Preston Park’s 2026 Victorian Christmas programme

Preston Park adds relaxed session and story picnics to Victorian Christmas programme

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The Eaglescliffe museum’s winter programme runs from late November, with new storytelling sessions, an interactive show and quieter access.

By The Tees Editorial Desk · 22 October 2026

The cobbled Victorian Street inside Preston Park Museum, with period shopfronts on both sides. Image: Hugh Mortimer / Victorian Street : Preston Park Museum / CC BY-SA 2.0Original source

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Preston Park Museum has added storytime picnics, an interactive theatre show and a relaxed session to its 2026 Christmas programme, which begins in November at the Eaglescliffe venue.

The main A Magical Victorian Christmas weekends will run from 28 November to 20 December. The museum says its cobbled Victorian Street will be dressed for the season, while activities included with a Museum Pass will range from community choir performances and Christmas crafts to writing a North Pole letter with a dip pen.

Booking dates and new sessions

General booking for visits to Father Christmas opens on Friday 30 October. People registered for Preston Park’s email newsletter are due to receive a priority link on Wednesday 28 October, giving them a 48-hour head start. Visits cost £16 per child and include a gift; everyone attending also needs a valid Museum Pass.

A new Father Christmas Storytime Picnic will take place on Fridays 4, 11 and 18 December, with sessions from 4pm to 5pm and 5.30pm to 6.30pm after the museum closes to general visitors. Each child’s £20 ticket includes a picnic box, hot chocolate and a gift, and adults and children attending must also hold a Museum Pass.

The 4pm session on Friday 11 December is designated as a quieter, more relaxed experience. Families should check the booking page before choosing a time, as the council announcement identifies this specific hour as the relaxed option rather than describing every picnic session that way.

Same Difference Theatre will also bring its three-person Goldilocks Christmas Show to the museum on Saturday 28 November. The museum’s live listings show performances at 11am and 2pm. The production uses songs, jokes, costume changes and audience participation; advance booking is required and tickets are £20 per child, alongside a valid Museum Pass for everyone attending.

What is included with a pass

The Victorian Christmas weekends will include activities within the usual museum admission. Visitors can try period costume in the drapers, see how shopping worked in the grocers and buy sweets weighed in the traditional way. Three Twilight Christmas Evenings are planned for Fridays 4, 11 and 18 December, from 6.30pm to 8pm.

Separate paid workshops begin earlier in November. Local artist Jo Pickering will lead a watercolour Christmas card workshop on 14 November and a painted Christmas cake session on 22 November. Wreath-making workshops, using seasonal foliage gathered from the park grounds, are scheduled for 26 November and 3 December from 6pm to 8pm.

The seasonal programme will overlap with Submergence, the light-and-sound installation already running at Preston Park until 7 March 2027. Entry to that installation, the Victorian Christmas weekends and the twilight openings is included with an annual or day Museum Pass, according to the council.

Planning a visit

Preston Park Museum is on Yarm Road, Eaglescliffe, TS18 3RH. The museum advises booking paid experiences in advance and checking its What’s On pages for remaining places, full pass prices and any changes. The programme contains a mixture of pass-included and separately ticketed activities, so families will need to check the cost of each part before travelling.