Christmas Handbuilding Course 🎄
Christmas Handbuilding Course 🎄
A festive four-week journey of making, decorating and getting creative with clay.
Join us for a cosy, creative course exploring the magic of handmade Christmas decorations, gifts and seasonal pottery. Working with stoneware clay, you'll make your own pieces by hand and decorate them throughout the course using coloured slips, before choosing glazes for the finishing touches.
✨ What You'll Make
Across four sessions, we'll explore handbuilding techniques and surface decoration to create a collection of festive pieces. Ideas may include:
- Handmade Christmas tree decorations
- Small Christmas wreaths and hanging ornaments
- Festive mugs and trinket bowls
- Seasonal pieces to keep, gift or bring out every Christmas
You'll have the chance to add colour, patterns and details using coloured slips as you work, then choose a glaze for your finished pieces. There'll be room to make things your own, with guidance along the way.
👐 What to Expect
This is a making-focused course, so we'll be working with stoneware clay from the beginning rather than painting ready-made pottery.
- Handbuilding: Learn simple techniques to shape and build your own pottery.
- Surface decoration: Add colour, patterns and details with coloured slips as your pieces take shape.
- Finishing touches: Choose glazes for your work at the end of the course.
- Small-group support: Get friendly guidance from our instructors, with space to experiment and develop your ideas.
🤎 What's Included
- Four weekly, instructor-led handbuilding sessions
- Use of studio tools and equipment
- Coloured slips for decorating your work
- Guidance with choosing glazes for your finished pieces
- Use of our studio kiln for firing
- A relaxed, friendly space to make, learn and enjoy a little festive creative time
Clay, glazing and firing are charged separately according to the pieces you choose to keep. We'll explain the costs in the studio, so you can decide what you'd like to have fired.
🌿 Who It's For
- Complete beginners — no pottery experience needed
- Anyone who'd like to try handbuilding and decorating with clay
- Those looking to make something personal for Christmas
- Anyone who fancies a few hours each week to slow down, get creative and enjoy making in good company
This course is designed for adults 18+.
🎁 Will My Pottery Be Ready for Christmas?
We'll do our very best to get your pieces glazed, fired and ready for Christmas, and we'll plan the course with this in mind.
But pottery sometimes brings surprises! Drying, glazing and kiln firings all take time, and pieces can occasionally crack, break or turn out differently than expected. We can't guarantee that every piece will be ready before Christmas, or that every piece will survive the process.
Please book for the experience as much as the finished pottery — the chance to slow down, learn something new and enjoy making your own festive creations. We'll take good care of your work and keep you updated along the way.
📍 Course Details
Duration: Four consecutive weekly sessions
Session length: 2 hours per week
Price: £175 for the full four-week course
Materials: Clay, glazing and firing charged separately, depending on the pieces you choose to keep
Location: Clayful Hands Studio, Offham Farm, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 3QE
Free parking is available at the farm shop, 'how to find us' page on our website.
📌 Booking & Attendance
This course is booked as a complete block of four sessions, rather than as individual classes. Please only book if you're able to attend the full course.
- Your place is confirmed once your booking and payment are complete.
- If you're unable to attend a session, please let us know as soon as possible. Missed sessions cannot be refunded or rescheduled, and we can't guarantee that you'll be able to catch up on the work missed.
- Bookings are non-refundable if you cancel within 14 days of the course starting. If you need to cancel earlier than this, please contact us to discuss your options.
- If we need to cancel a session, we'll contact you to arrange an alternative or discuss an appropriate refund.
By booking, you acknowledge that pottery is a handmade process and that breakage, firing results and collection before Christmas cannot be guaranteed.
🌱 Want to Keep Making?
If you find yourself wanting more time with clay after the course, our Open Studio Membership may be the next step. It's designed for experienced makers who'd like regular independent studio time.