area. We weren’t quite ready for a hot chocolate at that stage so we went on to the 12 Frames of Christmas situated in the edible garden which is nice, beautifully lit with nice illustrations and music playing. It genuinely did make you feel Christmassy.
My gang had been promised hot chocolates as part of the outing so we chose to go back for a drink at this stage. Hot chocolate was delicious with lots of cream and marshmallows! After a quick game of Hook A Duck and count the UFO’s, we headed back. The Yorkshire Pudding Co and Once Across the Garden are there offering food if you are hungry plus UV face painting and a vintage roundabout.
As we continued the trail, the illuminated displays got more and more impressive. The rainbow forest of musical trees and the animation on the Abbey Walls was my personal favourite (especially the mice). Eliza loved the pink lights!
The gardens really were beautifully lit and it was great that the kids could safely run free. The musical tree stumps created some entertainment as they made some sounds and then as we rounded a corner, counting the Christmas Trees, there sits Santa’s workshop! It is lovely and Santa was great (but this is not a Santa experience, the kids do not receive presents), particularly as Eliza informed him 8 times that she would like a Barbie and he didn’t seem to mind the repetition! The letter box was a nice touch and showed the attention to detail.
For adults and children, it costs £14.95 and £8.95 respectively (£40 for a family ticket) which is on the expensive side but this is something different in the centre of York and not just your standard Christmas Event. The consensus of the 5 of us that we had had a wonderful evening spending 2 hours having fun and that is was nice to do something different. The lights were beautiful and great the way they changed colours, certainly a magical after dark experience. Something that Grandparents will enjoy. A big hit with the little ones who loved being out in the dark whilst feeling very safe and mesmerised by the lights (a big thing after the youngest was a bit upset after Halloween!). It certainly made us feel festive without it being over powering!
The entrance is beside York Art Gallery, off Exhibition Square.
Book via the website or call 0844 209 7362
