Once Upon A Time, Christmas at Chatsworth House.
Heading to Chatsworth House during the festive period has become a tradition and it's something that I always look forward to popping into my diary. We always tend to spend a few hours there before walking around Bakewell too, I couldn't wait to see what was in store for us this year. This Christmas you are invited to immerse yourself in a world of make-believe with enchanting fairy tale scenes woven throughout the gorgeous stately home.
This Christmas 'Once upon a time' invites storytellers to roam the halls enchanting visitors both young and old to experience scenes from a selection of favourite tales as the leap off the pages right in front of your eyes. You'll experience classics like Cinderella and Beatrix Potter to more contemporary stories like James and the Giant Peach and Charlotte's Web too. It's really quite something.
Every year there's also a fun family trail at the entrance and it was fun to see what mischief the little baby dragon is up to on the route (actually more time was spent trying to find him first). It's a fantastic way of getting the children involved.
As always the level of decoration and attention to detail in the design was astounding. I already saw a snippet of some of the displays before attending but there was still something that would always take me by surprise. As an avid bookworm, all of these displays made me just want to curl up with some of these fairytale classics. I loved the use of music and projection in some of the rooms to really bring specific stories to life, the area where Mary Poppins was situated was quite something.
The creativity behind each room was admirable and the effort to create a wonderland is something I love about Christmas at Chatsworth. We headed on a day when they still had their Christmas Market on so after walking around the house there was nothing better than walking around with a mulled wine in hand.
If you're still looking for a Christmas gift or a little something to remind you of your festive spirit then there is a fantastic gift shop at the end of the tour. I snatched up a Christmas tree decoration but I could have spent loads in there and brought so many gifts.
If you're looking for something more magical you can attend the Twilight evenings at Chatsworth. Their Christmas Twilight evenings fall on Thursdays and Fridays until the 21 December. You can enjoy a mince pie, wine, and live music whilst your favourite childhood stories come to life around you. You can find out more here.
I'm so excited to see what 2019 will have in store, definitely don't miss the opportunity to add something else that's festive this Christmas season.