Alice’s Christmas Wonderland at Castle Howard
Fall down the rabbit hole into an experience like no other: Castle Howard opens their jaw-dropping Christmas extravaganza
The iconic North Yorkshire stately home is transformed into Wonderland, until 5th January
Castle Howard has opened their 2024 Christmas event, Alice’s Christmas Wonderland. The 300-year-old House becomes an immersive Christmas experience, dressed in set pieces, decorations, floristry, projections, lighting and sound, set to delight tens of thousands of visitors over a 7-week period.
The centrepiece of the experience is a 27-foot Christmas tree in Castle Howard’s Great Hall, installed by a team of 22 using a specialist winch system. The Great Hall is the crowning masterpiece of architect Sir John Vanbrugh’s design presenting Castle Howard with its unique domed silhouette – completed with suitable theatricality by the grand tree decorated with thousands of ‘looking glass’ inspired decorations as part of the Wonderland theme.
The Alice’s Christmas Wonderland creative team CLW Event Design, headed up by Charlotte Lloyd Webber and Adrian Lillie, have worked on the project since January, with the set pieces fabricated and built on the Castle Howard Estate. The installation process in the House takes two weeks to complete. Circa 30,000 baubles are on display, with the creative team reusing and recycling products where possible and favouring more sustainable materials like paper and glass.
Northern theatre company imitating the dog have provided the projections and soundscapes, with the content filmed in Leeds. Unique musical compositions accompany each room in the House, alongside voiceover and poetry. Hon. Nicholas Howard can be heard as part of the soundscape, welcoming visitors with a recitation of Lewis Carroll’s poem ‘All in the golden afternoon’, which prefaces the Alice in Wonderland story.
Castle Howard is offering an expanded series of accessible events to open the experience to even more people, including British Sign Language interpreted guided tours and Calm Sessions. Castle Howard’s 2024 Access Partner is LNER who have kindly made the accessible performances and sessions possible with their financial support. North York Moors National Park have also supported Castle Howard’s access offer by funding Touch Boxes – sensory boxes of props and materials for anyone who would benefit available in the House.
Castle Howard is hosting a pop-up Bettys shop in their historic Stable Courtyard for the duration of their Christmas event. Celebrated internationally, Bettys is known for mouthwatering confectionery, chocolates, teas and coffees. This collaboration is a first for Bettys who has never before created a pop-up shop. The Bettys pop-up shop, alongside Castle Howard’s Farm Shop with Christmas food-to-order service, Courtyard Café with seasonal winter menu, Garden Centre selling British-grown Christmas trees, and hot chocolate trailer and marshmallow fire pit, is open for Christmas Shoppers with some evening openings in December.
Castle Howard Visitor Attraction Director, Abbigail Ollive, said: ‘We are thrilled to launch Christmas at Castle Howard for 2024. So many of our visitors come back every year for a special festive day out with their family, and we have pulled out all the stops this year to make Alice’s Christmas Wonderland our most magical yet. The incredible creative teams, CLW Event Design and imitating the dog, have done an amazing job bringing the installations to life, with the support of the Castle Howard staff and volunteers who have worked so hard to transform the House into Wonderland. We hope the extra festive surprises, like the beautiful Bettys pop-up shop, Mad Hatter-hosted Afternoon Teas, and the bespoke soundscapes, will delight everyone who passes through our doors to deliver a truly unique and magical day out. Finally, we are so grateful to our fantastic sponsors, LNER and North York Moors National Park, who have supported our access shows and performances this year, helping us make our events more inclusive and welcoming.’
Castle Howard has employed an additional 130 Christmas staff from the local area to facilitate their Christmas event, on top of their year-round staff. They are also supported by an invaluable team of 200 volunteers.
Christmas at Castle Howard previously starred in documentary programmes on Channel 4. Castle Howard Through the Seasons, a four-part docuseries, was released in November 2022, and one-off Christmas at Castle Howard was released in November 2021.
Alice’s Christmas Wonderland runs from 15th November to 5th January. Tickets: castlehoward.co.uk
