Christmas Dining

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! For many reasons, but mostly for the delicious food and drink enjoyed over the festive season. From mince pies, sweet treats, cheese & crackers and a few tipples to the main event... Christmas Lunch with roast turkey and all the trimmings, the festive season is all about food food food. 

Gather with friends and family in the lead up to Christmas in our warming pubs, beautifully decorated restaurants and cosy cafes and tearooms. Laughing and chatting over delicious food and drink, with Christmas tunes on in the background, is the perfect way to celebrate the festive season with those closest to you. Most eateries in the New Forest even have special festive menus, full of glorious food and drink, over this jolly season, including Christmassy cocktails!  

Our local hotels, pubs and restaurant venues go ‘all out’ at Christmas, to ensure that employees at local businesses have the best work Christmas parties ever - with scrumptious festive food, drinks being served, magical decorations and amazing entertainment and music! There’s no where better to have your work Christmas party. 

Book Christmas Day Lunch at a New Forest pub or restaurant and experience the best Christmas yet. You don’t need to worry about the cooking, cleaning or entertaining, you can sit back, relax and feast on the best Christmas Lunch you’ve ever tasted, all while being surrounded by the beautiful, warming decor of our local pubs and restaurants, made even more cosy by the Christmas lights and decorations. Lots of our local eateries are open on Christmas Day and offer menus to suit everyone’s needs and wants for Christmas Day Lunch.

If you choose to celebrate the festive season at our local pubs, restaurants and hotels, you will definitely be in for a treat and a very merry experience, plus lots of the places to eat in the New Forest use local produce to make their dishes extra flavoursome and tasty!

Talking of the local food and drink produce in the New Forest, much of what our local producers offer would make the perfect gifts for your friends, family and colleagues at Christmas. From crumbly fudge to local ales, to tasty jams and chutneys, even hampers and baskets stuffed with incredible local produce! You will find loads of these products in local shops around the New Forest, some producers even have their own shops, or they sell their produce online. 

Another fantastic way to try and buy local produce is at the Christmas Markets that take place in the New Forest in the run up to the big day. With rows of stalls offering yummy tasters and selling their produce at brilliant prices, and some items even beautifully gift wrapped ready to give to your loved ones. This year’s Eats 'n' Treats at Brockenhurst College on 28 November is Christmas themed, and keep an eye out for announcements of other Christmas Markets too. 

If you’re sticking to your traditional Christmas Day spent at home with your nearest and dearest, not only does our local produce make for the ideal gifts, but lots of it is also brilliant to use when cooking and creating your Christmas Lunch! Support local this Christmas.