Christmas at Ham House: What to Expect Each Year

Ina

Nov 23, 2024

4 min read

Updated: Sep 28

Have you ever seen a seventeenth-century house dressed for Christmas by candlelight?

Ham House, on the Thames in Richmond, does it every year. I went on 29 December 2024, in the last days of that year's Gilded Christmas, and all the photos here are from that visit.

This is what Christmas at Ham House is like, the theme and dates for 2026, and what past years looked like.

A tall Christmas tree hung with gold baubles in the Great Hall at Ham House, with wrapped presents on the black and white marble floor

What Is Christmas at Ham House Like?

The National Trust opens a Christmas season in late November and runs it into the first days of January. The house closes on 24 and 25 December.

Each year has a theme, a trail for children through the rooms, and a festive shop. The displays come with normal admission, and the garden stays open for a winter walk.

Looking down from the gallery into the Great Hall, with the Christmas tree on the chequered floor and garlands along the balustrade

The Great Hall is the first thing you see, and the best view of it is from the gallery above. In 2024 the tree stood on the black and white marble floor, with presents piled underneath and garlands wound along the balustrade.

What Is the Theme for Christmas 2026 at Ham House?

The Robin's Tale. Visitors follow a robin through the house to reunite a phoenix with her tail, past paper bird sculptures made by a local artist.

It runs from 28 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. The sugar banquet is back in the historic kitchen, with dressing up and letters to the North Pole for children.

What Did Ham House Do for Christmas in Past Years?

In 2024 it was A Gilded Christmas: gold decorations, candlelight and fairy lights through the Stuart rooms, and carols on selected weekends. Candles lined the dark wooden staircase, under the portraits.

Candelabras with lit candles and green garlands on a dark wooden staircase at Ham House, below gilt-framed paintings

More candles flickered inside an empty marble fireplace, and a second tree filled a panelled room by the window.

A lit Christmas tree with red and gold presents beneath it in a panelled room beside a tall window at Ham House

In 2025 the theme was Stars of Wonder, inspired by an eighteenth-century celestial globe in the collection. It ran from 29 November 2025 to 4 January 2026, with spotter trails and crafts in the Garden Room.

Rows of candles glowing inside a black marble fireplace, with a garland of greenery and dried oranges in front

What Is a Sugar Banquet?

In Tudor and Stuart England, the banquet was not the main meal. It was a separate sweet course after dinner, sometimes served in a garden banqueting house.

The table held sweetmeats, sugared fruits, marchpane and sculptures made of sugar, meant to be admired as much as eaten. Sugar was expensive, so a banquet was a way to show off.

A long candlelit table in the historic kitchen at Ham House, laid with a sugar banquet of painted sugar tiles, cakes and greenery

At Ham the volunteers make one for the kitchen. In 2024 it covered the long table: sugar tiles painted blue and white like Delft, cakes, biscuits and bowls of eggs, with candles all the way down.

Candles and blue and white painted sugar tiles on a kitchen table in front of the old hearth at Ham House

Even the windowsills had their share, with plates of biscuits among the ivy.

A plate of biscuits among ivy and candles on a deep windowsill in the kitchen at Ham House

Who Is Roscoe, the Ham House Cat?

Ham House has a resident cat, Roscoe, who came from a rescue centre. He has had his own paw-print trails in the house, including a Christmas spotter trail in 2024.

What Is Ham House Like in Winter?

Quiet, and beautiful in a bare way. When I went back on 9 February 2025, the decorations were long gone and snowdrops covered the lawns in front of the house.

In summer the same garden is full of lavender, and I have written about the Ham House lavender too.

What Else Is On at Christmas Near Ham House?

Hampton Court Palace has a Christmas season with an ice rink and a festive fayre. Kew runs its Christmas light trail from mid-November, and I have written about Christmas at Kew.

Across the river by Hammerton's Ferry is Marble Hill House. For the rest of the season, see my guide to things to do in London in winter.

Visiting Ham House at Christmas: Practical Notes

📍 Where: Ham House and Garden, Ham Street, Richmond TW10 7RS.

📅 Open days: Christmas 2026: 28 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed 24 and 25 December.

⏰ Opening: During the 2026 Christmas season, the house 11.30am to 3.30pm (last entry 3pm) and the garden 10am to 4pm (last entry 3.30pm). Café 10am to 3.30pm, shop 10.30am to 3.30pm.

🎫 Admission: In 2026, adults £18, children £9 and families £45. National Trust members and under-5s free.

🚇 Getting there: From Richmond station it is 1.5 miles along the river path. Or take bus 65 or 371 to Ham Street and walk half a mile.

🚗 Parking: Free at the Ham Street car park, 400 yards away.

☕ Food: The café in the Orangery.

⏳ How long: Two hours for the house and a walk in the garden.

📷 Best time: A weekday in early December for the decorations, or February for the snowdrops.

🗺️ Nearby: Marble Hill House, Richmond Park, and the riverside into Richmond.

Have you been to Ham House at Christmas? Which theme has been your favourite so far?

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All photos were taken by Ina/WithinLondon, unless stated otherwise.