This pub in Tameside is celebrating Christmas in May for everyone who missed out last year

A Stalybridge pub has been celebrating the festivities of Christmas in May.

Okay, this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the idea behind the premature celebrations makes a lot of sense.

As you will remember all too well, the Christmas cheer in 2020 was a little sparse – thanks to a third spike of COVID-19, families and friends were unable to meet in pubs or restaurants to celebrate the festive period, and new regulations announced just two days before the big day meant they could only see each other in homes, places of worship or outdoors.

Stamford Arms / Facebook

Pubs in Greater Manchester were already closed before Christmas, with the region facing Tier 3 restrictions.

The region was then moved up to Tier 4 on December 30th, before a third national lockdown came into effect just 6 days later.

Pubs were finally able to reopen their doors last month, and most owners were quick to remove the dusty decorations from their last orders in December.

But the Stamford Arms had a different idea entirely.

Stamford Arms / Facebook

The Tameside pub had asked its punters back in January if they should relive the festive season once it was finally able to reopen, and the answer was a resounding yes. 

Rebecca Jones, who runs The Stamford Arms with her husband James, told the Manchester Evening News: “We were a little bit gutted when we found out we couldn’t open at Christmas.

“I was getting a lot of messages from customers saying ‘the pub looks lovely, we can’t believe we can’t come, we feel like we’re missing out’.”

Stamford Arms / Facebook

Since the pub reopened its doors on May 17th, the Christmas tree and decorations have remained in place, and familiar Christmas classics have been playing over the speakers.

Guests have even been able to wear party hats and pull crackers as they tuck into full turkey dinners and Christmas puddings.

Rebecca said: “They [the customers] have loved the Christmas theme, they’ve come in with friends and family that they might not have seen.

Stamford Arms / Facebook

“They’ve been able to come out and enjoy themselves, have a few drinks, and do what they would have done at Christmas.

“We’ve had a few comments from customers saying they feel more Christmassy now than they did at Christmas.”

Stamford Arms / Facebook

The pub’s week of Christmas has been a roaring success, with the pub’s diary full of bookings last weekend.

And if enough people want it, Rebecca hasn’t ruled out making ‘mid-year Christmas’ a regular fixture on the calendar. To make your own booking, you can visit the Stamford Arms website here.