Christmas in Cornwall

If you only make one trip to Mousehole at Christmas, we highly recommend the evening of December 23rd. This is Tom Bawcock’s Eve, the day when locals honour the story of a Cornish legend; a fisherman in the village who took to his fishing boat in a severe storm to lift the village from famine. The festival of celebration takes place every year with traditional folk singing and the eating of Stargazey pie. If you cant attend that night, the Mousehole christmas lights displaying throughout December is well worth a special trip down for too.

The Winter Festival at the Eden Project is well worth a visit, with an ice rink being laid down in a winter wonderland scene.

Seeing Santa arrive in St Ives by lifeboat is a vision not to forget, and of course gift shopping at one of the towns many boutique gift and clothes shops makes this a real family pleaser.

Cornwall throws up another 'must' with Christmas and farmers' markets aplenty, all offering seasonal produce. Or, if you'd prefer someone else to do the cooking, treat yourselves at one of Cornwall’s growing number of top-end restaurants.

In fact with so much going on, you’ll struggle to find time to fit it all in! After all of the indulgences, we think there’s no better way to burn off the calories than by wrapping up warm and taking to the beach for a long Boxing Day walk.

Planning your Christmas holiday in Cornwall

Most of us who celebrate Christmas choose to mark the occasion in our own way; making it unique, special and personal to us.

Booking a self catering cottage allows you to tailor Christmas to be however you want it, in whatever surroundings you fancy. Choose from characterful cottages with a wood burner, houses big enough to bring all branches of the family together (dare we say on 'neutral ground'?), or simply waking up on Christmas morning with the one you love and gazing across an unforgettable ocean view.

All our cottages have fully equipped kitchens, ready for you to create your custom culinary Christmas masterpiece.  Or, if you'd rather push the task of creating the Christmas meal onto someone else, you'll find no shortage of Cornish restaurants offering up top-notch local fayre on the day.

View all our Christmas cottages in Cornwall >