Category: News

The votes from our Festival visitors have been counted and we are delighted to announce that the winners of the 2025 Brightlingsea Christmas Tree Festival are:

Adult group

1st place “Mother Christmas” by Springmead Garden

2nd place “Holy Cow” by Mending Matters

Individual Child

1st place “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” by Amy Carter

Child group

1st place “Chrittermas Tree” by 4th Brightlingsea ‘Ottawa’ Beavers

2nd place “Brightlingsea Gingerbread Tree” by The Colne Community School

The dates for the 2025 Brightlingsea Christmas Tree Festival have been confirmed as Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 December. Once again the festival will be open from 10am to 6pm each day and visitors are invited to join us to view the amazing trees, enjoy delicious home made refreshments, listen to live musical performances throughout the day and to drink in the very special atmosphere of the historic All Saints Church during the festive period.

Online entry is also now open for those who would like to enter a tree or festive display into the festival, so get those creative juices flowing and be part of this very special Brightlingsea tradition. Entry is free and open to individuals, organisations and businesses. You can enter online by clicking here.

Thank you to everyone who came to and entered a tree into this year’s Christmas Tree Festival. It was a great weekend. The votes have been counted and verified, as they say, and the results are as follows:-

First Place Adult Tree – Essex Handicrafts- Evidence of Elves.

Second Place Adult Tree – Springmead Garden – Springmead Fairies.

First Place Child Group – 4Youth Brightlingsea – We Fish You A Merry Christmas.

Second Place Child Group – Brightlingsea Primary School – Trash to Treasure.

First Place Child Individual – Daisie Crochet Chain – Daisie Willett.

We are delighted to announce that public votes have been counted and verified and the winners of the 2023 Brightlingsea Christmas Tree Festival Are:

Adult

1st – Joseph’s Carpen-Tree – Adrian Ryder

2nd – The Twelve Knits of Christmas – The Holy Mowers

Child

1st – Dale Chihuly Sculpture Tree – The Colne Community School

2nd – Charlie and the Chocolate Factree – Ladybirds Pre-School Thorrington

Special Mention – Hanging With My Gnomies – Amy Carter

Brightlingsea Christmas Tree Festival benefits our whole community. For our visitors it is a wonderful festive experience enjoying the spectacle of the massed Christmas trees, our glorious gift shop and scrumptious larder, delicious home made refreshments, live music throughout the day, an opportunity to meet with friends old and new, and the truly unique atmosphere of our beloved All Saints’ Church at this very special time of year.

For those that create trees its an opportunity to let their imaginations run riot. Watching the joy on the faces of the children who contribute to school and group entries as they see their creations come to life in this beautiful setting is something very special. While for the adults its a chance to let their inner child run riot!

For those working behind the scenes, for the volunteers creating and service refreshments, for all the wonderful singers and musicians who entertain us, its a chance to give something back to our fantastic community.

But alongside the community element there is also a very real fundraising role for the festival.  Since it began in 2003 the festival has raised some £120,000 which has been used to support the maintenance and development of Brightlingsea’s historic churches, St James’ in the High Street and All Saints’ on the outskirts of town, which hosts the Christmas Tree Festival.

The Festival has been run under the auspices of the Friends of All Saints’ since the start and they are currently coordinating plans for a major restoration of All Saints’ historic tower and the construction of a purpose built toilet and catering facility at the church.  You can find out more about the work of the Friends in the article below: