Jupiter recently got a National Trust membership as this year (and into next) seems to be one where primarily only outdoor events are what we are going to be getting along too. This membership covers a lot of parks, historical houses, and areas within Britain that we are going to aim to explore. So, when checking out the Christmas section of the National Trust website, we stumbled upon Standen House, where the Beale Family once lived – and though we didn’t really know who that was, we were excited to take a look around. Standen House ended up being one of our favorite National Trust sites in Essex.
For the winter months, Standen House has set up a Christmas trail, where you can gain a map and clues, then walk around the grounds looking for small set-ups to learn how the Beale Family celebrated Christmas. Most of these rooms seem to mimic rooms inside the house, but are dotted around which really helps with keeping your distance. We went when the sun was setting, exploring the grounds with our torches in hopes of finding the clues. Each of the areas were easy to find and had a sign that told a bit of history, gave a challenge that could be done right outside there, and gave a clue to where the next spot was. The questions were easy for all of the kids to get and understand – some were to do with the description we were reading, while others had us hunting around an area and finding a specific object.
All of the different scenes were really interesting, from a mock kitchen to a children’s hideaway area full of toys. Along some of the trails were handknitted ornaments – pompoms and knitted spirals – decorating trees. It felt quite magical. When we were done checking out the trail, we took the time to walk around the Standen House itself, which was decorated just for Christmas. Each of the rooms had it’s own tree and there were signs and words that continued the story. For children, there was also the challenge of finding hidden gingerbread men dotted around. We read each of the signs to them and continued through, talking to guides who shed more light on the rooms and what they were used for.
The Christmas trees were absolutely stunning, decorated to match the rooms that they were in. One had spoons and forks all on it, while another had music sheets, cut to be made into different ornaments that decorated the branches. Outside the house, there are three trees which have hand knitted ornaments and decorations, lit from string lights and backlit, which are beautiful to look at. There were a lot of these sorts of decorations – from tiny mice to decorated trees.
We also stopped into a small cafe, which had loads of hot chocolates and sweet treats, before checking out the giftshop where we claimed our prizes from the trail that we had went on. These gifts were sorted by age – Robin got a Christmas mug she could decorate and design, while Amelia and Kai got grow-your-own crystal kits, which are quite popular.
Standen House is a great place to walk around and enjoy, especially at Christmas time with all of these lovely decorations to look at as well.
This post is a part of our Blogmas series, with each and every post being about Christmas or Winter.
Looks like you had a fab time
We really did.
This looks like such a beautiful way to get into the holiday spirit. I’ve never seen anything like this around here, but I would be ALL over it if I were to come across something! Thank you for sharing all of your pictures. I felt like I was there while scrolling through this.
I am so glad you enjoyed the pictures!