Director
July 20, 2026
10% off
On every direct hotel booking
5% off
On every direct food and table booking
Director
Here’s something the events industry doesn’t say out loud: for a lot of people, the festive lunch has quietly overtaken the festive dinner.
Think about it. No late-night taxis. No next-morning regrets before a work day. Grandparents and young children can actually come. And the food — from a kitchen that isn’t buried in its third evening sitting — is often better.
Oakwood Hotel in Twigworth, ten minutes from Gloucester, has become exactly the kind of place festive lunches were made for.
Quick answer: A festive lunch at Oakwood Hotel is a seasonal Christmas-time midday meal served through December, available for work teams, family gatherings, friends’ groups and community clubs. Menus are built on Gloucestershire’s seasonal produce, served in The Grill, The Pub or private dining rooms, with free on-site parking.
The format is simple, and that’s its strength. You arrive late morning or midday. There’s a drink, a warm welcome, and a festive menu that reads like Christmas without descending into cliché — proper roasts, seasonal starters, puddings people actually finish.
Then, crucially, you have your afternoon back. Or you don’t — The Drawing Room does coffee, and The Terrace bar is open year-round for those who decide the afternoon belongs to the celebration after all.
A festive lunch here includes:
Workplaces choosing daytime over evening. More Gloucester businesses are booking midweek festive lunches instead of Friday-night parties — easier on budgets, kinder on staff with families, and everyone’s back home by evening. Teams from Barnwood, Quedgeley and across the city find Twigworth an easy midday run.
Community groups and clubs. Retirement groups, societies, sports clubs, church groups — a December lunch is often the highlight of the calendar. Our team is repeatedly praised in reviews for warmth with larger, older groups, and free parking right outside removes the biggest practical worry.
Families getting ahead of Christmas. The pre-Christmas family lunch — the one where everyone actually relaxes because nobody’s cooking — is a tradition worth starting. Especially for families spread across Longlevens, Churchdown, Innsworth and beyond who need a central, easy meeting point.
Friends’ annual December meet-up. Daylight, good food, long conversation. Some things don’t need improving.
Most people get this wrong: they assume a festive lunch is just a festive dinner at 1pm. It isn’t — and venues that treat it that way produce flat, perfunctory events.
A great festive lunch needs different things:
Light, welcoming spaces. Our recent refurbishment made Oakwood genuinely bright — The Grill and The Drawing Room are at their best in daylight. Guests describe the transformation as stunning, and December light through those spaces proves it.
A kitchen that’s fresh, not fatigued. Lunch service means your meal comes from a kitchen at the start of its day. It shows on the plate.
Accessibility that’s real. Level access, accessible facilities, close parking. For groups with older members, these details decide the day.
Flexible group sizes. Four friends or forty colleagues — same standards, right-sized space.
Value. Daytime bookings typically offer better value than peak Friday-night dinner slots — worth knowing if you’re managing a budget. And direct food bookings save 5%.
An honest observation from our team: December midweek lunch slots are the best-kept secret of the festive season. The venue at its calmest, the kitchen at its freshest, and dates available weeks after evening slots have gone.
Quick answer: Book smaller tables through the online dining reservation at oakwoodhotel.co.uk/dining, or for groups and private rooms, enquire via oakwoodhotel.co.uk occasions-events, email sales@oakwoodhotel.co.uk or call +44 1452 905452. Group menus and dietary requirements are confirmed in advance with the events team.
The process:
Choose your date — midweek for calm and value, weekends for full festive buzz
Choose your space — The Grill, The Pub, or private dining for groups
Confirm your menu — festive set menus with pre-orders gathered for larger parties
Add the extras — arrival drinks, festive afternoon tea to follow, or rooms for anyone making a proper occasion of it (/rooms/ — 10% off direct)
Enjoy a lunch someone else cooked — which, in December, is the real luxury
Evening celebration more your style? See our festive dinners page (occasions events. festive dinners gloucester) — same kitchen, candlelight instead of daylight.
Oakwood Hotel in Twigworth, ten minutes from Gloucester city centre, serves festive lunches throughout December with free on-site parking.
Yes — midweek festive lunches are increasingly popular with Gloucester businesses and offer the best availability and value.
Very. Level access, accessible facilities, close free parking and unhurried service make Oakwood a comfortable choice for senior groups and mixed-generation families.
Seasonal festive set menus built on Gloucestershire produce — roasts, seasonal starters and classic Christmas puddings, with vegetarian, vegan and allergy-friendly options arranged in advance.
From a table for two to large group and private room bookings. Tell us your numbers and we’ll advise the best space.
Contact the team directly for Christmas Day arrangements for the current year — availability is limited and books exceptionally early.
Daytime and midweek slots generally offer better value than peak evening dates — helpful for group budgets.
Of course. The Drawing Room serves coffee, The Terrace bar is open, and nobody will hurry you out.
Yes — 5% off direct food and table bookings, and 10% off rooms booked direct at oakwoodhotel.co.uk.
Online at oakwoodhotel.co.uk dining for smaller tables; for groups, email sales@oakwoodhotel.co.uk or call +44 1452 905452.
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