Father Christmas at the Royal Pavilion is on sale: 4 to 24 December, £21 a child, adults £7. Frost and Fire season 21 Nov to 10 Jan; carols 16 Dec.
The Royal Pavilion’s 2026 winter season is called A Fairy Tale of Frost and Fire and runs from Saturday 21 November 2026 to Sunday 10 January 2027, dressing the state rooms with “mysterious beasts amongst royal treasures”. It is included in the normal ticket. Around it, Brighton & Hove Museums has put three ticketed evenings and afternoons on sale: a carol concert in the Music Room on 16 December, Christmas banquets on 18 and 19 December, and Regency cream teas on 15 and 22 December. Father Christmas is now on sale too: private visits in the Adelaide Suite from 4 December and a group Storytime in the Red Drawing Room from 5 December.
Overview
Updated 10 November: the Christmas Banquets listing now gives two nights, Friday 18 and Saturday 19 December; Thursday 17 December is no longer listed (Brighton & Hove Museums). Father Christmas, Storytime, the carol concert and the cream teas are unchanged.
Updated 9 October: Brighton & Hove Museums has published Father Christmas and Storytime for 2026, with dates and prices, plus an after-hours shopping evening on 2 December.
- A Fairy Tale of Frost and Fire: 21 November 2026 to 10 January 2027, free with Pavilion admission. Winter hours are 10am to 5.15pm, last entry 4.30pm.
- Admission: £21.50 adult, £13 child (5 to 18), £16.50 for BN1, BN2, BN3 and BN41 residents, with 5% off for booking online.
- Ticketed extras: carol concert Wednesday 16 December (£38), banquets 18 and 19 December (£195), cream teas Tuesday 15 and 22 December (£32). Closed 25 and 26 December and 1 January, and from 2.30pm on Christmas Eve.
- Father Christmas: 4 to 6 and 11 to 13 December, then every day 18 to 24 December. £21 per child, £7 per adult, Pavilion entry included.
The winter exhibition
A Fairy Tale of Frost and Fire replaces the Dragons season, which closes on 1 November. The museum describes “an enchantingly festive world of fire, frost and fantasy” with mythical creatures set among the Pavilion’s own collection. There is no extra charge: “Free with Royal Pavilion admission, members free.” Timed entry is booked through the normal ticket page.
Opening hours and prices
From October to March the Pavilion opens 10am to 5.15pm with last admission at 4.30pm, per its plan your visit page. It is closed on 25 and 26 December and on 1 January, and closes early, at 2.30pm, on 24 December.
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult | £21.50 |
| Child, age 5 to 18 | £13.00 |
| Brighton & Hove resident (BN1, BN2, BN3, BN41) | £16.50 |
| Resident young person, 13 to 18 | £9.00 |
| Student at a local university | £16.50 |
| Carer | Free |
Booking online in advance takes 5% off those prices, and a family with one adult and two or more children gets one child ticket free. Members go in free all year.
The ticketed Christmas events
- Carol Concert, Wednesday 16 December 2026, Music Room. Doors 7pm, concert 7.30pm to 9.30pm with an interval, local choirs, and “a mince pie and glass of prosecco in the Banqueting Room”. £38, members 15% off (listing).
- Christmas Banquets, Friday 18 and Saturday 19 December, 6.30pm to 11pm. Sparkling wine from Roebuck Estates in the Great Kitchen, carols in the Music Room, then a three-course Indian-inspired dinner in the Banqueting Room under the dragon chandelier. £195 a head, £175 for members or for a table of ten; over 18s only; dress code “festive glamour” (listing).
- Christmas Regency Cream Teas, Tuesday 15 and Tuesday 22 December, sittings at 2pm and 4pm in the King William IV Room. £32 including Pavilion admission and the winter exhibition, served by staff in Regency dress with a short Jane Austen reading; members 15% off. The room is reached by stairs only (listing).
- Christmas Shopping at the Royal Pavilion: Frost, Fire and Fizz, Wednesday 2 December, 5pm to 7pm. After the building closes to the public, the winter exhibition until 6pm, then a glass of Roebuck Estates sparkling wine in the shop with 15% off. £26, members 15% off, over 18s only (listing).
- Victorian Cookery Club: Christmas Special, Preston Manor, Saturday 5 December, a tour of the Victorian dining room and kitchen followed by hands-on cookery (listing).
Father Christmas: 4 to 24 December
Brighton & Hove Museums has put both Father Christmas events on sale for 2026. They are different things, and the museum’s own listings are clear about which is which.
Father Christmas at the Royal Pavilion is the private grotto visit. It runs on Friday 4 to Sunday 6 December, Friday 11 to Sunday 13 December, then every day from Friday 18 to Christmas Eve, in the Adelaide Suite, with time slots from 10am.
- Prices: £21 for one child, £42 for two, £63 for three; adults £7; member adults free.
- What you get: a private five-minute audience for your family, a gift for every child, and a professional photo you can buy on site. The ticket also includes entry to the Pavilion and the Frost and Fire exhibition.
- Arrive early. The Adelaide Suite is upstairs, and the museum asks you to allow at least 15 to 20 minutes to find your way through the palace. It says that if you miss your slot “there will be no access to Father Christmas”. Buggy parking is on the ground floor.
Storytime with Father Christmas is a group session in the Red Drawing Room: Father Christmas reads a story written and illustrated for the event, then there is time for photos and a small take-home for each child. It runs on Saturday 5, Sunday 6, Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December, then every day from 19 to 24 December, with slots from 10.15am, and lasts about 45 minutes.
- Prices: £10 per child, £8 per adult, members 15% off.
- Ages: recommended for 2 to 8, with a limit of two adults per child.
Last year the grotto opened earlier, on 29 November, and Storytime on 6 December. This year there is no Father Christmas on the weekend of 28 and 29 November, and the run is split around two weekend blocks before the final week. The other grotto and Santa train options within reach of Brighton are on our Santa’s grotto page.
Around the Pavilion in December
The Christmas lights in North Street and the Lanes, and the position on a Christmas market, are on the lights and market page. Burning the Clocks passes through the city centre on Monday 21 December (details). Theatre Royal Brighton’s festive show and the Dome’s Christmas programme are on the pantomime page. For getting in and out over the holiday, including the no-trains days, see Christmas and New Year travel.
Still to be confirmed
- Whether choirs return to the Music Room in the weeks before Christmas.
- Any late-opening evenings during the exhibition.
Sources: Brighton & Hove Museums: A Fairy Tale of Frost and Fire, plan your visit, Carol Concert, Christmas Banquets 2026, Christmas Regency Cream Teas, Father Christmas at the Royal Pavilion, Storytime with Father Christmas, Frost, Fire and Fizz, Christmas season at the Royal Pavilion (2025 programme), what’s on.
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