The festive lights at Nutley Farm get bigger and better each year and it’s clear to see why families love it there so much.

On arrival we walked through the lit archway to the Christmas Courtyard where we found lovely decorated wooden structures, a giant Christmas tree, small marquees with seating, and barns. We had planned to go and see the lights first but the kids were apparently starving so we went straight to the main barn where food and drinks are served.

The menu has hot dogs, beef burgers, pork and apple burgers, loaded chips, jacket potatoes, nachos and kids meals. The festive barn is really welcoming and we were delighted to hear an excellent Elton John tribute singer who was getting everyone in the Christmas spirit. There’s plenty of tables and chairs for eating and you can also have your photo taken in the magical Christmas set up with options to buy prints, magnet frame, bauble and more.

Just outside of the main barn there is now a Hot Chocolate Hut, Crepe and Waffle Hut and even a Sweet Shop where you can buy treats, smores and big marshmallows for tasting on the fire pit nearby.

The crepe and waffle menu included all the traditional toppings like lemon and sugar, Nutella, Biscoff sauce, plus deluxe options included any sauce with yummy chocolates. You could event opt for savoury crepes with cheese, cheese and spinach, cheese and onion or cheese, ham and spinach.

We all had various loaded chips, hot dogs, crepes and waffles which were reasonably priced and my son especially loved his gingerbread hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows on top.

Now that we were well fed we set off to experience the illuminated light trail. We found sparkling arches, colourful lit trees, giant lit up reindeer and snowflakes, huge candy canes, photo props, a barn projection where you could see Father Christmas in a top window and much more.

At the end of the trail there’s a bungee trampoline which costs £5 for 5 mins and swings for little ones which cost £3. We also found some festive stalls nearby with some beautiful Christmas gifts.

When we had arrived the reindeer barn was busy but now it was a lot quieter and I was desperate to see the adorable Rudolph, Prancer, Sprout and Parsnip. You can buy a pot of reindeer food which costs £2 and they will reward you with lots of attention which gives you the chance to have a stroke. It was a perfect end to a wonderful night.

Good to know:

• The Nutley Farm Lights and Reindeer experience will be running on selected dates from Friday 28th November to Tuesday 30th December 2025.

• Live music will be playing in the barn on selected evenings at 7.30pm.

• Nutley Farm offer tickets for see Father Christmas in his Grotto however due to popularity, 2025 tickets are now sold out.

• Toilets are located in the Christmas Courtyard.

• Nutley Farm supports the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. To date, they have raised over £50,000 which is incredible and it’s great to know that by visiting you will be contributing to such a worthwhile cause.

For more information and tickets, please visit Nutley Farm.

At the weekend, myself and my daughter went to Bournemouth for a look around the shops before hitting the gardens to check out the 2025 Christmas lights.  I must say I have very mixed emotions about this years event as it's quite different to previous years and even my daughter agreed she preferred it before. 

Everywhere looks super Christmassy and there's few big Christmas trees offering a brief walkway in the gardens but one side didn’t have the lights on so that could just be early glitches.  We spotted some big buttons to control the tree lights but us and other families had a go and we couldn’t see any lights change so maybe we were looking in the wrong direction haha!

There’s a few other light installations further down the gardens but I definitely missed seeing the huge walk-through tree.  We saw the Christmas Tree Maze but that was £4pp (under 3's free) and the Christmas Train was also £4pp.  There’s stands to win cuddly toys, plus Festive Mini Golf and the Helter Skelter although I didn’t look to see how much they were.

Santa's Workshop looks nice and bookable activities include biscuit and bauble decorating, and storytelling with Santa.  The Ice Rink this year looks huge but the actual rink isn’t visible from the gardens (from what I could see) which is a shame because I always enjoyed watching the skaters.

If you head towards the Pier then you can go on The Big Wheel which offers great views of the town or have a round of golf at Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf as they are offering twilight putting sessions and I noticed lots of festive lights on the course.

The Market and Alpine Bar looked really lovely and festive but it was very busy so we moved through pretty quickly.  I did however spot some nice gift ideas and delicious food and treat options like hog roast, pasta, loaded fries, roast dinner in a Yorkshire pudding and churros.

We ended the day at Picnic Park Deli and my daughter chose a S'mores Hot Chocolate which was insanely good.  It's lovely and festive there and although it’s still in the gardens, it’s nice to get away from the crowds.

It’s definitely worth visiting central Bournemouth this Christmas but in my opinion it’s not as good as it has been in previous years.  Some advice, the weekends will be busy and you need to be prepared to part with money if you want to do any of the activities.

There’s lots of festive events planned there over the coming weeks which includes character walkabouts, carols and live music in The Square.

For more details about bookable activities, please visit Christmas in Bournemouth.