A Festive End to 2025
The festive season at Woodmill was packed with members of all ages taking part in the festivities.
We hosted our Christmas Campfire for the Squirrel Section, aged 4 to 5. Over 150 young people and their families visited the site to celebrate Christmas together. They sat around the campfire, singing a mixture of traditional Scouting songs and Christmas carols. We even had a special visitor – Father Christmas! After joining in at the campfire, Father Christmas went to his grotto, where the Squirrels and their families could say hello. It was a brilliant event, and lovely to welcome our youngest members to Woodmill.
On the other end of the age range, nearly 100 of our Explorers, age 14 to 18, visited Woodmill for their annual Christmas Cracker Challenge. This is the 8th year of the challenge, but the first time it was hosted at Woodmill. The Explorers split into groups, completing activities around the site.
One activity was “Saving Santa”, where they had to practice their CPR skills after a sleigh traffic incident. Another was slingshots, where they had to earn points through knocking down tin cans. This is one of the new activities we have developed for Woodmill in the past few months, with the Explorers being the first to trial it. They also had a go at soft tomahawks, with mixed success across the board. There were multiple challenges themed around Woodmill’s permanent low ropes course, including our giant seesaw and Tower of Hanoi base. Finally, the Explorers made festive decorations, which were used to decorate the site’s Christmas tree. The evening was finished with a campfire and mince pies.
Following this, we hosted the volunteers Christmas social to thank the many fantastic Scouting volunteers across Southampton for their continual dedication. Pigs and blankets were toasted on sticks above the fire, while volunteers enjoyed getting a chance to celebrate all the great things achieved in 2025. Volunteers are at the heart of both Woodmill and Southampton City Scout District, and these events are a great opportunity to get together and celebrate them.
The events were a huge success, and the organisers are excited to bring them back in 2026 for the festive season, with plans for all ages ranges from 4 to 18 and beyond.
