Christmas in Lyndhurst is a village affair rather than a big production. The parish council switches on the High Street lights on a Saturday evening at the end of November, there is a fun day a week later that ends with Father Christmas coming down the street, and the pubs light their fires. For anything grander you drive a few miles to Beaulieu, Exbury or Paultons, all of which go to town in December.
We checked everything here against the organisers’ own websites in late October 2026. Some village events will add times and details nearer the day.
Lyndhurst Christmas lights switch-on 2026
The lights go on at 6pm on Saturday 28 November 2026, along the High Street. Lyndhurst Parish Council runs it and it is free. The High Street closes to traffic from 5.45pm to 6.30pm: cars heading for the High Street traffic lights are sent off down Romsey Road towards Cadnam, and traffic coming into the village on Romsey Road is held until the road reopens.
That closure is the main thing to plan around. Park in the main car park behind the High Street (SO43 7NY) and walk the couple of minutes round, rather than trying to drive through at quarter to six. Our parking guide has the charges and hours. It is a short event, so come for the moment itself, then go and find somewhere warm.
Christmas Fun Day and other festive events in the village
The Christmas Fun Day on Saturday 5 December 2026 fills the village with activities through the day and finishes with Father Christmas travelling down the High Street. The parish council has not listed the individual activities, but it has published the road closure: the High Street shuts from 4.45pm to 5.30pm for his arrival, with the same Romsey Road diversion as the lights night. Children should be at the roadside by about 4.45pm.
A few other things are worth knowing about:
- The New Forest Heritage Centre in the main car park runs a Christmas linocut workshop on Saturday 14 November, 10.30am to 4pm, where you design and print your own cards. There are only six places, so book.
- In 2024 the parish council ran a Christmas light trail of decorated houses round the village, with maps sold at the Co-op for a local charity. We have not seen one announced for 2026, but the council’s events page is the place to watch.
- For carol services and Christmas services at St Michael and All Angels, check the parish church’s own notices nearer the time. We will add them to the calendar once they are published.
Christmas shopping in Lyndhurst
The High Street is short enough to walk end to end in ten minutes, and most of what is on it is independent: gifts, antiques, clothes and New Forest food and drink. The Heritage Centre in the main car park has a gift shop as well. Our shopping guide has more on where to go.
If you want local food and makers in one place, these are the dates we have:
- Sunday 15 November: New Forest Eats ‘n’ Treats at Brockenhurst College, 10am to 3pm. Entry was £2 in 2025, with under-16s free, and the college hadn’t published the 2026 price when we checked. The campus is dog free.
- 28 to 29 November and 5 to 6 December: the Christmas fair at Exbury Gardens (more below).
- Saturday 12 December: Ringwood’s artisan market.
- Saturday 19 December: Ringwood farmers’ market in Gateway Square, 10am to 2pm, held a week early because the last Saturday is Boxing Day. A good one for the Christmas cheese board.
Christmas events near Lyndhurst
Lymington lights
Lymington switches on its High Street lights on Friday 27 November, from 4pm, the evening before Lyndhurst. If you are staying for the weekend, you can see both.
Beaulieu
From 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, 10am to 5pm, Palace House becomes Alice’s Christmas Wonderland: the Mad Hatter’s hat shop, a rabbit hole, the Queen of Hearts and a 20ft real tree. Tickets are sold through Beaulieu’s website. On the morning of Sunday 29 November the New Forest VW Santa Run gathers at Beaulieu from 8.30am, and a convoy of decorated campers and Beetles leaves at 11am with presents for the Piam Brown children’s unit at Southampton General Hospital.
Exbury Gardens
Exbury is beyond Beaulieu, about 11 miles from Lyndhurst by road. Its Christmas fair runs on two weekends, 28 to 29 November and 5 to 6 December, 10am to 4.30pm. At the time of writing (autumn 2026) tickets are £7 for adults (£7.50 with Gift Aid) and free for under 16s, and cover the gardens, a family Christmas trail, crafts, the visiting donkeys and parking. Meeting Father Christmas (£12 per child) and the Festive Express train (£10) cost extra, and the 5 to 6 December Father Christmas visits had already sold out by late October.
On the evenings of 30 November to 4 December the Christmas Night Train runs through the lit-up gardens at 5.15pm, 6pm, 6.45pm and 7.30pm. It is £21 a head (under threes free), and Father Christmas waves off every departure.
Paultons Park and Furzey Gardens
Paultons Park, near Ower about 15 minutes’ drive north, opens on selected dates through December and up to 3 January, with Peppa and George in festive outfits and Santa on the show stage until Christmas Eve. Check its calendar, because it is not open every day. For something quieter, Furzey Gardens at Minstead stays open through its quieter winter months, and from 2 November to 31 March dogs are allowed in the gardens; check its website for winter days and times.
Festive walks from Lyndhurst
Four walks that work well between Christmas and New Year:
- Bolton’s Bench and Lyndhurst Hill starts on the edge of the village, so you can walk off lunch without moving the car.
- Emery Down and Swan Green takes in the thatched cottages round the green at Swan Green, which look their best on a frosty morning.
- Rhinefield Tall Trees Trail stays green all winter under its giant conifers.
- Knightwood Oak is a short one for grandparents and small children, to see one of the Forest’s oldest trees.
Two things catch people out. The mud on the open Forest in December is properly deep, so wear wellies or boots you don’t mind ruining. And the sun sets at about 4pm, so start by 2pm if you want to be back in daylight.
Booking Christmas lunch in Lyndhurst
Lyndhurst is small, and its pubs and restaurants have a limited number of tables for Christmas Day. Our advice, from watching people get caught out every year:
- Book Christmas Day as early as you can. Many places publish their menus in the autumn and ask for a deposit and a pre-order.
- Ask which days they are open. Opening on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day varies from place to place.
- If your dog is coming, check whether dogs are allowed in the dining area on Christmas Day, as some places change the rules for the day.
Start with our guides to Lyndhurst pubs and restaurants.
Driving in the New Forest in winter
Ponies, cattle and donkeys wander freely on the unfenced Forest roads all year, and winter is when they are hardest to see. By the time most people drive home it is dark, the ponies have thick dull coats, and black cattle are almost invisible until you are on them. The limit on the open Forest roads is 40mph, and slower is better at night. By October 2026, 100 local businesses had signed the New Forest Drive Safe pledge to cut animal accidents, and the message to visitors is the same: slow down after dark.
Pannage pigs are on the lanes into the autumn too, and the minor roads across the open heath deserve extra care on frosty mornings. Never drink and drive, Christmas or otherwise.
Frequently asked questions
When are the Lyndhurst Christmas lights switched on in 2026?
Saturday 28 November 2026 at 6pm on the High Street. The road is closed from 5.45pm to 6.30pm.
Is there a Christmas market in Lyndhurst?
Not one we know of for 2026. The nearest are the Christmas fair at Exbury Gardens over two weekends from 28 November, Eats ‘n’ Treats at Brockenhurst College on 15 November, and Ringwood’s artisan market on 12 December.
Where can children meet Father Christmas near Lyndhurst?
He comes down Lyndhurst High Street at the end of the fun day on 5 December. Exbury has visits on 28 and 29 November and in the evenings from 30 November to 4 December, and Paultons has Santa shows on its stage until Christmas Eve.
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