St Thomas Christmas Tree Festival - an Enchanted Forest of Real Trees

Fri 2 - Tues 6 Dec 2022

The Friends of St Thomas Church will this December once again host an Enchanted Forest of Christmas Trees in the church.

The church itself will be filled with beautifully decorated trees, each lovingly decorated by its sponsor. Sponsors comprise a range of local businesses and community organisations and charities.

As always the fantastic volunteer members of the Friends will be serving refreshments including delicious home made cakes, and cards and lovely home made decorations will also available to buy.

Music will be playing much of the day each day as choirs rehearse and ad hoc live singing and instrumental events take place, with full concerts on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.

This year for the first time there will also be an Artisan Christmas Market in the Church Hall, on Sat 3 December.

Open daily: 10 am to 5 pm

Delicious homemade refreshments served throughout the day, live musical performances and two concerts during the five days of the festival.

This increasingly popular community event involves school children, local charities, local shops, and businesses, each coming to decorate one of the 60 real trees, creating a magical “enchanted forest” which really brings Christmas to life for the church and the town.

Dates and Outline What's Happening When

• This year's festival will be open from Friday 2nd to Tuesday 6th December,
• Set up will be on Wednesday and Thursday, all trees will be of the Non-Needle-Drop Nordman variety. 
• There will be Christmas stalls and, of course, live music in both the church and the hall.
• There will be an Artisan Market in the Church Hall on the Saturday.
• There will be a Gala Concert on Saturday evening and a further concert on Sunday afternoon.

Local business, organisations and individuals are invited to sponsor a tree

Local business, organisations and individuals are invited to sponsor a tree and decorate it to your choice.

It's a wonderful way not only to promote your business or organisation but also to make a lovely contribution to this very special event, which always feels like the real start of the season of goodwill.

If short of time there is also the option to sponsor a tree but not to come in and decorate it. These trees may be decorated by The Friends or left with lights only.

For details and booking form contact the Church Office:  email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 01590 676194

Booking form also attached as pdf see below

Do take part as sponsor and/or visitor, and help us to make this a truly wonderful Christmas celebration!

About the Christmas Tree Festival

Since its inception in 2015 in aid of the St Thomas Cupola Appeal, the beautiful and astmospheric Christmas Tree Festival in St Thomas Church has gone from strength to strength, each year attracting a growing number of trees and visitors. A highlight has always been the official opening carol singing by the Robin Choir from Lymington Infant School, which also always bring tears to many eyes.

How it works is that the Friends of St Thomas Church led by Chair Daphne Johnson buy in a number of Christmas trees in a variety of sizes, for which they also supply the lights. Each tree is "sponsored" by a local business or organisation ranging from local solicitors, estate agents and marine businesses to community and church organisations and charities. Each pays to participate according to the size of the tree. Each also has the opportunity in the Festival Programme to explain what its organisation does 

Then staff and volunteers of the relevant business and organisations decorate their individual trees to a theme they choose, which results in an enormous range of beautifully decorated trees of various shapes and sizes, all with the same lighting so at the same time producing a wonderfully harmonious effect. (It's also usually a very friendly sociable affair, the tree dressing part before the Festival Proper.)

And then the Festival opens, and whilst it is on various local choral and other musical performances take place, and volunteers from the Church sell Christmas cards and a range of extremely well priced Christmas decorations made by volunteers.

And then through the long weekend whilst the trees are on display visitors arrive, and make their donations and wander around enjoying the sights and the scents of this marvellous and slightly surreal spectacle. 

And at the end, the trees are either collected by their "owners" or are sold with the funds going to the Church, to people who have pledged during the course of the weekend to buy them - so many trees still resplendent in their decorations then go on to grace a home or hospital until and through Christmas.

"Virtual tour" of 2019 Christmas Tree Festival