Museums prepare for one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year

With less than four weeks to go until Christmas, museums and galleries across the UK are preparing for one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.  

Many cultural institutions have launched innovative campaigns to stand out in the over-saturated and highly competitive market for Christmas gifts and experiences (see list below).  

Around 120 UK venues will be taking part in this year’s Museum Shop Sunday, an international retail event that has grown year on year since its launch in 2017.  

Billed as the “gentle antithesis” to the shopping frenzy of Black Friday, Museum Shop Sunday has become an established date in the cultural calendar in the run-up to Christmas. 

The event takes place on Sunday 30 November this year and will see more than 2,200 museums, galleries and heritage institutions participating worldwide, its highest number yet. 

Spearheaded in the UK by the Association for Cultural Enterprises, Museum Shop Sunday aims to highlight the vital role of retail in helping arts, cultural and heritage venues to "survive and thrive".  

It creates a focal point and a platform for cultural organisations to increase awareness, boost sales and reach new audiences in the run-up to Christmas. 

The campaign’s tagline, Shop with Purpose, aims to remind consumers that when they choose to shop at a cultural venue, “they are not just buying a gift – they are actively contributing to the future success of that organisation, as well as supporting small business, local suppliers and independent makers”. 

All types of arts, cultural and heritage organisations will be taking part in Museum Shop Sunday this year, from museums, galleries, cathedrals, theatres and libraries to historic houses, gardens, zoos, parks and ancient monuments. 

They will be offering special discounts in store and online, as well as a wide range of activities for visitors.

“Museum Shop Sunday is a vital resource for the sector at a time when cultural organisations need to maximise income as much as possible, giving our members a platform to collectively showcase their shops and products and the stories behind them,” said Joanne Whitworth, Communications Manager, Association for Cultural Enterprises.  

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to show the world just how brilliant our cultural shops are, as well as spotlight the amazing makers and suppliers who contribute to them, showcasing what wonderful unique and creative gifts you can find when you shop with purpose.”    

"Museum Shop Sunday is our chance to share the care behind everything we do, from artist-made gifts to books and prints inspired by the Centre,” says Erin Chambers, visitor experience manager at the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich.  

“Every purchase supports our exhibitions, learning programmes, and collection, so shopping here really makes a difference. It’s also a time to celebrate our amazing team, local makers, and wonderful suppliers who make the shop so special." 

Full details of what’s on and how to participate can be found on the Association for Cultural Enterprises website.   

How museums are celebrating Christmas this year

York Castle Museum 

As well as participating in Museum Shop Sunday, the museum has partnered with a local Christmas tree farm to line its recreated Victorian Street, Kirkgate with fir trees. Moor Lane Farm Christmas Trees has supported the museum by supplying the Kirkgate trees, including the 16ft Nordman Fir displayed on the street.  

Beamish, the Living Museum of the North

This year's Art Fund Museum of the Year in County Durham is offering Christmas-themed live interpretation spanning the 1820s to the 1950s across the open-air site. Visitors can experience a traditional miners’ Christmas in The 1900s Pit Village or take a walk through Elf Wood. There are historical food displays at Pockerley Old Hall.  

Handel Hendrix House, London

Handel Hendrix House, the Mayfair museum once home to composer G.F. Handel and rock legend Jimi Hendrix, is running a self-guided Festive Family Trail, where visitors can find out about the Christmas treats and favourite festive food and drink of the 18th century and 1960s. 

Guitar Saturday on 6 December encourages visitors to bring their guitar along and will include a talk on “The guitar day Christmas bash” at midday, where a guitar specialist will recap on the year, talk all things Hendrix, the blues, chords and lead playing.  

The Christmas programme also includes after-dark openings, live cookery demonstrations, carolling and an evening talk with food historians.  

Natural History Museum, London 

The Natural History Museum has unveiled its annual Christmas T. rex display. Since 2021, the museum’s famous animatronic T. rex has become known for sporting a dino-sized version of the museum’s Christmas jumper. Now in its fifth year, the Christmas T. rex display is free for all visitors to see in the Dinosaurs Gallery. 

“Since we first began our Christmas T. rex tradition half a decade ago, it has become a firm favourite amongst our 6 million-strong visitors annually,” said Claire Bevan, head of retail and customer contact at the Natural History Museum. “Our Christmas knitwear is one of the shop’s best-sellers and all profits help support our world-leading scientists’ research and the museum’s educational public programming.” 

SS Great Britain, Bristol

SS Great Britain's Christmas campaign features a new light and sound installation, Beneath the Waves, which will be transforming the historic dry dock into an underwater world from now until 4 January. Created by international artists Squidsoup, Beneath the Waves features hundreds of suspended orbs that trace the SS Great Britain's voyage from “icy northern waters to sun-drenched distant shores”. The immersive sensory experience is the first major light installation at the site since Iron Island in 2021.  

Windsor Castle, Berkshire

For the first time, the castle is making £1 tickets available for visitors receiving Universal Credit and other named benefits to see its Christmas decorations, with up to six tickets available per household.

Tours of the Castle’s Great Kitchen, the oldest working kitchen in the country, will be available to add on to a standard ticket on select days over the Christmas period. Festive activities inspired by Victorian traditions will enable children to create a Christmas memento to take home, while local school and community choirs will be singing carols on select days.