The White Christmas Dip

Here in Bournemouth, we like to start our Christmas days a little differently. Rather than turning up the heating or lighting the fire and sitting down to open presents in our PJ’s, we prefer a mad dash into the sea!

What Is The White Christmas Dip?

This year will mark the 7^th annual White Christmas dip, a charity swim that raises funds for Macmillan Caring Locally. Each Christmas morning people don their fancy dress costumes and gather in their hundreds to support this fantastic cause. Each year has brought more and more people to the shores at Boscombe pier to take part and this year will be no different.

The idea for this event was inspired by the Spartans of Bournemouth who take to the sea each Sunday morning between October and April. Their Christmas swim had become something of a tradition so on the cold Christmas morning of 2008 John White, along with his son and nephews dug out some fancy dress and headed down to Boscombe pier. To their disappointment they found it empty and after a 30 minute wait decided that they would bite the bullet and run in by themselves, joined by passing cyclist Andy Corbett. Seeing how much everyone enjoyed their mad endeavour, John’s nephew Tommy Baker decided that is would be the perfect way to get everyone together on Christmas day. The following year they took to the sea once again for their Christmas dip, but this time with even more of their friends and family members. It was at that point that an opportunity to raise money was recognised. They could all get together as a family and at the same time help a charity with donations and with that, the White Christmas Dip was born!

What Is It All For?

The charity the group chose to support with their fundraising was Macmillan Caring Locally, a small Charity established in 1974 to support the building of the Macmillan unit at Christchurch hospital. The money raised by the Christmas dip has been able to help those in need of care in our local community and also to fund much needed equipment for the Macmillan unit. With this year marking the 40^th year for Macmillan Caring Locally, there’s no better time to help your local community.

Get Involved

There is no better show of support than spending the most important morning of the year doing your bit for charity and these people do just that every year. If you want to get involved with this year’s dip then don’t forget to sign up! There is a £5 minimum donation, but if you can get sponsorship from friends and family then even more can be donated to this fantastic cause. There are no age restrictions for the event, but you must have adequate swimming skills to take part. If you think swimming in icy water is a spectator sport then get down to Boscombe pier before 10:30 on Christmas day to cheer them on!

What To Wear?

Fancy dress is optional for this event, but it just makes it that much more entertaining! When you look back through the pictures of past dips, you can see what a great laugh it is, so why not add to it with the funniest of costumes. Here at Hollywood there is an enormous range of costumes and accessories to choose from.

If you want to run with the beach theme, how about an ever so stylish Baywatch costume, teamed with a whistle and lifeguard float? We have different styles available for both men and women so you can even band together and go as a group! If that’s not funny enough for you, why not try one of our hilarious joke costumes. We have it all from giant bananas to whoopee cushions, so don’t be afraid to push the boat out this year!

Seeing as the event is taking place on Christmas day, why not dress in something festive? There are plenty of Christmas costumes for you to choose from, such as the always funny, Christmas turkey costume! If you’re worried about ruining your costume in the sea then go for one of our bargain costumes; we have full Santa and elf costumes for less than £10, what’s not to like?