Step back in time to Christmases past at York Castle Museum – from the Victorian era to the Sixties.
Wander through over 200 years of festive history, and experience the snow-covered and Christmas tree-adorned Victorian street, Kirkgate, live performances, music, cookery demonstrations, parlour games, and more.
Christmas at York Castle Museum 2025: A Very Yorkshire Christmas will open this weekend from Saturday 15 November 2025 to Sunday 4 January 2026.
“I want people to feel that real essence of Christmas spirit,” said Carla Starkey, immersive interpretation producer at York Castle Museum.
“We’ve got twinkly lights everywhere, it’s beautiful garlands, gorgeous Christmas trees, and of course, we have snow on the ground.
“It’s a real experience, and it’s somewhere to come with your friends, your family, the kids, your grandparents – everybody can enjoy this and just be bathed in that beautiful, traditional Christmas spirit.”
The planning for Christmas at York Castle Museum begins months in advance, with the installation being a huge team effort by the entire musuem.
“The installation of Christmas takes place over a number of days, because our museums open seven days a week,” explained Helen Thornton, curator of social history at York Castle Museum. “We have to be really quick in the turnaround of how we actually pop the displays out, so it really is a team effort.
“Everyone from the museum is involved in putting the decorations, the lights on the tree, the snow on the ground, and curatorial and doing all of the actual displays in the period rooms and the shops themselves.
“So it does really ignite the Christmas spirit for everyone at the museum at this time – it just glows now.”
Green Father Christmas will be wandering the street Saturdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from Saturday 15 November until Wednesday 24 December with an additional appearance right before Christmas on Tuesday 23 December.
Take a photo in the Kirkgate sleigh and play Victorian parlour games such as ‘Wink Wink Murder’ and traditional Victorian Charades.
Scrooge returns for one-man performances of A Christmas Carol, running on Fridays from 21 November to 12 December.
And Kirkgate isn’t the only street in the museum that’s been decorated for the festive season.
“For the first time this year, we’ve actually decorated our 1960s street,” said Helen. “So you can see a Biba-themed Christmas.
“We’ve taken on the theme of black and gold this year for our 60s street.”
A range of activities will be taking place throughout the winter, for adults and children alike. Storycraft Theatre will be at the museum on Tuesdays, with interactive stories featuring Ralf the Robin and his puppet friends. This magical storytelling experience is perfect for little ones, with 20-minute performances running three times a day.
Visit the Castle Kitchen on Thursdays and Saturdays from 15 November to 20 December for live baking demonstrations of historic Tudor and Georgian mince pie recipes. There will be samples to try and recipe cards to take home.
A new event for 2025 is Ghost Stories for Christmas by Edwrydian Tale. Taking place on Sunday 14 December, it’ll take visitors back to traditional practices of passing long winter nights in front of the fire sharing stories of the supernatural.
There’ll also be festive workshops such as wreath making, Christmas card making, make your own Christmas crackers, bauble marbling, and more.
To see the full list and times of festive activities for Christmas at York Castle Museum, visit their website here. Some activities are included in general admission and some are at an additional cost.
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