Several churches are hosting Christmas tree festivals during December, often with hundreds of trees being decorated and festooned with lights. St Mary’s Church in Liss will launch its Christmas tree festival at 4:30pm on December 1 with carols around the tree. The decorated trees will be on display until December 8.

The Brighstone Christmas Tree Festival will once again take place in venues across Brighstone, Calbourne and Mottistone, from December 5 to 8. Around 150 trees will be decorated by local organisations and displayed, with music and refreshments available for visitors. The festival has been held since 1996 and has raised over £100,000 for charity. Find out more details here: brighstonechristmastree.com.

The Christmas tree festival at St Cuthbert’s Church, Copnor, will happen on the same weekend, from 1pm on December 6 to 4:30pm on December 8. It will include a selection of decorated trees, music, refreshments and children’s activities, as well as Santa’s grotto.

St Mary’s Church, Brading, on the Isle of Wight will also host a Christmas tree festival from December 6 to 8, with an Advent concert on the Friday evening at 7pm, and a Nativity procession from St Mary’s Church, starting at 4pm on the Sunday.

And the ‘Peace and Joy’ festival at St Faith’s Church, Lee-on-the-Solent, will involve a vibrant celebration of Christmas from December 6 to 8. It includes dozens of decorated Christmas trees decorated by local organisations, plus ‘Rowdy Carols’ with beer at 7pm on the Friday night and a 15-minute Nativity drama every 15 minutes throughout the Saturday. Their festival concludes with a Messy Church on the Sunday afternoon. Full details here.

Two vicars will dress as pantomime dames for the annual panto hosted by St Clare’s Church in Warren Park, from December 6 to 8. The Rev Jonathan Jeffery, vicar of Leigh Park and Warren Park, and the Rev Hugo Deadman, vicar of Paulsgrove, will appear with a cast drawn from the local community in Cinderella.

Performances by the Leigh Park and Warren Park Community Panto Players are at 7pm on Friday, 2:30pm and 7pm on Saturday and 2:30pm on Sunday. Tickets are available on 023 9247 5276.

There’s a chance to walk through the Christmas story, meeting characters from the Nativity, as you walk through the grounds of St Thomas Church in Bedhampton. They’ll host ‘The Christmas Experience’ from 9am until 7pm on Sunday 8th December. And on the morning of December 15, they’ll also host a 30-minute ‘Christmas Bubble Church’ for toddlers and their families from 9:15am.

Newport Minster will host Carols in the Square at 4:30pm on December 14. Join Wight Diamonds and the minster’s Singing for Fun group to sing carols around the tree in St Thomas’ Square. Then on December 17 at 5pm, Ryde Chorus invite you to sing Handel’s Messiah from scratch.

Holy Rood Church, Stubbington will host a Christmas family fun event twice on December 21, at 2pm and 3:30pm. Each also includes a Christingle service. And worshippers are invited to dress up as a character from the Nativity for the church’s Scratch Nativity at 10am on December 22.

Portsmouth Cathedral will host four identical candelit carol services on the evenings of December 21, 22, 23 and 24 to cope with demand. Our cathedral is also hosting family singalongs to the films Frozen and The Muppets Christmas Carol on December 20 – at 5:30pm and 8pm respectively.

And there’s a chance for children to dress up to help to tell the story of the Nativity at St Peter’s Church, Titchfield on Christmas Eve. Join them for their family-friendly Crib Service from 4pm, where there is room for as many Marys, Josephs, shepherds, sheep, wise men and angels as turn up.

For more details of what’s happening across our diocese during Advent and Christmas, see: portsmouth.anglican.org/christmas