Dickens Christmas

With his heart-warming tales of cosy homes filled with festive cheer, Charles Dickens helped to set the standard for our Yuletide traditions.  So if you're looking for some festive inspiration this year, why not take a page out of Dickens' book...
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A Victorian Christmas feast 

One of Dickens' greatest contributions to our modern Christmas was idea of a special meal. In an 1835 essay entitled  A Christmas Dinner, Dickens paints a picture of an idyllic Christmas celebration with a family gathering around the table to enjoy a Yuletide feast of turkey, mince pies and 'a gigantic pudding with a sprig of holly in the top'. Of course, people had Christmas dinner before Dickens wrote about it, but the author definitely helped to cement public ideas about what Christmas dinner should be. 
    There are a host of places offering traditional Christmas menus this year, including Dickens' own Bleak House in Broadstairs, as well as several stately homes managed by the National Trust. Or if you'd rather cook your own, why not try one of Mrs Dickens own recipes from her 1851 cookbook, What Shall we Have for Dinner?.
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​The Dickens Museum

Just in time for the festive season, the Dickens Museum in London is re-opening on 10 December after an extensive restoration project. Housed in the author's only surviving London home, the museum boasts the finest Dickens-related collection in the world. Now thanks to a £3.1 million redevelopment project (aptly dubbed Great Expectations), the Georgian terraced house has been lovingly restored to its former glory.

​In celebration of the re-opening, the museum is hosting A Very Dickensian Christmas, which will see the house adorned with authentic Victorian decorations and festive grenery. Visitors can enjoy mulled wine and mince pies, as well as classic film screenings of A Christmas Carol and readings from Dickens’s Christmas Stories. The museum's gift shop is also the perfect place to pick out a Christmas gift for any book-lovers on your list.  These clever, Oliver - inspired bowls will have everyone asking for more. 
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​DICKENSIAN Christmas Walk

While you're at the Dickens Museum,  be sure to sign up for one of their guided Dickensian Christmas Walks for the chance to see London through the eyes of Scrooge and Tiny Tim. The two-hour walk includes lively readings and historic anecdotes, as well as a stop off at Dickens' favourite tavern. Or if you'd rather go it alone, check out our guide to the real places behind a A Christmas Carol or our map of Dickens' London. ​

A Christmas Carol with Simon Callow ​

Based on Dickens' own performance adaptation, the subject of his first public reading in 1853, this exceptional one-man show brings the timeless tale back to the stage at Arts Theatre in London. Artfully delivered by Callow, this scaled back production allows the true genius of Dickens' work shine through. The show runs until 5 Jan 2013.  
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​Explore Dickens' Kent ​

The festive season kicks off in Kent the first weekend in December with the annual Dickens Festival in Rochester, which sees some beloved characters brought to life in a two-day celebration of all things Dickens. Christmas is the perfect time to visit Kent, a county with numerous ties to Charles Dickens life and works. From his home at Gads Hill to his coastal retreat in Broadstairs, discover the real places behind the fiction. To help plan your trip, check out the new Dickens Kent app, a helpful guide to the county's Dickens sites. ​
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​Dickensian Christmas at Kentwell Hall ​

Located in Suffolk, this striking Tudor mansion transforms into a Victorian winter wonderland at Christmastime. From 15 to 22 December Kentwell Hall will be bringing the Victorian era to life with actors in period costume, authentic food and elegant decorations. The house boasts its own Mr Dickens performing readings of a Christmas Carol, as well a wonderful Father Christmas for younger guests. ​
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​Victorian Santa's Grotto

Experience the Old World charms of a Dickensian Christmas at the Museum of London's  traditional Victorian Santa's Grotto, where children can meet a very Victorian Father Christmas. Be sure to explore the museum's Victorian Walk, a recreated Victorian High Street complete with authentic window displays. And from the 27 to 31 December you can even meet old Ebeneezer Scrooge himself and try to cheer him up for the chance to win a prize. ​

​Dickensian Christmas at Tatton Park

In celebration of the Dickens bicentenary, this year the Yuletide festivities at Tatton Park include the Dickensian Christmas Masion, where visitors can step into the world of Charles Dickens as each room of the house as been carefully decorated to represent one of Dickens' novels. Although Tatton Park doesn't lay claim to any Dickens link, the house would have been very familiar to one of his contemporaries, Elizabeth Gaskell, whose work he first published in his magazine Household Words. ​
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​Dickens Family Christmas Carol 

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens' birth, this special carol service at Eton College Chapel will be led by the acclaimed Rodolfus choir. Two of the author's great-great-grandchildren will read excerpts from  A Christmas Carol and after the service the merriment continues with wine and mince pies. 
7:00 pm - 12th December
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​Curl up with a classic ​

If you can't make it to any of our Dickens destinations, why not try a little armchair travelling through Dickens' classic story? First published in 1843, A Christmas Carol has been adapted for the stage and screen countless times, with everyone from acclaimed thespians to the Muppets taking a crack at the classic. Although the 1951 British film, Scrooge (released as A Christmas Carol in the US) is often cited as the best adaptation, everyone seems to have their personal favourite.      
     But even if you don't read or watch any Dickens this Christmas, chances are there will be a hint of Dickens in whatever festive entertainment you choose. A Christmas Carol has inspired some of the most popular Christmas films of all time, including Dr Suess' Grinch, who bears a striking resemblance to Ebenezer Scrooge, and even the beloved  It's a Wonderful Life (with the 'ghost of Christmas future' moment clearly borrowed from Mr Dickens).