My family spent the Christmas season at a Haven holiday park, kids ate for £1 & there were free festive pantos at night

I FOUND the perfect place to celebrate Twixmas 2024 – here’s how you can do the same if you want to add a twinkle to your 2025 staycay.

My family of five has just returned from Haven Seashore near Great Yarmouth, one of five sites that the holiday chain opened for its festive getaways.

Cala Gran in Blackpool, Rockley Park near Poole in Dorset, Kent Coast near Rochester and Primrose Valley in Filey, Yorkshire, also hosted holidaymakers with special shows and activities like festive pottery painting.

We usually head to Butlin’s and Away Resorts for our December break, but I think Haven comes out top of tree when it comes to twinkly lights, festive extras and all the normal activities we expect on a holiday park break.

With a Christmas tree in every caravan on its December breaks and sparkly lights all over the park, we absolutely loved the festive feel on site.

A standout feature at Seashore is the pool and indoor splash park, with flumes, slides and a shallow toddler pool.

It’s worth venturing up the flume tower even if you don’t intend to ride as there’s a huge picture window at the top with a gorgeous view out over the sand to the sea.

We ate a delicious roast dinner at the Coast House, which boasts a soft play and a dog-friendly area.

It was incredible value for money, thanks to some of the Haven on-site offers, like kids eat for £1.

Our food bill for a dozen people came to less than £120 and was one of the best meals out I’ve had in awhile.

We also loved the Haven festive shows, including pantomime Aladdin: the hero of Shangri-la.

What was brilliant is that you don’t pay extra for the entertainment and the stage area is next to the arcade, so it meant our older boys could wander in and out to play games and watch a bit of the show, while our five-year-old sat on the dance floor, entranced by the performance.

With another soft play next to the arcade, a craft area nearby and high ropes and bungee trampolines just outside, there’s something for all the family here, so you can find your own festive fun without everyone having to do the same activity.

One of my favourite features at this park is the proximity to a lovely sandy beach.

There are multiple paths between the park and the dunes, so you can head down for a stroll along the beach at one end of the site and then pop back onto park at the other end.

If you want to head into Great Yarmouth for a change of scene, there’s a little land train that costs £2 per person and stops straight outside the park.

Twixmas is a fantastic time to get away as prices tend to be far lower than holidaying over Christmas or New Year.

We paid just £300 for a caravan over the weekend of December 27-30, compared to more than £1000 for the same grade of accommodation over the Christmas or New Year midweeks.

Activities were available to book 12 weeks beforehand, so there was plenty of time to plan and make sure all the merry-making must-dos were in the bag well before the Chrimbo countdown began.

And with Christmas and New Year falling midweek in 2024, there was no need for holiday parks to alter their arrival dates to accommodate the two big days.

Some years the festive changeover days need to be moved to odd times of the week as guests don’t want to be arriving or leaving on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, NYE or New Year’s Day.

It’s worth keeping an early eye out for the same period next year, to see if it works for 2025 as well.

I can highly recommend Haven Seashore if you want a park to bring you a spark of joy in 2025.

Here’s everything you need to know about Haven’s new “ultimate family break packages“.

And they have already launched 2025 holidays – here’s how to book.