Christmas Day

Meeting our guests at the main door, making cups of tea, or making sure that everyone leaves the premises safely, are just some of the numerous tasks involved in ensuring the smooth running of Norwich Open Christmas. The day is a hugely rewarding experience, and we hope that you enjoy yourself as much as our guests do! For a full list of tasks you can carry out on Christmas Day, click here. 

Norwich Open Christmas will be taking place at St Andrews Hall, Norwich. Below, find all the information that you'll need for Christmas Day. 

Registered volunteers

• Volunteers must be at least 16 years of age on Christmas Day. 
• Only volunteers who have registered to assist with Norwich Open Christmas 2023 can attend on Christmas Day.
• We are not able to register volunteers on Christmas Day, nor can we allow registered volunteers to bring non-registered family or friends to assist.
• Remember to bring your confirmation of registration with you - this will be sent to you in the post or via email in December. ​

sign up to be a volunteer

Tasks

• There are a lots of tasks that need to be carried out on Christmas Day to make Norwich Open Christmas run as smoothy as possible. 
• A full list of the tasks you can carry out on Christmas day can be found here. ​

When and where

​Date: 25 December
Time: The nature of Norwich Open Christmas means that we can never completely predict how much work there will be to do, but an outline of the day can be found here.
Location: St Andrews Hall, Norwich, NR3 1AU

ST ANDREWS HALL
NORWICH
NR3 1AU

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Parking

• The nearest car park to St Andrews Hall is St Andrews multi-story, Duke Street, NR3 3AT.
• St Andrews car park usually offers free parking on Christmas Day. 
• Please note that Duke Street is one way running South to North away from the city centre.
• You will need to take a ticket to enter St Andrews car park, however, the exit barrier will be up throughout Christmas Day and the car park will not be staffed. 
• The forecourt of St. Andrew's Hall will not be available for volunteer parking. 

ST ANDREWS MULTI-STORY
DUKE STREET, NORWICH
​NR3 3AT

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​Arriving at St Andrews Hall

• Please arrive at St Andrews Hall 15 to 30 minutes before your shift begins so that you can attend a full briefing for the event. 
• You will be advised where the briefing is being held when you arrive at St Andrews Hall. After the briefing, you will be allocated your task(s) for the day. 
• Always use the volunteer entrance when arriving and leaving St Andrews Hall. The volunteer entrance can be found in the far right-hand corner as you face St Andrews Hall. ​​​

Volunteer entrance

main entrance

Signing in and out

• When you first arrive at St Andrews Hall for your shift, you will have to show confirmation of registration to gain access. This confirmation will be sent to you in the post or via email in December. 
• You must also sign in and out at the volunteers reception desk when arriving and leaving. The volunteer reception desk can be found just inside the volunteer entrance. ​
• Volunteer drivers - once you have signed in at the volunteer reception desk, you must then report to the transport desk. 

What to wear and what to eat

• When signing in, you will receive a named volunteer badge which you should wear throughout the day.​
  
• Feel free to dress casually; we do recommend comfy footwear and to bring layers so that you can wrap up warm in case you are assigned a task outside. 
  
• ​​We have an attended cloakroom available for volunteers to leave coats.  We cannot accept responsibility for any item of value that is lost.​
• To ensure you have something to eat throughout the day, please remember to bring a packed lunch with you. ​Tea, coffee, biscuits, and hopefully some mince pies, will be provided.

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Volunteer wellbeing

• Norwich Open Christmas can be both physically and emotionally demanding for a number of reasons.
• Take a 'time-out' as and when you need one, and if you feel it would help to talk to someone, we have a number of volunteers who are trained to support you. 
• The Crypt is a great place to take a 'time-out' during the day. We use the Crypt as the volunteers' cloakroom and refreshment area, and it is always a quiet retreat from the hustle and bustle of St Andrews Hall. 
• Do inform a hall manager if you take a break so your allocated task can be covered. 

THE CRYPT 
ST ANDREWS HALL