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Sark is no exception to jurisdictions that show some Yuletide spirit.
Herm is often held up as an unusual place to get some Christmas shopping done, but have you ever considered making the trip over to Sark?
It’s easier for visitors to get to the island in the festive month (weather depending), with Sark Shipping offering reduced return tickets for adults and children alike.
There are certainly opportunities for bespoke events outside the usual products found at the islands many craft stores, post office, and hedge stalls.
To name a few, Christmas Fairs were held at The Mermaid Tavern and Nova’s earlier this month offering homemade goodies, cards, arts and crafts, jewelry and more. The former even had a meat draw straight after the sales.
Pictured: A figurine of Father Christmas has been touring the island this month.
The island faced losing a staple of the season when the sole electricity provider announced that mounting costs was putting the traditional Christmas lights display, and their associated maintenance and installation, under threat.
It appealed to the community for help which saw the community pull together and fundraise to ensure the lights would go on again this year.
Led by the Sark Chamber of Commerce, the switch on was confirmed for 15 December, with Father Christmas making the trip over for the occasion and to sing with the Sark School choir.
It’s hoped that a similar community-backed scheme can be repeated in future years to keep the lights up and on every Christmas, much like how it is done in Guernsey.
Pictured: Sark is also no stranger to a festive postbox topper, widely appreciated by the community.
There was a chance for carol singing in the penultimate days, with an evening ‘carol crawl’ on 21 December singing along from La Seigneurie to the Bon Marin and the Old Island Hall, before another on the Avenue in the morning two days later.
Church services are being shared between the two island sites today and tomorrow featuring a candlelight crib service, midnight communion, and a Methodist celebration.
No Christmas goes without a pantomime and Sark is no outlier. The Sark Theatre Group put on a production with a local spin: The Pied Piper of Sark. It ran on 22 and 23 December at the Island Hall.
Throughout the festive period residents can also enjoy livestreams of National Theatre Productions at the Sark Sanctuary Centre.
And on 27 December the island, through its branch of the Royal British Legion, will commemorate the 80th anniversary of Operation Hardtack 7.
They were a series of British and French commando raids to the island between Christmas Day and 28 December during the Second World War for reconnaissance and to take German prisoners from the occupied island.
It took days as the first attempt to scale the tall cliffs proved unsuccessful, but just as troops had done in Operation Basalt the previous year, they made it up to the Hog’s Back but became tangled in a minefield and several were killed on 27 December.
The day will be marked by visits to memorials, St Peter’s cometary, periods of silence, and a buffet.
It’s hoped that the Bailiwicks’ Lt-Governor and the French Consul Mme Odile Blanchette will be attendance alongside a group from the Guernsey Reenactment Society Commandoes in period dress, weather permitting.
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