From meal kits by local restaurants to theatre in your living room, we’ve gathered up ways to make your at-home Christmas and New Year’s Eve plans special, Bristol style.
Plan your entertainment
Craft activities with Brunel’s SS Great Britain
Amp up the festive atmosphere in your home and enjoy getting crafty by making your very own Victorian-style decorations, with help from Mr Brunel himself. Activities include creating a cornucopia tree ornament and paper chain garlands.
A night at the (home) theatre
Bristol Old Vic is streaming top productions over the festive season, including their record-breaking adaptation of A Christmas Carol and musical comedy Living Spit’s Beauty and the Beast. A Bristol Old Vic At Home Season Pass gives you access to a superb selection of shows for just £12.99, so you could tune in to a different production every evening over the festive period.
Image - Living Spit's Beauty and the Beast, Photo by Ben Robins
The theatre also has something special up their sleeve with director Tom Morris and Bristol City Poet Vanessa Kisuule. Described as a truly Bristolian version of The Greatest Story Ever Told, register for online series Angels in Bristol, made up of nine short episodes that will land in your inbox between 20 – 28 December.
Sleeping Beauty with Redgrave Theatre
Don’t go through the festive season without watching a panto – catch Polka Dot Pantomimes and Redgrave Theatre’s Sleeping Beauty from the comfort of your sofa instead. It’s available to buy and view up until 3 January.
Catch Bristol on the small screen
Some brilliant shows made right here in Bristol are on this year's festive TV schedule. Whovians will know Doctor Who is back with a New Year's Day special, part of which was secretly filmed on Clifton Suspension Bridge. On Christmas Eve, explore a slice of Bristol's food scene with First Dates host Fred Sirieix, who stops by places like The Lido and Little French for an episode of his Remarkable Places to Eat series.
Set a reminder for the series finale of His Dark Materials, the Tipping Point Lucky Stars Festive Special and the Crystal Maze celebrity specials too, all filmed in Bristol.
Play at being head chef with DIY meal kits
Festive feasts from The Ox
Enjoy an epic roast courtesy of The Ox as part of the Hyde at Home collection. These kits are stuffed with charcuterie, desserts and cheeses along with your roast beef and all the trimmings. Perfect for Christmas Day or New Year’s Day!
Klosterhaus at home
Try your hand at making German-inspired cuisine with the help of Klosterhaus’s DIY recipe kits, with a hot dog feast, Vienna schnitzel and a butcher’s feast to choose from.
Image - Klosterhaus
Pieminister's Mothership kits
Tuck into Pieminister's legendary Mothership at home with a kit containing your favourite pie or one of the special edition festive flavours, plus delicious side dishes. There's even the option for a virtual Christmas party box. You'll need to be quick and order by 19 December if you want one in time for Christmas!
Image - Pieminister
Order in a takeaway
If you’ve had your fill of cooking for the year, take a night off and order in. Get inspiration from our list of Bristol restaurants offering delivery, featuring pizza, Greek, Caribbean and everything in between.
A few highlights to look out for are Cargo Cantina’s specials (chorizo pigs in blankets, sprout and turnip tacos, and quince and mezcal mince pies…yum!) and their special New Year's Eve menu which is available to takeaway or click & collect until 7:30pm on NYE. We'd also recommend checking out the sourdough stollen buns from Bakers & Co.
Paco Tapas are doing a New Year's Eve menu for you to collect, and you can also order a special NYE tapas feast from Bar 44.
Bear in mind opening hours may be different to usual over the Christmas period, so it’s best to check in directly with restaurants for updates.
Shake up your night with cocktail kits
Hyde at Home
Recreate the speakeasy vibe of Hyde & Co in your living room. They’ve come up with classic cocktail sets, from a PXmas old fashioned to margaritas and martinis. All you and your bubble need is some dapper outfits and 1920s music!
Stock up on more than just cocktails through Hyde at Home too – they’ve got wine and fizz, spirits and beers. Order by 24 December.
Brozen Bar
There’s a mix of classics and signature serves in the Brozen Home collection, with the Gluhwein Cosmo making the perfect festive tipple.
The Clockwork Rose
The Clockwork Rose has bottled up three of its Marvellous Elixirs for New Year's Eve - Blackberry Boulevardier, Mocha Martini and Strawberry Gimlet. Better still, they've got Morning After Martini Kits to perk you up the next day!
Attend a virtual Christmas service
St Mary Redcliffe are streaming many of their Christmas services this year – look through our virtual event listings for details of each. Their virtual Treefest is also running online all through the festive period.
And you can celebrate Christmas morning with Bristol Cathedral too, via their stream of the Christmas Festival Eucharist. Booking in advance is essential.
Have a safe Christmas and New Year
If you're heading out over the festive period, please remember to follow the latest COVID-19 advice and guidance on social distancing. Please don't visit Clifton Suspension Bridge on New Year's Eve, as there's no firework display, no stopping on the footways and viewpoints remain fenced off.