Christmas

We very much hope that Windsor and the Royal Borough will be the place where you will want to spend Christmas and New Year with your loved ones, whether you live locally or are planning a winter visit or short break.  With a fantastic programme of special Christmas events all the family will enjoy, Windsor and the Royal Borough is the perfect place to celebrate the magic of the season.

Christmas brochure 2023

It will be here before you know it!  Then you can download our Christmas Brochure, your official guide to events and activities taking place in the Royal Borough this festive season!

Christmas traditions in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Monarchs have celebrated Christmas at Windsor Castle since the 12th century, but it was Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who introduced many of the Christmas traditions that we know today, like indoor decorated trees.  While enjoying the festive season at the Castle, they were often seen ice skating and enjoying winter sleigh rides in the Castle grounds.

We can’t guarantee a carpet of snow but we can offer you a festive ice rink, winter horse-drawn carriages rides and a show-stopping 20-foot-high Christmas tree in Windsor Castle’s State Apartments!

Christmas tree in St George's Hall, Windsor Castle. Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023

Winter and Christmas short breaks and special offers

Windsor and the Royal Borough is the perfect place to celebrate your Christmas and New Year, whether you are looking to plan a winter visit or a short break.  Find the perfect place to stay and make your trip even more relaxing.  Many of our local accommodation providers have fantastic overnight packages and Christmas dining experiences for you to choose from.  Find out more about Christmas and New Year Special Offers at hotels, restaurants and attractions in the Windsor area.  Let others attend to the details while you relax and get into the festive spirit.

Festive food and drink

Don't forget the wide range of food and drink options for that Christmas celebration with family and friends – the Royal Borough is full of wonderful restaurants, cosy pubs and tasty eateries!  Check out some great festive eating and drinking special offers – including festive afternoon teas and parties – at our hotels and restaurants.

Great Fosters Festive Afternoon Tea

Christmas shopping in Windsor and Maidenhead

Discover Christmas shopping heaven in the Royal Borough: you are bound to track down the perfect present for even the most difficult person to buy for on your Christmas list.  We have top high street names as well as some fantastic independent shops and Christmas markets; no wonder shopping is one of the top reasons for visiting us!  For something a bit different get down to one of Norden Farm's Festive Markets, check out the unique gifts created by the ‘coopers’ at Craft Coop at Windsor and Maidenhead or head to The Savill Garden shop for beautiful homeware, toiletries and children's gifts from artisan suppliers.

Christmas tree sales and recycling

Windsor Castle’s Christmas trees come from Windsor Great Park.  Visit Windsor Great Park Christmas tree shop and pick up a beautiful tree for your own home; all their trees are grown in the UK with the majority of them grown on the Windsor Estate. 

Shopping in The Savill Garden Gift Shop

Christmas events

Top free Christmas town centre events include our Christmas light switch-on events; the Living Advent Calendar – a family favourite – which sees a 15-minute ‘performance’ every evening at 6:15pm from 1 to 24 December at a different venue in Windsor; and Carols on Castle Hill.  A public gathering around the Christmas tree on Castle Hill dates back to 1949 when King George VI first had a tree installed as a gift to the town.

Scroll down to see our regularly-updated list of what's on this Christmas.

Christmas panto and live shows in Windsor and Maidenhead

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a trip to see a live show.  Choose from traditional pantomimes such as Aladdin at the Theatre Royal and Beauty and the Beast in Maidenhead, or family theatre such as Miki at Norden Farm.  Scroll down to see our regularly-updated list of what's on this Christmas including concerts, music and dance.

Celebrating the festive season at our attractions

Many of our attractions will be getting into the festive spirit including Christmas horse-drawn carriage rides with Windsor Carriages, perfect for a get together with friends and family.

Windsor Carriages on The Long Walk

Join the folk at the Legoland Windsor Resort to make memories that will last a lifetime as they celebrate the most special time of the year with Legoland at Christmas. See the park transform into a winter wonderland, complete with twinkling lights, snow dusted trees, and of course a sprinkling of Lego magic! 

Experience Windsor Castle decked with twinkling lights, garlands and shimmering Christmas trees to celebrate the festive season. The highlight will be the magnificent 20-foot Nordmann fir tree in St George’s Hall, taken from Windsor Great Park.

‘Tis the season for high-quality Jumps racing and festive fun at Ascot’s final race meeting of the year, the Howden Christmas Racing Weekend.  Friday is the perfect day to enjoy thrilling racing, festive food and winter cocktails.  While on Saturday, a top-quality card features the Grade 1 Howden Long Walk Hurdle, one of Britain’s most prestigious long-distance hurdle races.  Off the track, there’s an abundance of seasonal fun for all with a range of festive entertainment set to delight racegoers of all ages.  The traditional fairground rides and candle-lit carol singing with the Ascot Brass Band remain firmly part of the entertainment, and Father Christmas and his reindeer will be in attendance. 

If you love the outdoors then there are plenty of parks and open spaces, perfect for walking off the seasonal excess!  The Christmas holidays are the time to get outside for fresh air and exercise with friends and family.   Explore Windsor Great Park, National Trust gems – such as Cookham, Runnymede and Cliveden – as well as stretches of the beautiful River Thames Path.  Our parks, gardens and open spaces are the perfect place to walk or jog off the Christmas calories!

LEGOLAND® at Christmas

Christmas lights

Our seasonal what's on events programme gets going in November as the countdown to Christmas begins when the lights are switched on in the Royal Borough’s towns and villages.  You’ll find Christmas light switch-on events in Windsor, Eton, Maidenhead, Datchet, Eton Wick, Sunningdale and Sunninghill. 

Windsor Great Park Illuminated

Windsor Great Park Illuminated

Enjoy a magical evening with family and friends as Windsor Great Park Illuminated returns for a highly anticipated third year to light up the festive season bigger, better and more dazzling than ever with a brand new trail design and spectacularly re-imagined installations.  Follow a path through woodland awash with colour as sparkles of fireflies, luminous beacons and dancing fairies blaze the way, the lake alive with flood-lit fountains and glimmering reflections.

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The Copper Horse, Windsor Great Park