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Festive fun activities for everyone this Christmas

At last the trees are shedding their colourful leaves and the temperatures are dropping... Winter is coming and with it comes Christmas time!

Why not escape the hustle and bustle of the busy streets this year and enjoy spending the winter break with family? Let’s take hats and mittens off and start the holidays indulging yourself with a warm drink and festive confectionery at the Museum Café before enjoying together one of the activities offered by the National Museums in Cardiff, Caerleon and St Fagans.

The Museums will be opened all through the Christmas holidays but will be closed on 24, 25, 26 December and January, 1st.

Top 8 fun Christmas activities this winter:

1.    Try your hands at Christmas decoration: during the weekend of 6 & 7 December go green and create your own eco-friendly decoration out of recycled material at St Fagans National History Museum, from 11am - 1pm and 2 - 4pm.

If your taste goes to tradition, try the workshop for families on the weekend of 20 & 21 December at St Fagans from 11am - 1pm and 2 - 4pm. The littlest ones will be able to do colouring whilst the more confident could give it a go for sewing and tissue paper pom pom making.

2.    Enjoy a family fun day on Saturday 13 December from 10am – 4pm with festive craft activities, carols, wanders in the galleries of National Museum Cardiff and… meet Santa! From 3:00pm children will have the opportunity to take a photo with Father Christmas and, if they have been good all through the year, they will sure get a present.

 3.    Enough of the classic spread of festive cheer this Christmas? Why not discover Saturnalia, the Roman version of Christmas celebration, at National Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon on Saturday 13 December from 11am – 4pm. A murder mystery will be organised for all visitorsin the surroundings of a very Roman Christmas time. A great occasion for everyone to learn the Romans customs and traditions for this mid-winter festival and find out that Romans customs were not so different from ours: Saturnalia was a time of feasting, present giving, games and entertainment. So get your best detective foot forward and try a Christmas party with a difference this year!

 4.    For those who would prefer a traditional Christmas celebration, come to National Museum Cardiff and admire the fabulous Christmas tree in the main hall. Join if you wish the museum staff choir for a festive sing-along Christmas Carols. It will befollowed by a mince pie and mulled wine on Thursday 18 December at 2pm.

 5.    Over the years, Christmas has inspired many authors to write about its unique and special spirit. Charity, forgiveness, friendship, unselfish love and generosity are in every book originally written for children but enjoyable at all ages.

What could better spark children and visitors than listening to these skilful and amazing stories told by Father Christmas and his friends? Book your ticket and enjoy that great family moment at St Fagans National History Museum every weekend before Christmas at 11am (Please note this session is Welsh language only on Saturday), 1pm & 3pm. Tickets: £12 per child (ticket price include one adult and booking fee). Advance tickets only

 6.    Hunting for a special gift? Why not treat yourself or start your Christmas shopping early and find the perfect present at the Christmas Vintage and Handcrafted Emporium on Saturday 6 December from 10 am - 4 pm. Jointly hosted by the Museum and Smock Vintage, it will provide visitors with a nice selection of vintage fashion, jewellery, accessories and handcrafted gifts suitable for every pocket and age.

 7.    Christmas time has always been celebrated as a time for Peace. Even during WWI, on the 25th of December 1914, in a brief but hugely symbolic episode of resistance to war, soldiers on both sides of the trenches declared a brief truce. German and British soldiers sung songs, exchanged gifts and played football together. This year, at National Museum Cardiff, from December 19 till January 4 at 10am-4pm, visitors will be invited to remember this by writing their own messages of peace to hang on the Christmas tree.

 8.    Artes Mundi, Wales’s biggest and most exciting contemporary visual art show is on until 22 January. Create your own celebratory artwork in reaction to the exhibition with materials and activities from the Art Cart every Saturday from 10am-4pm.

 

Entry to the Museum is free, thanks to the support of the Welsh Assembly Government. 

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales operates seven museums across Wales National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans National History Museum, National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon, Big Pit: National Coal Museum, Blaenafon, National Wool Museum, Drefach Felindre, National Slate Museum, Llanberis and the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea.  

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