What’s on Christmas: Milton Keynes and beyond

Christmas is a time of year for making memories, whether it’s moments of togetherness or moments of giving. From local traditions to new favourites, there’s plenty going on in Milton Keynes to pop into your calendar this festive season.

Join our festive events

Lights of Love | 5 December

When: Saturday 5 December, 2 – 4pm (Doors open 1.30pm)
Where: The Ridgeway Centre, Wolverton
Entry: Free to attend (please register online)

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of Christmas, our Remembrance Service gives you a quiet dedicated time and space to celebrate the life of those no longer with us. Look forward to readings, performances and poetry.

Entry is free, we just ask you to register online before attending.

 

When: Sunday 13 December, 10am
Where: Willen Hospice, Willen
Entry:
Santa Dash and Reindeer Run: £15 
Story time with Santa: £15
Christmas Market: Free

This year we’re putting the ‘festive’ into ‘festival’ with a day of Christmas activities for the whole family.

Santa Dash

Starts: 10am

Dress up as Santa or your own festive fancy dress for a sponsored walk or jog 1 mile around Willen’s North Lake. Well-behaved dogs welcome. For all ages.
Fundraising target: £75

Sign up and fundraise!

Reindeer Run

Starts: 12pm

If you want to go further and faster, then our new 5K Reindeer Run is for you. With everyone wearing reindeer antlers, this novelty run is one of the only festive runs taking place in Milton Keynes.
For ages 12+
Fundraising target: £75

Sign up and fundraise!

Storytime with Santa

Starts: 9am – 3pm

This inclusive event is for children and anyone who loves Santa. Book a 30 minute slot, which includes a sausage sandwich (or vegetarian alternative), story with Santa and a selection box.

Add a letter from Santa or Santa Paws for your fur-babies, delivered straight to your door.

Book your visit

Christmas market

Starts: 10am – 2pm

We’re excited to welcome over 15 local, independent sellers to the Hospice gardens. Come along and get your last-minute gifts, stocking fillers or something special for yourself. We’ve made sure there’s a range of stalls, covering everything from food, florists, and personalised treasures.

When: Sunday 13 December, 10am
Where: Willen Hospice, Willen
Entry:
Santa Dash and Reindeer Run: £15 
Story time with Santa: £15
Christmas Market: Free

This year we’re putting the ‘festive’ into ‘festival’ with a day of Christmas activities for the whole family.

Santa Dash

Starts: 10am

Dress up as Santa or your own festive fancy dress for a sponsored walk or jog 1 mile around Willen’s North Lake. Well-behaved dogs welcome. For all ages.
Fundraising target: £75

Sign up and fundraise!

Reindeer Run

Starts: 12pm

If you want to go further and faster, then our new 5K Reindeer Run is for you. With everyone wearing reindeer antlers, this novelty run is one of the only festive runs taking place in Milton Keynes.
For ages 12+
Fundraising target: £75

Sign up and fundraise!

Storytime with Santa

Starts: 9am – 3pm

This inclusive event is for children and anyone who loves Santa. Book a 30 minute slot, which includes a sausage sandwich (or vegetarian alternative), story with Santa and a selection box.

Add a letter from Santa or Santa Paws for your fur-babies, delivered straight to your door.

Book your visit

Christmas market

Starts: 10am – 2pm

We’re excited to welcome over 15 local, independent sellers to the Hospice gardens. Come along and get your last-minute gifts, stocking fillers or something special for yourself. We’ve made sure there’s a range of stalls, covering everything from food, florists, and personalised treasures.

Willen Hospice Christmas Float | December

Our festive float will be heading to neighbourhoods around Milton Keynes this December. Keep an eye on our website and social media for announcements.

We’ve tried – unfortunately our float can’t reverse, so locations are limited to where a circular route is possible, with limited obstructions. But with more dates and new locations coming soon – we can’t wait to see you!

When: Thursday 7 – Saturday 9 January 
Where: MK1-MK19, MK43, MK46, LU7 and NN12. 
Cost: £12.50 suggested donations for homes, £20 for businesses.  

When the decorations are down, we’ll come and collect your Christmas tree. Help raise money for the Hospice and tick something off your post-Christmas clear up! 

Book your collection today!

Join us for a Christmas themed Prosecco afternoon tea in our lakeview cafe at the Hospice. Indulge in a delicious selection of homemade cakes, delicate finger sandwiches and a glass of Prosecco-all while raising much needed funds to keep our expert care free for local families.

£30 per person on selected Tuesdays and Thursdays in November and December.

Request your booking

When: now – 4 February 
Where: online/Willen Hospice shops 
Cost: £1 a play (must be 18 or over) 
 
Be the winter blue and enter our Winter Draw! Enjoy the thrill of a chance to win £3,000 plus runner-up prizes, while supporting our care.

Buy online or in any Willen Hospice shop, just ask at the till. 

Shop Christmas with us

When: Thursday 5 November to January 
Where: 3 High Street, Newport Pagnell (next to Cake Secret) 
 
Following on from the success of our Christmas pop-up in Stony Stratford last year, we’ve  opened our doors to a dedicated Christmas shop in Newport Pagnell! Find new goods as well as pre-loved finds, for a sustainable shopping experience that goes back into the community.  

Plus did we mention the in-store Dog Grotto? Find out more and book your dog’s visit to Santa Paws.

Late night shopping

We’ll be supporting our local Christmas light switch-ons and community Christmas events with late-night openings in our shops. 

18 November: Towcester-open until 7pm 

21 November: Stony Stratford shop and our Bookshop– open until 6pm 

26 November: Buckingham – open until 7pm 

26 November: Winslow – open until 8pm  

27 November: Leighton Buzzard – open until 8pm.

27 November: Woburn Sands– open until 8pm.

28 November: Olney – open until 8pm 

28 November: Newport Pagnell shop & Christmas shop – open until 6pm 

29 November Seasonal Sunday Special at The Bookshop in Stony Stratford open 11am – 3pm

6 December Seasonal Sunday Special at The Bookshop in Stony Stratford open 11am – 3pm

Pop into our Willen Hospice shops from 22 – 30 November to make the most of our 3 for £10 Black Friday special offers!

Find your nearest shop

Visit our online shops and Off the Record in Midsummer Place for their specials too!

Donate during The Big Give | 1 – 8 December

You don’t have to go anywhere to get that feel-good feeling this Christmas.

We’re delighted to be part of The Big Give Christmas Challenge. For one week in December, donations made to Willen Hospice via The Big Give website will be doubled. Donations can be made at any time, helping us to fund care for families, but will make double the impact for this week.

Keep an eye on our socials and website for more information.

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Share your story

If you’d like to share your story about the care you and your loved ones received from Willen Hospice, we’d love to hear from you.

Our Services

Our services give patients compassionate, specialist care and support.

About us

We’ve been caring for local people for more than 40 years.

Fundraise for us

Feeling inspired? Explore all the ways you can fundraise for us.

Lottery FAQs

Each entry costs just £1.

You must be 18 years or over to play our Lottery. If you are buying tickets as a gift, the recipient must also be over 18.

  • Buy online
  • Phone us on 01908 303065 to pay by debit card
  • Set up a direct debit
  • Post us a cheque with your details on this order form

You will be sent your own unique Willen Hospice Lottery draw number(s). These are the numbers that are entered into the draw each week. Every Friday, (or closest working day if it’s a bank holiday) the winning numbers are selected at random by computer and prizes are mailed to winners automatically. You can also check the winning numbers each week on our website or see the winning numbers displayed in our retail shops.

If paying for a set number of weeks, we will send you a reminder two weeks before your subscription expires, so that you can renew if you wish. When renewing, please quote your Membership Number.

If you selected to make a recurring payment this will keep running until cancelled and will keep your lottery membership in credit, so that you don’t have to worry about renewing. You can cancel your recurring payment at any time by contacting your card provider or bank accordingly. If you choose to cancel your recurring payment we would be grateful if you could also notify the Lottery office so that we can amend our records.

If you purchased a Lottery subscription as a gift we will send the gift card to you, or directly to the recipient (as specified in your order). The gift card will give details of the unique number(s) entered into the draw and the number of weeks entered.

You and your recipient must be 18 years or over.

You will be given an opportunity to supply your own address as well as the named recipient’s details and to choose when and how they receive the tickets as a gift.

You can purchase a gift as a one off or as a subscription.

You can choose the start date of the gift.

We have a selection of gift cards for you to choose from. There is no additional cost for the gift cards.

Prizes available:

1st prize: £1,000, 2nd prize: £100, 3rd prize: £50, 4th prize: £50, plus 20 prizes of £10, rollover increases by £200 weekly to a maximum prize of £5,000.

Chances of winning: in 2019/20 there were, on average, 8,152 lottery players per week

If you win the main prize, we will try to contact you by phone to let you know. Always be sure to check your numbers on our Results page each week or in one of our shops. If you have bought your ticket in a shop, please get in contact. You will have six months to claim your prize.

If you have any queries, please speak to a member of the Willen Hospice Lottery team on 01908 303065 or email lottery@willen-hospice.org.uk   Address: Lottery Office, The Well, Newport Road, Willen, Milton Keynes, MK15 9AA

The regular donations we receive from our loyal Lottery players help us to future-proof our Hospice, whilst also giving us a chance to give back to you, our amazing supporters.

When the pandemic hit, we had to cancel or postpone our fundraising events and close our shops for months on end, but alongside our regular givers, our Lottery gave us the financial security we needed.

A huge THANK YOU to all of our Lottery players, past, present and future, for helping us to be there for local families.

Responsible Person: Nigel Birch.

Effective from 17 May 2024, Nigel Birch will be the name responsible person for Willen Hospice Lottery, and is registered with the Gambling Commission.

The responsible person from 17 February 2022 to 17 May 24 was Mark Rawlins and will therefore remain on all pre-exisiting printed stock until the expiry date or stock levels have depleted. All other information remains the same.

Promoter: Willen Hospice Ventures Ltd, Milton Road, Willen Village, Milton Keynes, MK15 9AB.

All net proceeds donated by deed of covenant to Willen Hospice (registered charity number 270194).

Registered with the Gambling Commission (www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk) under the Gambling Act 2005.

Willen Hospice is a member of the Hospice Lotteries Association.

We are committed to using Lotteries to fundraise in a responsible way, encourage responsible gambling and access to support if needed. Gambleaware and Gamcare provide support if required.

Willen Hospice Ventures Limited is licensed and regulated in Great Britain by the Gambling Commission under account number 4988

Before placing your entry, please read our Lottery Terms And Conditions 2021

On average our Lottery gives Willen Hospice around £263,000. You can feel good knowing that in 2019/2020 52% of every £1 went directly towards providing patient care. The remaining 48% went towards direct and indirect running costs, including the prizes. In 2019/2020 we gave out over £95,000 in prizes across our weekly Lottery, Grand Draws and Scratchcards. We consistently review our costs to keep them as low as possible.

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