A Pacific Palms Christmas from Shores Elizabeth Beach means summer heat, a patrolled beach a short walk from the villa, and a December calendar of markets and carols within 25 minutes. Here is what runs in December, what books out and when, and what is genuinely open on Christmas Day.
What is on around Pacific Palms in December?
The December fixture closest to home is the Pacific Palms Community Market, held 9am to 1pm on the last Sunday of each month at the community centre on The Lakes Way, five minutes from the villas. In 2026 that lands on Sunday 27 December, perfectly placed for the between-Christmas-and-New-Year stretch, and extra holiday markets are often added in the peak weeks; around 80 stalls cover local produce, baking and handmade goods. Up the road, the Tuncurry Forster Carols by Candlelight is the district’s big community carols night, run by the local Rotary Club each December; the date is published on the Barrington Coast what’s-on calendar as the season firms up, so check it when you book. Elizabeth Beach itself turns on the most reliable December event of all: lifeguard-patrolled swimming right through the school holidays, with MidCoast Council lifeguards on weekdays and the volunteer surf club flying the flags on peak weekends. It is the only patrolled beach in the Pacific Palms precinct, and it sits a short walk from your villa door.
Where can you have Christmas dinner, and when does it book out?
The short version: book earlier than feels reasonable. The Recky, our local club two minutes away, runs its bistro at lunch and dinner daily, and in Christmas week the dinner sittings fill fast; call 02 6554 0207 by early December for any night between Christmas and New Year. Blueys Italian in the village is a small room with wood-fired pizzas and a proper wine list, and its December Saturdays go first, so book on 02 6554 0222 as soon as your dates are set. For a traditional Christmas Day lunch you will need to look to the larger clubs in Forster, 25 minutes north, and those seatings are typically sold out weeks ahead. The reliable alternative is the one you control: a villa Christmas dinner cooked in your own full kitchen, with prawns from the Wallis Lake co-ops in Forster and the BBQ area on standby.
What is actually open on Christmas Day?
Nature, mostly, and that is the point. The beach, Booti Booti’s walking tracks, the lake foreshore and the lookouts have no closing time, and Christmas morning at Elizabeth Beach, swim first, presents second, is the tradition guests come back for. The village itself goes quiet: assume the Blueys cafes and shops are shut or on skeleton hours, and stock the villa in the days before, when the Supamart, the cellars and deli and the bakery are all trading. Public holiday trading in the wider Forster area is limited and changes year to year, so if a venue matters to your day, ring them directly in December rather than trusting a website listing. With a full kitchen, a BBQ area, the pool and the spa on site, the day looks after itself.
How should you plan a December stay at Shores?
Work backwards from the non-negotiables. Villas across the Christmas school holidays are the first thing to lock in, and late-December weeks go earliest in the year, so book as soon as your plans firm up. Next come any restaurant bookings for Christmas week, by early December at the latest. Everything else can stay loose, which is the real luxury of a Pacific Palms Christmas: patrolled morning swims, market Sunday after Christmas, an early-evening walk to the headland while the BBQ heats up. Keep one eye on the tide chart, because low tide opens up the rock pools under Charlotte Head for the kids, and one eye on the fruit stalls between here and Forster, where December means mangoes, cherries and stone fruit by the trayload. Pack light on plans; December here rewards the family that leaves room for the beach to set the agenda.
FAQs about Christmas at Pacific Palms
What is open in Pacific Palms on Christmas Day?
The beach, the lake and the national park are open and at their best; the village largely is not. Treat Christmas Day as a self-catering day: our villas have full kitchens and the BBQ area, and the Blueys shops stock everything you need in the days before. Check any venue directly before counting on it.
When should we book Christmas accommodation and dinners?
Villas for late December go earliest, so book as soon as your dates firm up. For restaurant meals in Christmas week, call The Recky and Blueys Italian by early December. Anything advertised as a Christmas Day lunch in the wider Forster area tends to book out weeks ahead.
Is there anything on for New Year’s Eve at Pacific Palms?
New Year’s Eve here is low-key by design: BBQs, beach cricket at dusk and fireworks over the water at Forster for those who want them. Book any NYE dinner as early as you would a Christmas one, and expect the village to feel busy but never city-loud.
Can you swim on Christmas morning?
Yes, and you should. Elizabeth Beach is patrolled across the summer school holiday period, and a Christmas-morning swim before lunch is the local tradition that makes December here worth the trip. Arrive early; by mid-morning the sand fills with families doing exactly the same thing.
Do the markets run in December?
Yes. The Pacific Palms Community Market runs 9am to 1pm on the last Sunday of the month at the community centre on The Lakes Way, which lands on 27 December in 2026, with extra holiday markets often added. It is the easiest post-Christmas outing going.
A Pacific Palms Christmas trades queues and traffic for a patrolled beach, a market Sunday and dinner on your own verandah. Our self-contained villas put the whole season within walking distance, and December dates are the first to go each year. See what surrounds the property on our Barrington Coast guide, then check December availability while the good weeks are still open.
Image credit: Destination NSW
