Throughout November there are festive fairs for present hunters, illuminated parades and lights to admire, and workshops to make homemade Christmas cards, decorations or wreaths.
Stock up on tasty festive goodies at this popular annual event held at Athelhampton House near Dorchester. From artisan cheeses to craft ales, Christmas puddings to award-winning preserves, this winter fair is a great place to find unique gifts proudly made in Dorset.
November 9 & 10, 10am – 3pm
Book at athelhampton.com/events
Enjoy a festive day out for the family at this award-winning venue near Wareham where Santa arrives on a tank! Explore the Frank on a Tank elf-themed Christmas trail, and shop for locally made gifts from Dorset Team - a community of makers and creatives from across the county - offering over 100 stalls selling everything from baubles and fairies to socks and liqueurs.
November 16 &17
Book at tankmuseum.org for 10% off
Shire Hall Christmas Market
Market stalls will be spread throughout this Grade-I listed courthouse on High West Street in Dorchester, offering a wide range of gift ideas great and small, as well as decorations and Christmas cards.
November 23 & 24
shirehalldorset.org
Creatives at the Castle
Highcliffe Castle’s popular Christmas Fair offers a huge range of stalls to browse featuring work by talented local makers and creators. There are carols to listen to and festive activities for children.
November 23 & 24 highcliffecastle.co.uk
Illuminated Christmas Carnival
November 23 sees the spectacular Lyme Regis Christmas lights switch on. This is preceded by their Christmas Illuminated Carnival parade at 5pm with festive lanterns, majorettes and Father Christmas coming down Broad Street to the Christmas tree at Bell Cliff. Join the free lantern making workshop (2.30pm) at Baptist Church Pine Hall, both children and adults welcome. Prizes for best lantern.
lymechristmaslights.co.uk
Dorchester Christmas Market
Some 30 beautifully decorated wooden chalets along Pope Street and Brewery Square, host this month-long artisan Christmas market which opens on November 23. There’s bratwurst hot from the charcoals, an ice-skating rink, and even a marshmallow toasting hut! Christmas lights and decorated Christmas trees make this a festive wonderland filled with hand-crafted gifts, and Father Christmas will be in his grotto.
dorsetartisanmarkets.com/brewery-square-at-xmas
Handmade Wimborne at The Mill
Walford Mill in Wimborne Minster is always a great place to find locally made gifts with a difference, and this annual contemporary festive showcase features 20 of the very best local artists and makers curated by Handmade Wimborne. It features everything from fused glass to the skilled art of papercutting. November 23 – December 22 instagram.com/handmadewimborne
Festive Wreath Workshops
Book your place as soon as you can as these workshops are very popular. Dorset Museum Culture Club has Jenny Lee-Baker from Dorchester’s Sage and Fern Florists leading their wreath workshop beneath the twinkling fairy lights of Victorian Hall, £60 (Dec 2/dorsetmuseum.org/whats-on); Chetterwood Flower Farm near Blandford has a Christmas Wreath course at their HQ, from £55 (Dec 2/chetterwoodflowerfarm.co.uk); Symondsbury Estate has Emma Dixon, the resident River Cottage Florist, offering several step-by-step workshops, £50 (Dec 10 & 11/symondsburyestateshop.co.uk); Dorset Flower Company based at Duddle Farm near Dorchester created a cover star wreath for us a few years ago (pictured), they use foliage grown on the farm and decorated with dried flowers, seed heads, berries, dried fruit and finished with a luxurious ribbon, £58 (Dec10/dorsetflowerco.com). Bright Blooms of Shaftesbury leads the wreath making workshops at The Grosvenor Arms, £60 (Nov 30, Dec 2 & 3/grosvenorarms.co.uk); Sweetpea Florists lead an evening workshop at Charlton Marshall village hall, £65 (Nov 29/sweetpeablandford.co.uk); Poole’s Wild Roots host several wreath workshops at their new Kingland Crescent store, £65 (Nov 30, Dec 1, 7 & 8/wildrootsgreenery.co.uk); Dorset Dried Flowers are offering workshops lead by the owner Catherine at their Corfe Castle studio on Sandy Hill Lane (Nov 28, Dec 3, 8 & 12/dorsetdriedflowers.co.uk).
A Crafty Dorset Christmas
Make it at The Mill
Walford Mill Crafts in Wimborne offers a range of festive inspired workshops to create your own unique handmade decoration, sessions from £48: Fused Glass Christmas Decorations (Nov 2); Scandi Tealight Holders (Nov 8); Christmas Willow Decorations (Nov 22). walfordmillcrafts.co.uk
Crafting at The Kings Arms
This Dorchester hotel offers craft workshops two Tuesdays a month led by Angie and Vicky. On November 12 make a fused glass Christmas tree decoration (5 different types) and on November 26 it’s decoupage baubles. Cost £25. thekingsarmsdorchester.com
Willow Deer and Festive Lino
Fancy making your own festive reindeer? Taught by local willow artist Jo Sadler, this course at Symondsbury Estate will see you sculpt a 4ft deer out of locally sourced willow. Suitable for beginners and all materials provided. Cost £155 (Nov 12.13, 19 & 20). And printmaker, Georgina Docherty’s Christmas Lino Printing workshop (Nov 23) includes a goodie bag with any cards, tags and wrapping paper you make as well as all the tools you need to keep developing your skills. Cost £80.
Book at symondsburyestateshop.co.uk click on events
Porcelain Paper Clay Decorations
Careys Secret Garden near Wareham hosts this workshop where you create beautiful hand-made Christmas decorations using porcelain paper clay. Perfect for a homemade Christmas gift or to hang on your own tree, £35 (Nov 21). bookings.careyssecretgarden.co.uk
Print your own Christmas Card
Lisa Takahashi leads this Christmas Card Printing workshop at Sculpture by the Lakes (Nov 21) where you carve festive motifs and shapes into Lino and then stamp the cards with light-fast pigment inks, printing eight greetings cards and envelopes to take home. Cost £70. sculpturebythelakes.co.uk
