Kingston Lacy Christmas: Starlit Ball From 21 Nov

Is Kingston Lacy doing Christmas in 2026? Yes. The National Trust’s house near Wimborne Minster opens A Starlit Christmas Ball on Saturday 21 November 2026. It runs daily from 10.30am to 3pm until Sunday 3 January 2027, except 25 and 26 December. The ball itself is free once you have paid to get in. Storytelling with Santa starts on Saturday 28 November and has to be booked: £15.50 a child, on top of normal admission.

Everything on this page comes from the Trust’s own Kingston Lacy event pages, read on 10 October 2026.

Kingston Lacy at Christmas 2026 at a glance

Admission, as the Trust’s event pages give it: from £23 an adult and £11.50 a child, and free for National Trust members, who show their card at Visitor Reception.

A Starlit Christmas Ball, 21 November to 3 January

The Trust describes the house and gardens as “decorated for a spectacular Christmas ball”. Inside, you follow a story from room to room, with costumes and decorations “inspired by the night sky and Christmas magic”. Outside, the Fernery is lit with twinkling lights and lanterns.

• Open daily, 10.30am to 3pm, from Saturday 21 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027.
• Kingston Lacy is closed on 25 December, and the house is closed on 26 December.
• No booking. The ball is “free event (admission applies)”.
• Expect a queue for the house. The Trust limits numbers inside and says you may have to wait for a short time. In its words, “visitor numbers usually peak in the morning and you may find the queues are reduced in the afternoon”.

Storytelling with Santa: £15.50 a child

This is the one you have to book.

• What happens: families find Santa “in his hidden storybook nook” for a festive story, an early Christmas gift and a photo with him. The whole experience lasts about an hour, with the story itself around 30 minutes.
• Price: £15.50 per child, ages 0 to 12, which includes one accompanying adult. Extra adults are £5 each, and only needed if you have more adults than children. Normal admission is charged on top, or free for members.
• Dates: Saturday and Sunday 28 and 29 November, 5 and 6 December, 12 and 13 December, then every day from 18 to 23 December.
• Session times: 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm on each date. On 18 December the standard sessions are at 11am, 1pm and 2pm only.
• Booking is essential, online or on 0344 249 1895. Bring your tickets to Visitor Reception to be directed to the storytelling room.
• Pushchairs have to be left in the buggy park and bag store at the side of the house.

Relaxed sessions, 18 December

Two relaxed Storytelling with Santa sessions run on Friday 18 December, at 10am and 3pm. The Trust says they are quieter, “with nothing too noisy before or during the story and fewer people attending each session”. Same price and same booking.

For access needs the Trust asks families to call 01202 883402 or email kingstonlacy@nationaltrust.org.uk before booking.

Christmas bubbles with Squidge and Pop

A free bubble show for children, with bubbles that “drift and swirl like snow” and bubble snow globes. It roams around the courtyard in dry weather and moves into the Tipi when it rains.

• Saturday 21, Sunday 22, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November
• Two sessions each day: 12pm to 1pm and 1.30pm to 2.30pm
• No booking, free with admission

Festive twilight opening, 4 and 5 December

On Friday 4 and Saturday 5 December Kingston Lacy stays open until 7.30pm, with last entry to the house at 6.30pm, so you can see the decorations after dark. The shop and café stay open and Squidge and Pop do a special show.

The Trust says there is a reduced entry price after 4pm, free for members, and no booking. It does not give the reduced price on the event page.

Getting there from Bournemouth

Kingston Lacy is outside Wimborne Minster, north of Bournemouth and Poole. The Trust’s event pages give the location as “Kingston Lacy, Wimborne Minster, Dorset”. If you are leaving from the town centre, check roadworks and travel for closures on the routes out, and our parking in Bournemouth page if you are combining it with a trip into town for the market.

More Christmas near Bournemouth

• Bournemouth Christmas market and ice rink, free to enter, from 12 November.
• Santa’s grotto and the Santa trains, including the Swanage and Moors Valley Santa specials.
• Russell-Cotes at Christmas, the Victorian house on the East Cliff.
• Bournemouth pantomime, Aladdin at the Pavilion.

What is still to come

• The reduced twilight entry price for 4 and 5 December, which the event page mentions but does not state.

Sources

• National Trust, A Starlit Christmas Ball for the 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 dates, the 10.30am to 3pm hours, the 25 and 26 December closures, the Fernery lights, the house queue advice and free entry with admission.
• National Trust, Storytelling with Santa for every date and session time, the £15.50 child and £5 extra-adult prices, the “from £23 per adult, £11.50 per child” admission, the 0344 249 1895 booking line, the hour-long format and the buggy park.
• National Trust, Storytelling with Santa, relaxed sessions for the 18 December 10am and 3pm sessions and the access contact.
• National Trust, Christmas bubbles with Squidge and Pop for the four November dates, the session times and the courtyard or Tipi location.
• National Trust, Festive twilight opening for the 4 and 5 December late opening, the 6.30pm last entry and the reduced entry after 4pm.
• National Trust, events at Kingston Lacy for the full Christmas programme.