ONE OF Hampshire's most picturesque villages is celebrating Christmas by staging Winter’s Tales evenings in the run-up to the big day.

Historic Palace House - ancestral home of the Montagu family - will come to life in a way never seen before. 

Special lighting techniques will appear to show friendly mice scuttling along a shelf in the kitchen and snow falling on family portraits.

The illuminations have been created with the help of children from the New Forest Academy of Dance, who were filmed performing as mice to create the effect.

Many of the youngsters visited Palace House to promote the Winter's Tales events, which will be held on various evenings until December 22. 

Visitors will be able to walk under an illuminated archway in the Victorian garden and follow a beautifully lit path before exploring Palace House by candlelight.

They will pass the warming flames of two towering flambeaux before experiencing the festive magic inside, where a lighting "time machine" effect will show family childhoods past and present using toys from Beaulieu’s collection. 

Beaulieu’s Victorian Christmas also includes a life-sized, snow-dusted gingerbread house in the courtyard with swirling snow flurries.

The upper drawing room is the scene of a lyrical light show version of I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In - a reference to some of the vessels built at Buckler's Hard in the 18th century.

Palace House is also home to one of the biggest outdoor decorated Christmas trees in the Forest. 

Each Winter's Takes event takes place between 3.30pm and 7pm. Tickets on the door are £12 for adults, £6 fror children and £32 for families.

Anyone arriving before 5pm can also enjoy the rest of the attraction, including the National Motor Museum, World of Top Gear, On Screen Cars and Beaulieu Abbey.