10 Best Things to do in Cornwall this Christmas

Sea dips in Santa hats. Carol singing on the sand. Fishing harbours festooned with festive lights… In Cornwall we do Christmas a bit differently. Slip into the spirit of all things merry-on-sea, with these magical events entrenched in Yuletide traditions.

Updated with this year’s Christmas events on 5 December 2024

1. Coastal Christmas Market, Carbis Bay

Best for: Christmas Shopping
When: 7-8 & 14-15 December 

While Padstow’s Christmas market is taking a break this year, we’d suggest a trip to West Cornwall to fill your stockings with artisan crafts and the finest ingredients for festive feasts. During two winter weekenders, the promenade at Carbis Bay will be bustling with a Coastal Christmas Market, including a Santa’s Grotto and a Yuletide raffle in aid of the Cornwall Air Ambulance. Where else in the world can you find pigs in blankets beside the beach, Christmas cake with coastal views and stands piled high with local goodies beside the waves?

2. Christmas at the Eden Project

Best for: Families
When: Until 05 January 2025

As always, the Eden Project is putting on sparkling Yuletide celebrations, including astonishing light displays, a magical 40-minute theatrical performance with Father Christmas and his elves, an ice rink and a magical carousel. Wander through the twinkling night-time wonderland of the biomes, meet the man in red, whirl around the ice and sip a steaming hot chocolate as you feel the glow of the Yuletide cheer. This is one of the top things to do in Cornwall at Christmas and is well worth a visit during a festive stay in the area.

3. Mousehole Christmas Lights

Best for: Christmas Lights
When: 12 December 2024 – 5 January 2025

Festive merrymakers flock to this picture-postcard village to witness the famous Mousehole Lights – one of the best Christmas lights displays in Cornwall. And rightly so. Seeing the harbour festooned with lights in the shapes of boats, sea creatures and Christmas characters is a spectacle worth the trip from any corner of the county. While they twinkle into early January, the best night to visit is Tom Bawcock’s Eve, two days before Christmas. In commemoration of the legend of a local fisherman who braved stormy winter seas to go fishing and saved the village from famine, a huge stargazey pie is served, alongside Christmas carols and mulled wine by the sea. 

4. Christmas at Trelissick

Best for: Festive Family Traditions
When: 7 December 2024 – 5 January 2025

Enjoy a Nadelik Lowen at Trelissick Gardens on the edge of the River Fal, where you can wander twinkling, tree-lined pathways on the Christmas trail, be serenaded by local choirs, and book an audience with Father Christmas to see if you’re on the naughty or nice list. Get your hands on Christmas gifts in the shop, tuck into winter warmers in the tea room, and step into the historic house festooned with flower displays and twinkling decorations inspired by Cornish traditions and folklore.

5. Truro’s Big Christmas Sing

Best for: Christmas Carols
When: 13 December 2024

If you love singing Christmas carols, there’s nowhere better to join in than at Truro’s Big Christmas Sing. Join special guests Molly Hocking and the Falmouth Community Gospel Choir in the stunning venue of Truro Cathedral, where the acoustics and entertainment will fill you with festive vibes. Other atmospheric winter concerts at the cathedral include the chart-topping folk ensemble, Mediaeval Baebes, on 11 December. 

6. Jack and the Beanstalk at the Pantomime

Best for: Theatre Lovers
When: 6-31 December 2024

What’s Christmas without a family trip to the pantomime? Jack’s beanstalk is looking very Christmassy in this year’s pantomime spectacular starring Edward Rowe (Kernow King). After a day filling up on Christmas goodies at Truro’s Christmas market, head to the Hall for Cornwall and brace yourself for a song-and-dance adventure and a Santa sack full of plant-based jokes and fairy-infused fun.

7. Christmas Day Sea Dip

Best for: Beach lovers
When: 25 December 2024

Like we said, we like to celebrate Christmas a little differently in Cornwall, and one of our longstanding traditions in towns and villages across the county is a Christmas Day dip. From Penzance to Polzeath, you’ll find communities gathering on the beaches after opening their stockings, and charging into bracing seas with little more than a Santa hat and swimmers on. Hot chocolate and dry robes are recommended, but what better way to work up an appetite for that Christmas feast? 

8. Heligan Night Garden

Best for: Fairy-lit Garden Trails
When: Until 4 January 2025

Ignite all your senses on an enchanting lantern experience set amidst the Lost Gardens of Heligan. Wait for night to fall to follow the magical trail around Heligan, under magical illuminations, glittering tunnels of light and larger-than-life wildlife lanterns celebrating the gardens and estate. Along the way, pause to roast marshmallows on the fire, sip mulled wine and visit the farm animals. 

 9. The Montol Festival

Best for: Cornish Christmas Traditions
When: 21 December 2024

Celebrate mid-winter and experience Cornish Christmas traditions at the Montol Festival in Penzance. Traditionally, the day of the feast of St Thomas, the festival is held on the winter solstice, which, since pre-history, has been hugely important for marking the symbolic death and rebirth of the sun. A reinterpretation of old Cornish rituals, the celebration features performances from fire breathers, ‘obby ‘osses and musicians, with the additions of Christmas carol singers, choirs, dancers and markets in the evening. Oh, and a glass of mulled wine (or two).

10. Festive Afternoon Tea by the Sea

Best for: Coastal Scenery
When: throughout the festive period

Away from the grand Christmas spectacles, there’s no better way to sink into the festive season than with an exhilarating coastal walk followed by festive treats with a sea view. Take a blustery walk along the wave-lashed Fistral Beach, then warm up with a festive afternoon tea at Fistral Beach Hotel, where you can fill up on Christmas-themed savoury and sweet treats, while staring out of floor-to-ceiling windows to the surf and the spectacular North Coast scenery.

Find the Perfect Place to Stay in Padstow this Christmas

Padstow is a fantastic place to visit during winter to experience the wonderful things to do in Cornwall at Christmas. This pretty harbour town gets into the spirit of Christmas with twinkly harbourside lights, beautiful boutiques for last-minute shopping and a wide choice of restaurants and pubs for festive food and cheer.

Browse our collection of holiday cottages in and around Padstow and find the perfect pad for your Christmas holiday in Cornwall.