Festive Crafts come to the Discovery Centre

admin
, 11 November 2025
Festive Crafts come to the Discovery Centre
Felted Christmas decoratons © Aimi Rifat

By Sarah Watson

Events Officer, Rye Harbour Discovery Centre

Christmas is coming early to the Discovery Centre at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve with crafty ways to get into the festive spirit. 

For the fifth year, we're hosting our Festive Makers Market on 22 and 23 November.

Showcasing over 20 talented local artists and makers, stalls will offer beautiful gifts from homeware, ceramics, decorative glass and woodenware, to jewellery, prints, greetings cards, gorgeous knits, naturally-dyed clothing, handmade chocolate and even poetry commissions.

Festive makers market - various stalls
Festive makers market - various stalls

Entry is free and our Discovery Centre café and shop will be open as usual, offering a warm welcome and more opportunities to get ready for Christmas.

Later in November, you can learn how to use natural plant materials to create beautiful, seasonal, printed cards at our absorbing Christmas Card Monoprint Workshop. 

You’ll discover how to layer colour and shapes to create a collection of your own original prints and four finished cards, ready to gift.

Monoprinted Christmas Cards © Aimi Rifat
Monoprinted Christmas Cards © Aimi Rifat

Then in December, we're hosting a cosy and relaxing Christmas Decorations Felting Workshop. 

Trained textile designer and tutor, Aimi Rifat, will teach you needle-felting techniques to create three hand-made, nature-inspired, Christmas decorations to take home.

Felted festive decorations © Aimi Rifat
Felted festive decorations © Aimi Rifat

Previous participants of Aimi's felting course said: "Relaxing creative and fun. Could have stayed all day!" and "I learnt so much about felting... Excellent teaching."

Finally expert Ukrainian florist Lidiia Khramenkova will be sharing her passion for festive arrangements in her Christmas Wreath Workshop.

Festive wreath © Lidiia Khramenkova
Festive wreath © Lidiia Khramenkova

The class will use fir sprigs, coloured foliage and seed heads to make a stylish natural wreath to decorate your home. Embellish your unique decoration with a gorgeous cotton fabric bow, maybe even a tinkling bell, a Ukrainian symbol of peace and unity.

Flowers and wreaths are part of traditional Ukrainian culture, and Lidiia likes nothing better than helping others get creative. As one workshop attendee put it: "Absolutely loved it! Thank you! The one to one support. The location, interacting with others! The quality of the wreaths and teaching from Lidiia!"

See what else is happening at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782530414.3080 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782530414.3340.026Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782530414.33420.0002Server address: 216.73.216.31
1782530414.33430.0001Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782530414.33430Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/festive-crafts-come-to-the-discovery-centre
    [s] => festive-crafts-come-to-the-discovery-centre
    [1] => festive-crafts-come-to-the-discovery-centre
)
1782530414.33470.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782530414.33580.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782530414.33770.0019 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782530414.33840.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782530414.34050.0022 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22334275
1782530414.34120.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22334275
1782530414.34180.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-27 03:20:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-27 03:20:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782530414.34330.0015 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='festive-crafts-come-to-the-discovery-centre')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 03:20:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782530414.34610.0028 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782530414.34670.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3835 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 03:20:00'
1782530414.34790.0012 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782530414.34880.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782530414.34960.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=189 LIMIT 1
1782530414.35040.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782530414.35060.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782530414.35170.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 03:20:00' AND postSlug='festive-crafts-come-to-the-discovery-centre'
1782530414.37280.0211Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782530414.37350.0007 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782530414.37530.0018Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782530414.37560.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782530414.37650.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782530414.37770.0012 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782530414.38090.0032 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782530414.38150.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782530414.38390.0023Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782530414.38390.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782530414.38490.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782530414.38540.0006 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782530414.38880.0033 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782530414.39010.0013 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782530414.39090.0009 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782530414.3940.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782530414.3950.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782530414.39720.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782530414.39770.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782530414.3980.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782530414.39890.0009Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782530414.39940.0005 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='festive-crafts-come-to-the-discovery-centre')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 03:20:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782530414.40210.0027 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782530414.40290.0008 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782530414.40690.004Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782530414.40820.0013 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3835 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782530414.46280.0547 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782530414.46320.0003Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782530414.46350.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782530414.46440.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782530414.46520.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782530414.46590.0007 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782530414.46830.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782530414.4690.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782530414.47120.0022 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782530414.4720.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782530414.47270.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782530414.47320.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782530414.47590.0027 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782530414.47640.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782530414.47850.0021 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782530414.48170.0033 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782530414.48250.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782530414.48310.0006 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782530414.48550.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782530414.48610.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782530414.48820.0021 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782530414.49050.0024 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782530414.49150.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782530414.49220.0007 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782530414.49470.0026 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782530414.49540.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782530414.49740.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782530414.49890.0015Request time: 0.1947
1782530414.49890Process time: 0.1945
1782530414.49890Memory: 1.6518