With less than a week to go until the big day, are you ready for Christmas? Don't worry if not, as here at Hampshire Cultural Trust we have put together a last minute gift guide where you can find fantastically unique presents for the whole family, all in time for Christmas!
Looking for a Christmas gift with a difference, that will make a difference?
Our Creative Boxes initiative supports Hampshire's most vulnerable young people with their mental health and wellbeing.
This Christmas, we will be spreading extra cheer with each box sent to young people including instructions to create an origami Christmas card for someone they care about.
For just £30, you can give the gift of creativity to a vulnerable young person in the Hampshire community. We will also provide you with a card to pass on to your loved one, explaining the difference this gift will make.
For more information, and to donate a box, please visit the link below.
A ticket like no other
Give the gift of a grand day out all year round with tickets to many of Hampshire Cultural Trust's venues. With our Pay Once Visit All Year tickets, you (or the recipient of this unique gift) can visit and revisit the venues of your choice all year round (subject to opening times and events).
Click the link below and treat yourself or a loved one to a joint Pay Once Visit All Year ticket to both Winchester City Museum and Westgate Museum.
Or visit the Milestones Museum website to give the gift of a fun-filled, history inspired trip for the whole family this festive season, with an annual ticket to Basingstoke's living history museum.
A lasting gift for the whole family
This Christmas, rather than the standard, socks-all-round approach to gift giving, why not be part of history and give the family a unique and memorable gift that they can visit for years to come.
Make your mark in history by donating and inscribing a clay tile for placement in the new outdoor courtyard at the new Gosport Museum and Art Gallery. The inscription can be a maximum of two lines, each of 16 characters of text (32 characters max. per tile) including spaces and punctuation. It could be a Christmas wish, message for a loved one, a name or a memorable date.
This unique gift requires a minimum donation of £30 per clay tile, with a maximum of three clay tiles available per person.
When the museum and gallery reopen in spring 2022, you will be invited to a private view, ahead of the public re-opening, for the chance to see your inscribed tile installed in the courtyard - another gift in itself!
For the beer lover in your life
Get the friends together for an evening (or four) at The Westy Beer Festival 2022 at the West End Centre in Aldershot. Taking place from 7pm on Thursday 6 January until last orders on Saturday 8 January with live music across the long weekend from Captain Accident, Rum Buffalo, Dan Walsh, Neck and more!
With over 50 real ales and ciders to taste from some of the finest breweries in the UK, as well as delicious hot food and brilliant live music, a ticket to this event is the perfect gift for beer and music lovers alike.
Tickets can be purchased here. For more information, visit the link below.
Get planning 2022 with Bursledon Windmill
What better gift for the new year than a place to plan a fun-filled 12 months ahead, with some stunning local photographs.
In October 2021, Bursledon Windmill ran a photography competition, asking the local community to submit their best and favourite photographs of the local area. With the quality and range of images, the Bursledon Windmill Calendar 2022 was brought to life.
As an early gift to you, the Bursledon Windmill Calendar is now £10, reduced from £12, with all sales supporting Bursledon Windmill's Keep Our Sails Turning campaign - helping to put the sails back on this wonderful windmill and get it back to full working order.
Click here to learn more and purchase a calendar.
Festive treats and gifts
Take a trip to Milestones Museum in Basingstoke between now and Wednesday 22 December, and visit the award winning museum gift shop. At the living history museum, you'll find an original and unique shopping experience, offering products that cannot be readily bought on the high street.
Check out the museum's online shop for a preview of what you can pick up from Milestones in time for Christmas.
Winchester City Museum also has a whole range of festive gifts from local makers and businesses, as well as historically themed books and merchandise which make quirky and educational gifts for friends and family.
Pop down to the museum for some last minute Christmas shopping and you'll be sure to find the perfect gift, as well as some tasty food and beverages to make the Christmas period special, but be sure to check the website for opening times!
And for that always-difficult-to-buy-for friend or family member...
We all know that gift-giving can be tricky at times, with the "Do they want slippers? Wait, did we get them slippers last year?!" issue popping up time and time again...
So, this Christmas, give your loved ones the power to choose! Purchase a HCT Arts Centre Gift Voucher from either Ashcroft Arts Centre, Forest Arts Centre or the West End Centre’s box office, giving you (and them) the peace of mind that they're getting something they'll really like - because they pick it themselves! With just under one week to go until Christmas, call or visit one of our arts venues to purchase a Gift Voucher of any denomination (please check each venues opening hours on their websites before visiting).
