Christmas at the Museum

Christmas at the Museum

1 Dec 2025 - 24 Dec 2025

Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery

Christmas will be here before you know it. We've got lots of winter-fun events and experiences, for all ages, this festive season.

Christmas at the Museum

Talk: A Tudor Christmas

Mon 15 Dec / 7pm
Join Alison Weir & Siobhan Clarke for a talk on A Tudor Christmas.

We might assume that our modern Christmas owes much to the Victorians. In fact, as Alison Weir and Siobhan Clarke reveal, many of our favourite Christmas traditions date back much further. Carol-singing, present-giving, mulled wine and mince pies were all just as popular in Tudor times, and even Father Christmas and roast turkey dinners have their origins in this period. Christmas was so beloved by English people that its traditions survived remarkably unchanged in this age of tumultuous religious upheaval.

Dr Alison Weir is the UK’s best-selling female historian, with over 3 million books sold worldwide. She has written 21 history books and 13 novels, including Eleanor of Aquitaine and The Lady in the Tower. Her latest works are Queens of the Crusades and The Cardinal.

Siobhan Clarke has worked for Historic Royal Palaces for 25 years, leading tours and lectures at Hampton Court, Kensington, and the Tower of London. An Arts Society lecturer, she has spoken for the British Museum, National Trust, and Smithsonian, and appeared on BBC Radio and PBS.

Tickets: £12 per person
With signed book: £26 per person

A Museum Christmas Tour

Sat 6 Dec, 7pm
Wed 10 Dec, 7pm
(Tours start promptly at 7.30pm)
Family-friendly

Join us for a new special Christmas tour this festive season.

Be greeted by your tour guide and enjoy a mince pie and festive drink before stepping back in time to Christmases past.

Uncover seasonal stories from Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery’s past as a mansion and hospital, and links to our collections. Plus, discover festive traditions which would have been celebrated here in the 500 years people have lived on this site.

Tickets: £10 per person
Tour lasts approx. 1hr

Christmas Wreath Bird Feeder Workshop

Sat 13 Dec, 2pm

Join us in making a festive bird feeder wreath, providing a tasty treat for hungry birds with winter.

Get messy making pine cone bird feeders together and learn more about why birds need our help, especially at this time of year. Then add them into a willow wreath with other festive touches (all biodegradable). When you're finished, you'll be able to take your new decoration home and hang it up outside.

Tudor Christmas Family Trail included - plenty of time to join in the fun family trail around the museum, before or after your workshop.

Tickets: £5 per person
Workshop approx. 45mins

Christmas Decorations Workshop

Sat 20 December, 10am
Family-friendly

Make some beautiful handmade decorations to adorn your tree or home this Christmas.

Join us for a relaxed family craft workshop and create your very own Christmas decorations to take home or give as a gift. There will be a choice of paper decorations to make, such as hanging stars, angels and Christmas trees.

Tudor Christmas Family Trail included - plenty of time to join in the fun family trail around the museum after your workshop.

Tickets: £5 per person
Workshop approx. 45mins

Tudor Christmas Family Trail

Available throughout December

Find the clues hidden around the Museum to discover Christmas traditions from 500 years ago, alongside our Queens, Cousins & Courts Tudor exhibition this December. Could you get a mince pie? How did they ‘deck the halls’? And, just who was the ‘Lord of Misrule’? Then show your completed trail at reception to claim your chocolate coin reward!

£1.50 per trail
Purchase at reception at Peterborough Museum on your visit

What's on

Life & Observational Drawing Class

Every Thursday - Click to see dates

Tours, talks & workshops

Tiny Tots

Family Activities

The Priestgate Vaults Tour

Every Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday - Click to see dates

Walks & Tours

Tony Nero: Half a Pencil

22 Nov 2025 - 17 Jan 2026

Exhibition

Queens, Cousins & Courts

29 Nov 2025 - 28 Feb 2026

Exhibition

Christmas at the Museum

1 Dec 2025 - 24 Dec 2025

Breakfast with Santa (SOLD OUT)

21 Dec 2025 - 10:00 - 12:00

Family Activities

The Katharine of Aragon Festival 2026

25 Jan 2026 - 1 Feb 2026

Tours, talks & workshops

Diesel Streets

7 Feb 2026 - 23 May 2026

Exhibition

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