Father Christmas is at Stansted House from 27 to 29 November, £25 for an adult and child. The decorated house opens on five December days at £12.50.

Stansted Park’s Christmas programme is published and on sale. The big family date is Meet Father Christmas at Stansted House, Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November, and the house itself opens decorated for Christmas on Sunday 6 December, Sunday 13 December and Sunday 20 to Tuesday 22 December. Every date and price below was read on 18 October 2026 from the estate’s own listings (Stansted Park what’s on).

The quick answer

  • Father Christmas: Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November, sessions from 9.30am to 4pm. £25 for one adult and one child, £18 for each extra child (up to two), £10 for one extra adult. Booking through the estate’s ticket page.
  • The decorated house: Sundays 6 and 13 December, then Sunday 20 to Tuesday 22 December, 11am to 4pm, last entry 3pm. Adult £12.50, concession £10, child £7.50, carers free. Tickets on the door too, but booking is advised.
  • A Christmas Carol by torchlight: Friday 4 and Saturday 5 December, tours at 7pm, 7.30pm, 8pm and 8.30pm. Adult £30, child £15.
  • Two different entrances: Father Christmas and the evening events use the North Entrance, PO9 6DX; the Christmas house days use the South Entrance car park, PO9 6DU.
  • Dogs: assistance dogs only inside the house.
Event Dates Price Entrance
Christmas calligraphy workshop Fri 20 Nov £70 North, PO9 6DX
Christmas wreath workshop Thu 26 to Sat 28 Nov At booking North, PO9 6DX
Meet Father Christmas Fri 27 to Sun 29 Nov £25 adult and child North, PO9 6DX
A Christmas Carol Fri 4, Sat 5 Dec £30, child £15 North, PO9 6DX
Classical Christmas concert Fri 11 Dec £40 North, PO9 6DX
Christmas at Stansted House 6, 13, 20 to 22 Dec £12.50, child £7.50 South, PO9 6DU

Meet Father Christmas: 27 to 29 November

Each session lasts about an hour. Children spend 30 minutes on arts and crafts with the elves, then gather for Father Christmas’s story and their own moment to tell him what they want, with a gift for each child. Afterwards there is hot chocolate, tea, coffee and mince pies in the Old Kitchen, and you can stay as long as you like (Stansted Park).

Tickets. A general admission ticket covers one adult and one child for £25. You can add up to two more children at £18 each and one more adult at £10. Sessions are capped at 20 people. Tickets are e-tickets, sold through the estate’s Ticket Tailor page, which showed 12 time slots on each of the three days.

This is early: the last weekend of November, a fortnight before most grottos around Petersfield open: the Watercress Line’s Father Christmas Express and Queen Elizabeth Country Park both start on 12 December. Our Father Christmas near Petersfield page compares them.

Christmas at Stansted House: the decorated house

On five days in December the Edwardian mansion opens with its Christmas decorations up. The estate describes it as an “upstairs, downstairs” visit: the state rooms, how Christmas was kept by the Earls of Bessborough, and the visit of Queen Elizabeth, wife of King George VI, to Stansted in December 1939. Downstairs, the servants’ quarters tell the story of the staff’s Christmas and the origins of Boxing Day (Stansted Park).

  • Dates: Sunday 6 December, Sunday 13 December, and Sunday 20, Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 December.
  • Times: 11am to 4pm, last admission 3pm.
  • Prices: adult £12.50, concession £10, child £7.50, Art Pass £6. Friends of Stansted Park, Historic Houses members and carers go free.
  • Tickets: you can pay on the door, but the estate advises booking.
  • Photos: allowed without flash; no tripods.

A Christmas Carol: 4 and 5 December

An evening tour of the house by torchlight, with characters from Dickens’s story taking you from room to room, from Fezziwig’s party down to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in the basement. It ends in the servants’ quarters with carols, a mince pie and mulled wine (there is a non-alcoholic option). Tours last about an hour and start at 7pm, 7.30pm, 8pm and 8.30pm on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 December. Adult £30, child £15, and the estate says places are very limited (Stansted Park).

Workshops and a concert

  • Christmas Calligraphy Workshop, Friday 20 November, 10am to 12.30pm. £70. Jodie Rose Calligraphy teaches the basic strokes and joins, and you finish with a handwritten Christmas card. The kit is yours to keep (Stansted Park).
  • Christmas Wreath Workshop, Thursday 26 to Saturday 28 November. Two sessions a day in the Blue Drawing Room, with foliage from the estate’s woods, a glass of fizz or a hot drink and a mince pie. Jane from Hartley Food & Flowers hosts on Thursday and Friday, Helen from Bonny Blue Florist on Saturday. The price is shown at booking (Ticket Tailor).
  • A Classical Christmas Concert with Peter and Verity Auty, Friday 11 December, 7pm (doors 6.30pm). £40. Peter Auty, the original voice of “Walking in the Air” in The Snowman, sings for 45 minutes in the Chapel of St Paul, followed by sparkling wine and canapes in the house (Stansted Park).

Getting there and parking

Stansted Park is south of Petersfield, beside Rowlands Castle. Use the right entrance for your event, because the estate lists different car parks:

  • North Entrance, Mansion Car Park, PO9 6DX: Father Christmas, A Christmas Carol, the workshops and the concert.
  • South Entrance car park, PO9 6DU: the Christmas at Stansted House open days.

The estate’s listings give no parking charge for these events. For parking in town before or after, see parking in Petersfield, and check roadworks and travel before you drive.