Mission Christmas At Chatham Historic Dockyard Review

Reviewed by Amanda Hayes

If you are looking for something out of the ordinary this Christmas, then Mission Christmas at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent, should be high on your list. Aimed at young children, those of the age that still believe in magic, Mission Christmas is an immersive, guided Christmas story about the elves, it’s all kept pretty hush hush, which helps to build the excitement whilst you wait.

With no idea of what we were in for we set off to the Dockyard, it was a miserable Sunday afternoon, but we were in the festive spirit. It says on the website, wear your best Christmas jumpers and hats, and that just what everyone was wearing when we arrived at the car park, don’t forget your coat too as its cold on the tour even though it’s all indoors. The Historic Dockyard is easy to find, well signposted and has loads of free parking. The Dockyard itself is actually closed for winter, so the parking is only used for Mission Christmas and the restaurant & shop, so you won’t have any trouble finding a space.

The entrance is easy to find from the car park, but we took time to have a walk and take in the lovely old buildings and see the boats from afar, it is well worth it if you get there early and in daylight. Arriving in the fabulous festive themed reception, out tickets were quickly checked aNd we were asked to come back to the meeting point 10 mins before our scheduled time slot. We had arrived deliberately early as I’d seen that the Mess Deck restaurant was open throughout Mission Christmas, so we thought we would eat prior to going on our adventure. There is a special Christmas menu just for the occasion, plus snack items like biscuits and fresh cakes. The menu had festive themed toasted panni’s such as turkey stuffing and apple sauce or unusually, Christmas based tapas, including pigs in blankets & mini Yorkshire puddings filled with braised beef and gravy. We decided on a panini each with rosemary & sea salt waffle fries, although the tapas did look good. The restaurant was dressed up beautifully with decorated Christmas trees and was a warm welcome and calm retreat after a busy morning out and about. The food was tasty and good value for money with prices starting from £3.00.

It was then time to go on our mission. We were led down into a waiting room while the rest of our timed group arrived and then followed our guide on a 45 minute journey to find out why the Dockyard has to close down for December. We soon found out the reason why, it’s because unbeknown to us the basement is taken over as Santa’s substation! Our cheery guide showed us around the elves living quarters & the reindeers stables before we met Father Christmas on route. He asked us for help, and sent us on a mission, but I won’t give away the details., you will have to come and see for yourselves.

The authentic looking Father Christmas was more than happy to pose for photographs with every child/family and have a chat which was refreshing. At the end of the mission each child could choose between a selection of lovely toys to take home. It’s fair to say Mission Christmas is probably best aimed at children age 7 & under, but the Mast House buildings where the experience is held are absolutely fascinating and kept me & my husband interested. There is also chance to have a look at some of the interactive exhibits and the boat under the floor at the end of the tour which our 9 year old enjoyed.

A few points to note: Buggies cannot be taken round the experience, but there is a buggy park at the beginning of the tour. The floors are uneven & there are stairs to navigate, but there are lifts to assist those less able. The Historic Dockyard ships, galleries and exhibitions, are not open to the public during December, just the shop & restaurant.
We enjoyed Mission Christmas and so did all of the children on the tour. If I had to make a criticism it would be we would have liked to have seen more of the elves doing jobs or making presents on the mission to help bring the story to life. Our son’s critique was that a lot of the props like reindeer dust and carrots etc were plastic and not real, so less authentic and not so eco- friendly and that he would have liked Father Christmas to hand out the gifts at the end!
Small criticisms though and Mission Christmas being great value for money compared to other Christmas experiences that we have visited; we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it for families with young children.

Rating: Recommended 4 out of 5.

Mission Christmas is open 26 Nov 2022 – 24 Dec 2022; weekends only up to 11th December then every day from 18th-24th Dec.

Tickets Cost from Adult : £12.50 Child (3-15 years): £15.50 Child (Age 2 and under): £3.50 and increase slightly for Christmas week.

To visit tickets book here https://thedockyard.co.uk/whats-on/mission-christmas/

Chatham Historic Dockyard, Anchor Wharf, The Historic Dockyard,Chatham,Kent ME4 4TZ