The Middle Coombe Farm Special Weekend: Mastering the early season escapes for your family Christmas & New Year get-togethers……

Posted on by Woodquist


Writing about Christmas and New Year when the joys of spring are so close at hand?…are you completely mad? I hear you yell.  Not mad, just getting older, amazingly sensible & really excellent at planning. Words I never thought I’d hear myself say & certainly not in succession….

It’s about clarifying exactly what works for you as a family. Get back to what’s really important. Relax. Breathe. Smile. Make your own festive season & stuff the pressure from the Media. Time together, space together (this is as important as time together…). Turn your phone to vibrate and stick it in your sock drawer for the day.  Utter rebellion. What do you want from your ‘Christmas’, or more simply put, your time together in 2017?

Last year in particular at Middle Coombe Farm we had a wonderful assortment of international family groups & friends making their very own Christmas and New Year celebrations in late November, throughout December, and in mid & late January. We organised the decorations and the tree (one family who booked at the beginning of December wanted to include decorating our tree as part of their seasonal celebrations with their young family), got the twinkly lights up on our thatched cider barn and around our beautiful farm and enjoyed a proper, relaxed, run up to the holiday season. With this fabulous mind-set in place there was even time to use the hot tub.

The intensity is gently spread over weeks and therefore completely ‘do able’ & dare I say….fun. Even the strongest-willed among us are thrown into the frenzy of ‘are you ready for Christmas’ and quite frankly most of us want to run for the hills and go into total lock down. I don’t think this is something only I experience.  One of the best lines I heard last year was spoken by a mother shopping in a well-known supermarket saying to her little boy- when he asked if he could give a present to Jesus for Christmas-…(I know…sweet) “don’t worry about Jesus’ birthday..Just get that remote control car from the end of that shelf”. I need say no more.

Here are my pointers for creating your own special weekend break slightly out of peak season:
  • 3-5 night stays are perfect for most families and give you all chance to all relax completely.
  • A lot less traffic to contend with
  • Better prices as everything begins to gear up for the 3 days of Christmas…it’s not 12 days anymore as most families really only have Christmas eve, day and boxing day to play with. Make your time work for you.
  • November & December can be surprisingly mild. If you’re a more ‘out doors’ type of family & into your walks there are many close at hand in our private woodlands and at the Knighthayes Court estate 3 minutes away.
  • Negotiate on price. Businesses are very happy to work with their customers to give them exactly what they want. This is much harder over peak booking times as even their staffing costs them more so…look to the future, find that wonderful Middle Coombe weekend that works best for you and we shall look forward to helping you realise your perfect woodland ‘Christmas escape’…..in November, December or January.
Just think of it: open fires, hot tub, space, woodlands and superb accommodation. I’m in.
You know you deserve it.  Nurture. Nature and just escape. … We shall see you here this year…..and remember to pack your best swimming cossy for the compulsory half hour a day in our delicious hot tub.