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Stony Stratford Lantern Project 2025 – “Santa’s Sweet Shop”
Ticket Sales
All lantern tickets are sold online. You have the option to either buy a Lantern Kit and make your lantern at home or attend the York House Workshops to make your lanterns – see below for more details about the different options. When purchasing, you need to make sure you choose the right ticket type! Cost for all ticket types is £7.50 per lantern (not per person) plus a £0.75 booking fee.
NOTE – we strongly advise that you pre-book your lantern/s as the project sells out every year.
All lantern-makers are invited to join in with the Lantern Procession on Saturday 29 November (meet at York House at 3.15pm).
Sales for both the York House Workshop Lanterns and Lantern Kits will go live from 9am on Wednesday 01 October, visit the Stony Stratford Lantern Project Facebook group for the online ticketing links.
York House Lantern Workshops – more details
The York House Workshops are drop-in from 10am until 4pm, tickets allow access to all sessions and all materials are provided but must be purchased online in advance:
PLEASE NOTE – workshop lanterns are not kits!
Saturday 15 November – Main Hall + Beechey Room + Room 2.3 – Bean in Stony Café will be serving hot and cold drinks, snacks and light lunches.
Sunday 16 November – Beechey Room + Room 2.3 (enter through front right fire door), Main Hall in the afternoon only – sorry, there won’t be a café during the Sunday sessions due to space restrictions.
Saturday 22 November – Main Hall + Beechey Room + Room 2.3 – Bean in Stony Café will be serving hot and cold drinks, snacks and light lunches.
Sunday 23 November – Beechey Room + Room 2.3 (enter through front right fire door) – sorry, there won’t be a café during the Sunday sessions due to space restrictions.
Plenty of Lantern Volunteers will be on-hand at the York House Workshops to help you make your lantern and to check they are all safe ready for the Lantern Procession which is well supervised by experienced Stewards.
We have indoor storage this year to store your partially made and completed lanterns, but please bear in mind that space is limited for both making and storage and DON’T MAKE YOUR LANTERNS TOO BIG!
Make-at-Home Lantern Kits – more details
For those who have purchased Lantern Kits online, you will need to collect your kit/s from York House at one of the following collection sessions:
Sunday 02 November – Main Hall – 4pm til 5pm
Wednesday 05 November – Front Car Park – 6pm til 7pm
Sunday 09 November – Front Car Park – 2pm til 4pm
It is important that you don’t turn up at York House outside of these hours as you won’t be able to collect your kit.
Lantern Kits include instructions and all materials to make a basic sized lantern, plus a bamboo cane and wire fixings so you can join in with the Lantern Parade – you will just need to supply your own battery-powered torch or fairy lights to light it. Rolls of masking tape will be available to purchase for £1 per roll at Kit Collection Sessions. If you want to make a larger or more complicated lantern at home, you can purchase additional withies (willow sticks) for a £2 donation per bundle of 20. Sale of ‘extras’ are CASH ONLY.
Friends of Stony Lanterns 2025
Our fundraising scheme to support local families in need to join in with the project for free and to help fund future projects was first established in 2023 and has helped keep the project afloat during challenging financial times. Once you’ve selected your lantern ticket/s just click on ‘Friends of Stony Lanterns 2025 – Optional Donation’ before you head for the checkout. Each donation is £5.00 (plus 50p booking fee) but feel free to give multiple donations if you feel able to!
DO YOU NEED OUR HELP? We know that some families are struggling due to the cost of living crisis but we don’t want any local children to miss out on taking part. We will be offering a limited number (one per family) of free lantern workshop spaces on a first come, first served basis. Please email stonylanterns@gmail.com for more information.
On Switch-On Day (Saturday 29 November) meet at York House from 3.15pm to collect your lanterns or bring your lanterns along if you’ve made them at home. If you’ve made your lanterns at home, DON’T FORGET the bamboo cane which was provided with your kit, the Volunteers will be happy to attach it for you if you need help. As darkness falls, the lanterns are lit and the procession leaves at 4.15pm to make its way through the crowd-lined streets of Stony Stratford to the Market Square in time for the switching-on of the Christmas lights at 5pm – magical!
Any questions? Email stonylanterns@gmail.com
Join the Stony Stratford Lantern Project Facebook Group for the latest project news.
