Bucks &amp; Oxon


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/2.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-©-Waddesdon-Manor-National-Trust.png" alt="Christmas at Waddesdon" class="wp-image-176306" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/2.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-©-Waddesdon-Manor-National-Trust.png 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/2.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-©-Waddesdon-Manor-National-Trust-800x800.png 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/2.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-©-Waddesdon-Manor-National-Trust-400x400.png 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/2.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-©-Waddesdon-Manor-National-Trust-500x500.png 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>The Rothschilds&#8217; French Renaissance-style chateau always puts on a dazzling show at Christmas &#8211; and this year&#8217;s extravaganza is set to be particularly enchanting. The inspo this year is <em>Sleeping Beauty</em> &#8211; for anyone who needs a quick recap, it&#8217;s the one about the beautiful princess who is cursed by a wicked fairy and falls into a deep sleep for 100 years until she&#8217;s brought by to life by a kiss from a handsome prince.</p>



<p>While we all know the Disney version, the story has personal significance for the Rothschild family, who bequeathed Waddesdon to the National Trust in the 1950s and continue to run it through a charitable trust. In 1913, James and Dorothy de Rothschild commissioned the Russian artist and stage designer Léon Bakst to paint a set of seven panels depicting scenes from <em>Sleeping Beauty</em>, basing the characters on members of the Rothschild family. (Of course, James modelled for Prince Charming). The panels found a home in one of the manor&#8217;s fairytale towers &#8211; and this Christmas, four of the panels will be on public display for the first time in the Red Ante Room.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/10.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2022-Dining-Room-©-Waddesdon-Manor-National-Trust.-Photo-Hugh-Mothersole.jpg" alt="Christmas at Waddesdon" class="wp-image-176309" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/10.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2022-Dining-Room-©-Waddesdon-Manor-National-Trust.-Photo-Hugh-Mothersole.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/10.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2022-Dining-Room-©-Waddesdon-Manor-National-Trust.-Photo-Hugh-Mothersole-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/10.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2022-Dining-Room-©-Waddesdon-Manor-National-Trust.-Photo-Hugh-Mothersole-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>The <em>Sleeping Beauty</em> artworks are the starting point for what promises to be an spellbinding Christmas spectacle for 2024, with theatrical installations and projections bringing the fairytale to life in some of the Manor’s grandest rooms, plus the traditional Christmas market, light projections on the Manor façade and around the grounds, and more. It&#8217;s on from 15 Nov to 5 Jan, so read on for how Waddesdon plans to enchant its visitors over the festive season.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-spellbinding-interiors">Spellbinding interiors</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/8.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2023-©-Waddesdon-Manor-National-Trust.-Photo-Chris-Lacey.jpg" alt="Christmas at Waddesdon" class="wp-image-176308" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/8.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2023-©-Waddesdon-Manor-National-Trust.-Photo-Chris-Lacey.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/8.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2023-©-Waddesdon-Manor-National-Trust.-Photo-Chris-Lacey-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/8.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2023-©-Waddesdon-Manor-National-Trust.-Photo-Chris-Lacey-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Waddesdon is always decked out in glitzy festive finery come November &#8211; but this year it&#8217;s pulling out all the stops. Top theatre designer Tom Piper (he and fellow artist Paul Cummins installed the sea of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London for Remembrance Day in 2014) is following in Bakst’s footsteps to dress the White Drawing Room with a <em>Sleeping Beauty</em>-themed installation. Meanwhile, artist Andy Singleton has designed a paper sculpture of a dragon based on Disney&#8217;s evil queen Maleficent for the Smoking Room, and there&#8217;ll be more artistic set-dressing and sound and light installations to amplify the Sleeping Beauty theme throughout the house. Follow the fairytale trail from room to room &#8211; it all sounds absolutely spellbinding.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-magical-walks">Magical walks</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/18.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2022-Light-Trail-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Derek-Pelling.jpg" alt="Christmas at Waddesdon" class="wp-image-176313" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/18.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2022-Light-Trail-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Derek-Pelling.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/18.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2022-Light-Trail-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Derek-Pelling-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/18.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2022-Light-Trail-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Derek-Pelling-400x266.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Waddesdon’s grounds are gorgeous at the best of time but come nightfall, they’ll look more spectacular than ever once the winter light trail has been switched on from Fri 15 Nov. The grounds will be transformed into a kaleidoscope of colour, lights and music, with highlights including colour-drenched woodland, a tunnel of lights, a giant Christmas bauble, pixel trees and illuminated reindeer. There&#8217;ll also be a walk-through installation at the Coach House Gallery at The Stables, showing artworks made by 15,000 local school children based on the theme ‘Once Upon a Christmas Time’. How cute is that?</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-let-there-be-light-shows">Let there be light shows</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/6.Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2022-Manor-Illuminations-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Derek-Pelling.jpg" alt="Christmas at Waddesdon" class="wp-image-176307" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/6.Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2022-Manor-Illuminations-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Derek-Pelling.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/6.Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2022-Manor-Illuminations-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Derek-Pelling-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/6.Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2022-Manor-Illuminations-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Derek-Pelling-400x266.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>As the winter light fades at the end of the day, the illuminations on the manor façade will put on another <em>Sleeping Beauty</em>-inspired show. They&#8217;re created this year by graphics designer Jamie Shiels who has impressive form, having worked at Buckingham Palace and on the London 2012 Oympics. He&#8217;s inspired by the Rothschilds&#8217; Bakst paintings, objects from Waddesdon’s collections, and the manor itself, which was built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in the late 19th-century in the style of an early 16th-century French château. With its turrets and towers, it&#8217;s straight out of a Disney movie.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-christmas-shopping">Christmas shopping</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/19.-Christmas-Fair-at-Waddesdon-©-National-Trust-Waddesdon-Manor.-Photo-Chris-Lacey.jpg" alt="Christmas at Waddesdon" class="wp-image-176314" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/19.-Christmas-Fair-at-Waddesdon-©-National-Trust-Waddesdon-Manor.-Photo-Chris-Lacey.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/19.-Christmas-Fair-at-Waddesdon-©-National-Trust-Waddesdon-Manor.-Photo-Chris-Lacey-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/19.-Christmas-Fair-at-Waddesdon-©-National-Trust-Waddesdon-Manor.-Photo-Chris-Lacey-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>The ever-popular Christmas Fair is a gem for festive shopping, with 80-plus artisan and indie stall holders offering gifts, decorations and goodies from their pop-up wooden chalets. What a revelation – no trudging the high street or trawling the internet, but instead skipping along the gravel paths in the shadow of this stately pile as you eye up unusual and inspiring gifts. It&#8217;s on from 15 Nov to 22 Dec, so there&#8217;s plenty of time to shop &#8217;til you drop.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gourmet-grub">Gourmet grub</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/24.-Christmas-Afternoon-Tea-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Chris-Lacey.jpg" alt="Christmas at Waddesdon" class="wp-image-176315" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/24.-Christmas-Afternoon-Tea-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Chris-Lacey.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/24.-Christmas-Afternoon-Tea-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Chris-Lacey-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/24.-Christmas-Afternoon-Tea-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Chris-Lacey-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Afternoon Tea at the Manor Restaurant</figcaption></figure>



<p>Hungry? Thought you might be after all that lot. The Festive Food Village by the Christmas market will supply hot takeaway food and drinks to fuel your adventures around the house and grounds, offering everything from artisan sausages to mulled wine. And if you really want to go big on your festive build up, you can book a <a href="https://tickets.waddesdon.org.uk/productDetail/73365" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">festive afternoon tea</a> at the Manor Restaurant, in all its dainty sarnies and pretty cakes-tiered glory, or go the whole hog for <a href="https://waddesdon.org.uk/whats-on/festive-feast/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the evening festive feast</a>. Oenophile in the house? Step this way for <a href="https://waddesdon.org.uk/whats-on/winter-cellar-tour-and-tasting-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the winter tour of the Rothschilds&#8217; extremely well stocked cellars</a> running on 22 &amp; 29 Nov and 6, 13 &amp; 20 Dec. Wine-tasting included. Hic!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-now-out-you-go-here-s-how-to-book">Now out you go! Here&#8217;s how to book:</h2>



<p><strong><em>All visits to the grounds and house must be pre-booked online (discounted for National Trust members).</em></strong> <strong><em>Christmas House and Grounds admission includes entry to the house to see the decorated rooms in the East Wing and Bachelors Wing, the Christmas Fair (until 22 Dec), the light trail, the Manor facade projections, Once Upon A Christmas Time at the Coach House Gallery, and standard parking in the visitor car park. Or there&#8217;s a Grounds ticket for all the above minus the house.</em></strong></p>



<p><strong><span><i>This year there will also be late-night openings on Fri 22 &amp; 29 Nov and 6, 13 &amp; 20 Dec. The house will be open until 8pm, with last entry at 7.20pm, and the grounds will be open until 9pm, with last entry at 8pm</i></span></strong>. <strong><em>For bookings and availability, <a href="https://tickets.waddesdon.org.uk/christmas-at-waddesdon?_gl=1*1pjzvyd*_gcl_au*OTM2MzI4MDYwLjE3MzAxMjYzNDk.*_ga*NjIzODUwMjU0LjE3MzAxMjYzNDg.*_ga_KY53H4QKHT*MTczMDkwMzEyOS40LjEuMTczMDkwMzEzMC41OS4wLjA.&amp;_ga=2.134016525.2028817777.1730899073-623850254.1730126348" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">click here</a>.</em></strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/13.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2023-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Ben-Crowther.jpg" alt="Christmas at Waddesdon" class="wp-image-176310" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/13.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2023-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Ben-Crowther.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/13.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2023-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Ben-Crowther-800x534.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/13.-Christmas-at-Waddesdon-2023-©-Waddesdon-A-Rothschild-House-Gardens.-Photo-Ben-Crowther-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>


Preview: Christmas at Waddesdon Manor looks spellbinding

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