Spending Christmas on a farm sounds idyllic, with a roaring fire, frosty mornings, muddy walks, perhaps a few sheep looking over the garden fence, and a village pub just a short stroll away.
And although it can be all of these things, it can also mean that the nearest supermarket is a 20 minute drive away, there are no taxis for miles around after 5pm, and the narrow country lane leading to your cottage is rather less inviting after a week of sub zero temperatures.
The trick is to do some careful planning before you leave for your holiday. Whether you’re having a big family get together or going away to escape the Christmas madness, a little preparation will ensure that your festive break is as stress free as possible and enjoyable for everyone.
If you’re staying somewhere rural, don’t assume you can pop out for forgotten ingredients whenever you like. Shops may be small, have limited Christmas opening hours, or be several miles away.
Do your main grocery shop before you travel, or arrange for a supermarket delivery to be delivered to your cottage just after you arrive. Better still, see if the nearest farm shop or butcher offers a click and collect service. That way you’re helping the local economy, you can ensure that your pigs in blankets won’t be substituted for Scotch eggs, and you may find more interesting meat, cheese, bread, and festive treats than you would have bought at home.
If you’re ordering a turkey, goose, or other large roasting joint, check the size of the oven in your farm stay first. Farm cottages vary enormously, and a spectacular large Christmas bird is not much use if it does’t fit through the oven door.
It’s also worth checking whether your accommodation provides basics such as salt, pepper, oil, tea, and coffee, and don’t assume there will be enough for a full Christmas dinner.
Christmas in the countryside should feel relaxed and fairly spontaneous, but it’s advisable to book in advance anything you definitely plan to do.
If you want Christmas Eve dinner at the village pub, a Boxing Day lunch, a country house afternoon tea, or to shout ‘he’s behind you’ at a pantomime, book it before you arrive.
Take a look at the parish council website and make a note of the dates and times of carol services, Christmas markets, shoots, festive walks, and other community events you’d like to attend and plan your days around them. Unlike in towns and cities, where there’s usually another showing or event tomorrow, rural Christmas events may happen just once, and some have limited numbers, so don’t leave it until on the day to decide.
If your farm stay has an open fire or wood burner, find out whether firewood is provided.
Many hosts will provide an initial basket of fuel, but if not, arrange a delivery before you arrive. You don’t want your first job after a long journey to be driving around unfamiliar country lanes looking for someone selling logs.
And if you’re not used to an open fire, check what you’re actually allowed to burn and how to get it lit. Some properties provide their own seasoned wood or have specific instructions for the stove.
A farm stay can mean narrow lanes, steep drives, muddy tracks, and roads that are potentially lethal when covered with snow or ice. Check the forecast before you leave and again shortly before travelling.
If you’re driving, make sure your car is ready for winter conditions and keep the tank reasonably full. A torch, power bank, and blanket in the car are sensible additions if the weather is looking particularly wild. If your host has given you instructions about access in bad weather, read them.
Rural areas are more susceptible to power cuts which can be very different propositions from those in a town. You may be several miles from the nearest shop, and mobile phone coverage can be patchy. Your host should be able to advise on the best course of action and some farms have their own generators which means the power may not be off for long.
You’ll probably want to bring your nice Christmas clothes including your favourite Christmas jumper, but don’t pack as though you’re spending the week indoors.
Bring warm layers, waterproof coats, sturdy shoes or boots, and wellies so you can explore the farm or countryside in comfort.
A hat and gloves are worth packing too, even if the forecast looks fairly mild. December in the countryside can feel a few degrees lower than December in a built up area.
Pack clothes you don’t mind getting muddy. A farm stay is not the place to wear your best trousers on a Boxing Day walk and then discover that the footpath is actually three inches of wet mud.
You may have lights around the house and outside, but rural darkness is properly dark. Walking from the cottage to the car, down a garden path, or back from the pub is considerably easier with a torch.
Your phone will do in an emergency, but a proper torch means you aren’t trying to find your way home while simultaneously keeping an eye on your battery percentage.
If you’re planning to explore, download maps to your phone before you arrive, particularly if mobile coverage is patchy.
A paper OS map is even better if you intend to do some serious walking. It’s also rather nice to have one spread across the kitchen table when you’re deciding where to go the next morning.
Some farm stays may provide maps and guide books of the local area, so again it’s worth checking before you go.
Christmas presents require a little more thought when you’re travelling.
Keep them small, sturdy, and easy to transport where possible. If you’re taking toys or anything that needs batteries, put the batteries in the bag before you leave. There is nothing quite like discovering on Christmas morning that the expensive present requires six AA batteries and nobody has thought to bring any.
Pre-wrap everything at home. It saves an enormous amount of faff when you arrive and means you don’t have to bring rolls of wrapping paper, scissors, and tape with you.
Even the most well-equipped holiday cottage may not have everything you normally use at Christmas.
If you’re cooking the main meal, consider bringing:
A decent carving knife
A meat thermometer
Turkey foil
A roasting tin or foil trays
Kitchen scissors
Any particular kitchen gadget you can’t live without
You don’t need to bring the entire contents of your kitchen. Just think about the things you would be annoyed not to have on Christmas Day.
And check what the accommodation actually supplies before you pack. There is little point bringing three baking trays if the kitchen already has six.
It’s also worth bringing or ordering some extra bin bags, kitchen roll, dishwasher tablets, and washing up liquid then you’d usually use on holiday. Christmas generates a lot more rubbish and dirty dishes than an ordinary weekend.
If the fridge is bursting with turkey, cheese, leftovers, and Christmas drinks, a cool bag or insulated box can provide useful extra space. On a properly cold winter’s day, you may even find yourself using the back doorstep as an outdoor fridge, something that somehow feels perfectly sensible on a farm, even if you’d never dream of doing it at home. Just keep everything securely covered and out of reach of curious wildlife.
Some farm stays go all out for Christmas, while others leave the house deliberately simple. If there won’t be a tree or decorations, bring a few lightweight favourites from home.
A handful of Christmas cards, some fairy lights, and pretty ornaments can make an unfamiliar cottage feel like yours surprisingly quickly.
Staying on a farm, however, means you may not need to bring a lot. The countryside is full of natural decorations, such as pine cones, sprigs of holly and ivy, mistletoe, rose hips, silvery Old Man’s Beard, and twigs and stems that can make beautiful decorations. Just be sensible about where you collect them from, and take only what is freely fallen or where you’re explicitly allowed to, rather than helping yourself to somebody else’s hedgerow.
If you’d like a real Christmas tree, check with the host first that there’s room for one. You could have one delivered or if you’re arriving early enough, there may be a Christmas tree farm nearby where you can choose one yourself.
Bring your favourite drinks. Christmas is not the ideal time to discover that the nearest shop doesn’t stock the wine, champagne, beer, whisky, hot chocolate, or particular brand of tonic that you like.
The same goes for anything your family considers an essential Christmas food. If someone cannot imagine Christmas without a particular biscuit, cheese, or sweet bring it with you.
Pack your most garish Christmas jumper, novelty slippers, and cosiest pyjamas. And remember to pop Elf in a ziplock bag with a few props – he’ll have fun finding a new Shelf from where he can watch over the children while they wait for Santa Claus.
Rural Christmases are wonderful precisely because they slow things down, but that doesn’t mean you need to abandon every little tradition you have at home.
One of the best things about a farm stay is that once it gets dark, a crackling fire and a warming drink may be all you need as the background for your own entertainment.
Many farm stays provide a selection of books, games, and puzzles, but it’s still worth bringing a few along of your own, as well as your favourite Christmas films. You don’t need to bring too many, as traditional parlour games can be just as fun particularly after dinner or a few glasses of wine.
For children, a few books to read at bedtime can be useful to help them drift off to sleep after a day of excitement.
Finally, load up your phone with a Christmas playlist and pack a small Bluetooth speaker to provide the festive soundtrack all day long.
If you’re driving, check the route before you leave and don’t rely entirely on your satnav.
Farm cottages can have addresses that are technically correct but still leave you somewhere near a farm gate wondering which of the three tracks you’re supposed to take.
Find out in advance whether your host will meet you at the property or whether there’s a key safe, lockbox, or other self-check-in arrangement. If you’re arriving after dark, make sure you have clear directions and know where to park as finding a remote cottage by torchlight while carrying Christmas luggage is not the ideal start to your break.
If you’re not driving, check the whole journey before you book the accommodation. Although it is possible to use public transport to get to and from a farm stay, over winter services may be much less reliable.
Find out how regular Christmas services are, how far the farm is from a train station or bus stop, whether you’ll need a taxi, and if they need to be booked in advance. Likewise, check your return journey before you arrive.
If you’re travelling by train, be particularly ruthless with your packing. Trains can get very busy over the Christmas period and you don’t want to start your holiday doing battle with a stranger over space in the luggage rack.
Once you arrive, find out where the nearest village store, petrol station, pharmacy, GP, and cashpoint are. Details are likely to be provided in the welcome pack, but if not look them up or ask.
Wanting to buy paracetamol on at 9am on Boxing Day is not the moment to discover the nearest chemist is 14 miles away.
It’s worth planning ahead, but don’t feel you need to pack and buy absolutely everything before you leave. You’re in the countryside, where people are generally friendly and resourceful. The local pub may be able to sell you a few ounces of salt, the village shop might have the batteries you forgot, and your host will usually know exactly where to go for whatever you need.
And if you can’t get everything, so what? Christmas isn’t ruined because you’ve forgotten the cranberry sauce or run out of fancy coffee. Make do, ask around, and enjoy the fact that you’re somewhere where people still tend to help each other out.
