Christmas Drinks With the Family in Preston

When the family comes home for Christmas, The Winter Lodge on Friargate is an easy place to get everyone round one table. Each hut seats up to eight, it's free to reserve, and there's something on the menu for the ones who want a stein and the ones who want a hot chocolate.

Family get-togethers at Christmas are lovely in theory and tricky in practice. Somebody has to host, somebody has to cook, and somebody always ends up washing up. Meeting at the Lodge takes all of that away for an evening.

Something for everyone

The festive menu covers most tastes: mulled wine and warm brandy for the grown-ups, hot chocolate with marshmallows and a gingerbread man on top, Paulaner steins and Peroni, plus bratwurst hot dogs and chocolate waffles. The Christmas films over the bar give everyone something to talk about, even the relatives you only see once a year.

Good times to come

The days between Christmas and our last night on 28 December are a favourite for families: everyone's home, nobody's working, and there's only so much turkey anyone can eat. Earlier in the season works well too, when the family gathers for a birthday or a pre-Christmas meet-up.

Book a hut for the family, or just walk in.