Tuesday 2nd December to Sunday 7th December 2025
St Thomas’s annual Christmas Tree Festival is an exciting opportunity for local organisations, individuals, charities, businesses and schools to create and exhibit Christmas trees and nativity scenes which reflect what is important for them as they look forward to celebrating Christmas. The Festival includes a daily programme of inspiring music provided by local community and school choirs, music groups and individual performers. Our Festival Café provides delicious home baked cakes and refreshments throughout the week. As a community event, the Festival is loved and enjoyed by people local to Salisbury and visitors from far and wide. For many it is the start of their Christmas celebrations.
We are honoured and delighted that The Right Worshipful the Mayor of the City of Salisbury, Councillor John Wells, will open the Festival this year. The Festival will open from Tuesday 2nd December to Saturday 6th December from 10am to last entries at 5:30pm and on Sunday 7th December from 12 noon to last entries at 5:30pm. Visiting the Festival is free but donations are welcome as visitors leave. Thanks to the generosity of visitors making donations, the generosity of our sponsors and the profits from the Festival Café, the church is able to donate equal sums to two benefiting charities, and the Church itself benefits from an equal sum towards its community work, maintenance and upkeep.
Entering a Tree or Nativity Scene in 2025
Due to very high demand for places, we have now closed the application process for the 2025 Christmas Tree Festival. We thank everyone for their kind support. If your application is not successful this year, we do hope that you will apply again next year.
Benefiting Charities for the 2025 Christmas Tree Festival
We are excited that the local charities chosen as our beneficiaries for this year are:
Clouds House. Clouds House is a local addiction treatment centre proudly serving the immediate community and our national beneficiaries. At Clouds House, we support individuals and families affected by both substance and behavioural addictions. We provide safe, accessible, high quality, locally delivered treatment supported by a strong national
framework. We rely heavily on donations to support those who are unable to afford residential addiction treatment. Our ethos is rooted in the spiritual principles that guide our treatment model—honesty, hope, faith, courage, integrity, willingness, and service. These are principles which align closely with the compassionate, inclusive spirit of the Christmas Tree Festival.
Julia’s House. Julia’s House is not a typical children’s hospice. We provide practical and emotional support for families caring for a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition, providing frequent and regular support in their own homes, in the community or at our hospices. Each family we support is unique and so is the care we provide. When a family finds out that their child has a very serious medical condition, their world falls apart. Julia’s House exists to help these children and their families.
2024 Christmas Tree Festival – a community celebration
St Thomas’s Church held the 20th Anniversary of its Christmas Tree Festival from Tuesday 3rd December to Sunday 8th December 2024. As a community event, and despite the bad weather, the Festival was enjoyed by more than 12,000 people local to Salisbury and many others from as far afield as New York to New Zealand. There was no charge to enter a tree or nativity scene. We were joined by local organisations, charities and businesses as well as individuals, schools and play groups who delighted and amazed us with over 100 highly original, inspiring and creative Christmas trees and nativity scenes, each of which told its own story of Christmas.
Just as important as the Christmas trees and nativity scenes was the full and varied programme of inspiring music provided throughout the week. Over 1,000 performers from choirs, schools and local music groups, from nursery age to the nineties, entertained our visitors to a non-stop enchantment of choral, instrumental and folk music and dance.
Entry to visit the Festival was, as always, free but donations were welcomed at the exit in aid of two local charities and the church itself. Thanks to the generosity of visitors making donations and the profits from the Festival Café, the Church was able to present cheques of £7,300.00 to each of Christians Against Poverty and Morning Star at the Carols for Busy People on 18th December. The Church itself benefits from an equal sum towards its maintenance and work in the parish and city.
The Rector and congregation of St Thomas’s are already looking forward to welcoming all exhibitors, musicians, singers and visitors to Christmas Tree Festival 2025.
Contact us
Email: treefest@stthomassalisbury.co.uk
What some of our visitors and exhibitors said:
- A beautiful display bringing community together
- Very many thanks for giving so many small groups in Salisbury an opportunity to be part of the community
- Brilliant, clever and very moving in such a fantastic building
- The best festival I have ever been to
- Just gorgeous and inspirational
- It really lifted my spirits
- Thank you. Look forward to next year!
