National Trust places in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire are inviting visitors to come together with friends and family for Christmas fairs, craft workshops, wreath-making, Christmas lunches and candlelit tours.

This is in addition to houses and gardens gorgeously decorated for the season, studded with Christmas trees, scented with sweet spices and twinkling with fairy lights. Tea rooms are full of seasonal cakes and bakes and the shops are packed with Christmas gifts. It’s the perfect backdrop to festive family memories. Some places are fully decked out from mid-November. Others start Christmas a week or two later.

Well-known for its nostalgic, cosy Christmas, Greys Court is turning up the glamour this year. Experience the vintage charm of a 1930s Christmas, think cocktails, palms and peacock feathers in a family party to remember. The garden will also get the glamour treatment with outsize baubles and twinkling lights.

Cosy up with a hot soup or enjoy a festive mince pie this winter in the tearoom. Browse their selection of Christmas decorations and treats in the shop. The range on offer has something for everyone, making it the perfect place to stock up on presents for family and friends.

Guided tours by candlelight with a glass of mulled wine or non-alcoholic alternative. £25. Booking essential via the Greys Court website.

Nuffield Place is a lovely escapist, Christmassy day out at the home of Lord and Lady Nuffield. The cosy house will be decorated and twinkling from 10.30am each day to experience at your own pace. Grab a warm drink from the Maker Space concession horsebox to sip as you stroll around the garden and pick up a Christmas gift in the shop or second hand bookshop

The event is free, but normal admission charges apply for the venue. Check admission prices here

It’s Christmas Eve1924 and you have received an invitation to the event of the year, an elegant Christmas party thrown at the Cliveden Estate by none other than the glamorous socialite, Lady Nancy Astor. But someone has scrawled a message at the corner of the invitation ‘Please come, I need your help’.

Bring your detective skills and puzzle solving brain and use the clues to work out who stole Lady Astor’s precious family heirloom before the wrong person gets accused

It was an Astor family tradition to walk the estate at Christmas time and this year visitors will experience the festive charm of Cliveden with twinkling lights and decorated trees. More information

The Victorian manor house has been transformed, inspired by the enchanting stories from the book of Norse mythology in Disraeli’s Library. Visitors are welcomed at the entrance by a twinkling Nordic village. Experience the enchantment of Odin’s Forest in the library and see if you can spot Odin himself. The drawing room presents a grand yule feast, with tables laden with festive delights. In the Dining Room the mystical glow of the northern lights is accompanied by the sound of a glacier. Finally, an escape to the hillside room captures the thrill of winter adventures with a skiing theme.

There’s also a family activity trail in the garden based on the Nordic fairy tale, the Little Fir Tree, plus storytelling, crafting, choirs and festive food

Christmas craft workshops

Get creative with the family in the Study Base at Hughenden with these wooden kits, then take home your creation.

• Christmas tree decoration 30th November
• Christmas wooden lantern 21st December
• Santa’s sleigh 29th December

£3, booking essential via the Hughenden website

It’s Lights, Camera, Action at Basildon Park as the property plays tribute to classic Christmas films in celebration of its twenty years as a film location. There’ll be lots of trees, garlands and twinkling fairy lights, plus each decorated room will give a nod to a different Christmas movie.

Christmas wreath workshops 25th & 26th November and 2nd-6th December

£32 including materials, hot drinks and festive snacks. Booking essential via the Basildon Park website.

Christmas lunch at Basildon Park weekdays 25th-29th November, 2nd-6th, 9th-13th, 16th-18th December. Two or three course festive lunch (vegan option available). Booking essential. Two courses £25, three courses £30. Book via the Basildon Park website.