Ho, ho, ho, where is Father Christmas?
November is here which means that, like it or not, the festive season is hurtling towards us. The Christmas lights are being turned on, the tinsel is coming out and Santa’s grottos are starting to pop up in shopping malls and garden centres across town. If a visit to St Nic is a Christmas tradition for you, the team at dandelion.london have some suggestions of where to head. Currently, tickets are available for all the venues listed, but you will need to book quickly if you like the sound of one as they tend to get sold out.
Museums and Galleries, and the Zoo!
Santa’s Grotto at the Queen’s House in Greenwich comes at the end of an immersive walk through a winter wonderland on the theme of The Nutcracker. The experience ends with a moment or two with the big man and includes a gift. Running the last two weekends in November, Thurs–Sun in Dec and 22–24 Dec, tickets are £27.
The Victorian Santa’s Grotto at London Museum Docklands sits within the atmospheric Sailortown gallery and has a Dickensian feel. Running 21 Nov–23 Dec, sessions last 15 minutes. £14.50. Children must be accompanied by an adult but adults do not require tickets. Price includes a small gift.
Dino-mad littles should head to the Natural History Museum for Storytelling with Santa. After listening to a festive story, you can take a photo with Father Christmas and receive a T Rex tree decoration. Make sure you pop in to see the museum’s life size T Rex on your way out, complete with his own dino-sized Christmas jumper. 1–21 Dec. Tickets: £18 per child, including admission for up to two adults per child.
Tucked just off Covent Garden, the London Transport Museum is in a gloriously Christmassy part of town. From 27 Nov–23 Dec you can drop in and Meet Santa and the Elves and climb aboard an interactive sleigh with buttons and bells. Free with museum admission.
There is an array of options to Visit Santa at London Zoo this year. All of them end up with a session with Santa in his grotto. Tickets for this element only (running 22 Nov–24 Dec) are £18.50 children, including a small present. If you want an extra treat, early birds can meet his elves for a VIP Breakfast at 8am, followed by a tour of the zoo as it is waking up, before meeting Father X in his grotto. Tickets: £44.50 per child, £22.50 per adult. The Meet Santa Deluxe option includes a immersive Christmas ‘quest’ in the fab new ZooTown space to recover the Naughty and Nice lists. Tickets: £42 children, £15.75 adults. General Zoo admission is required in addition to Visit Santa tickets.
Historic Houses & Gardens, and a theatre
Sadly for north London families, Father Christmas at Kenwood is already fully booked. West Londoners should pay a visit to Chiswick House this year. For the first time, the historic house will be open for the Christmas season (21 Nov–4 Jan) with The Twelfth Night of Christmas, a self-guided trail through its festively decorated rooms, inspired by the popular Christmas song. There will also be a Father Christmas Grotto from 29 Nov–24 Dec. Tickets for the trail: £25 adults, £14 U12s; for the Grotto: £25 children (some Early Bird £5 tickets available), £10 adults.
You can have Breakfast with Santa at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Continental breakfast, tea and coffee (or babyccino) is included in the price for the festive brekka at Heidi Chelsea, in the new Soane Stable Yard. Tickets: £17.50, 9am on 7, 14, 21 Dec and 8am on 22 and 23rd.
Father Christmas is the library of Fulham Palace on 22 and 23 Nov, the weekend of their popular Christmas fair. Your timed slot begins with a family crafting session before meeting Santa and also includes entry to the fair. Tickets: £30 for one child and two adults.
There are still tickets available for Father Christmas Storytelling in the beautiful Chelsea Physic Garden on 6, 7, 13, 14 and 19–21 Dec but you will need to be quick. Tickets are £11 adults, £13 children and include entry to the gardens, drop-in Christmas decoration workshop and a timed slot for the Christmas storytelling in the greenhouse-themed grotto. Good value.
Santa’s Puppet Workshop runs at Islington’s Little Angel Theatre from 29 Nov–24 Dec. The 40 minute experience includes making a simple puppet, a screening of The Night Before Christmas and a meeting with Santa in his sleigh. Tickets: £30 children, £20 adults.
Department Stores
Harrods no longer runs a Christmas Grotto (phew, say we, it was ludicrously expensive and very commercial). There are some tickets still available for Hamley’s Christmas Grotto (15 Nov–24 Dec). The fifteen minute slots cost between £65 and £110 for a group of three people. Price includes a small gift. Sadly the storytelling sessions with Santa at Fortnums are sold out.
Shops
Anya Hindmarch’s Christmas Grotto is perhaps the most charming in London. Open from 15 Nov to Christmas Eve, tickets are £60 for one adult and one child (recommended age 2–8) and include a gift. Numbers are strictly limited. Waiting list only, but worth adding your name. Alternatively, you can always go and post your letter to Santa in the enchanting wooden Post Office that has appeared next to Anya’s Café and book festive afternoon tea in the café afterwards. £50 p/p. 11 Pont Street, SW1X
There are still spaces available for Tea with Father Christmas at Daylesford, Notting Hill on 10 Dec (perhaps because tickets are a hefty £65 per person!) Running from 4–6pm, there will be crafts and activities and seasonal treats, as well as a visit from Father Christmas himself.
One off spaces
The Wundrful World of Christmas arrives at Borough Yards on 8 November until Christmas Eve. Promising an immersive adventure walk for ages 3–8 to meet Santa and his elves, it combines animations and real actors to guide you through various sets to the North Pole Post Office. Have a look at the website – it could go either way, but if they do it right, it might be rather magical. Tickets: £22.50–£27.50 adults, £17.50–£22.50 ages 2–15.
All aboard the Santa Steam Express! The vintage train chugs out of Victoria station for a 90 minute loop round south London on 20 and 22 Dec. Santa and his merry elves will make a special appearance with a gift for every child. From £55 per person.
The final tranche of tickets have been released for Noir Kringle, the Black Santa’s Grotto Experience in the Old Shoreditch railway ticket hall. Running from 17–22 Dec, kids from 0–8 will enjoy a workshop tour celebrating Black British culture. Tickets: £42, includes entry for 1 accompanying adult.